#1790 #S1030 - EVO, Seattle - 5/22/2012

Well, EVO closed Aug 13, 2012, before I could even get around to writing this blog entry.  Evidently being attached to Social and 300+ Facebook likes in three months is not enough to keep you afloat.  The space has now been turned over to the owners of The Social (area bar magnates Laura Olson and Chris Pardo).

EVO did serve Mediterranean tapas, with small plates based on dishes of Greece, France, Portugal, Italy, Morocco and Spain, and I liked all the items I tried. They also served fairly decent cocktails, which is a rarity, for whatever reason, among gay bars. It is a fairly attractive space, with modern decor playing off the old warehouse feel. Old photos of Seattle neighborhoods are projected in a continuous loop onto a high, exposed brick wall.

1715 East Olive Way, Seattle, Washington 98102 - 206-328-5293
Est. May 2012 - Closed Aug 13, 2012 - Building constructed: 1928
Previous bars in this location:
Web site: evo-seattle.com - facebook 
Reviews: seattleweekly - eater - capitolhillseattle - capitolhillseattle - yelp

#1789 #S1029 - Ravioli Station / Trainwreck, Seattle - 5/21/2012

Update:  Ravioli Station Trainwreck closed in early November 2012.

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Bill Medin established this funky little bar and restaurant with his sisters Leann and Lennie, after he had worked as chef at the Sheraton Palace in San Francisco, and then at the Edgewater and Place Pigalle. They put in bar stools made from the pistons of fireboats that once floated in New York Harbor, and created a bar ledge that is a metal tube heated with hot water flowing through. They located it in a small, wedge-shaped building which has special significance to craft beer lovers, as it was the original location of the Red Hook brewery (est. 1981). Near the door is a statue with its head broken off, which various sources informed me happened during a particularly wild Thursday karaoke night, or was possibly done by Herman, the local, homeless crackhead.

On this visit I chatted with bartender Genevieve and long-time customer Linda. I was told that a few years ago Bill inherited some money, decided to move to Thailand, and sold the place to his bartender Hefe. Hefe has also worked at the Dexter and Hayes Public House and Jules Maes.  She has made a few changes, adding theme nights, adding a mural to the outer wall, and adding "Trainwreck" to the name -- or maybe just changing it to "The Trainwreck," it doesn't seem quite consistent. She's maintained the basic ravioli menu, but changed the focus much more toward the bar, though the liquor options are pretty basic. It's a sleepy little neighborhood place during the day, but it can get decidedly more boisterous on certain nights.

4620 Leary Way Northwest Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 789-6680
Est. Sep. 2000 - Building constructed: 1947
Previous bars in this location: None known (Red Hook Brewery)
Web site: facebook 
thestranger - seattletimes - thestranger - urbanspoon

#1788 - Opal, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

The Opal Lounge, Tacoma, WA - 2020

Update June 2020: It's been a while since I've spent some time on South Tacoma Way, and many of the spaces along this stretch have been given substantial upgrades and/or host some cool new businesses. This includes the Opal Lounge, which was purchased about three years ago by Eric and Suvantha Dickerson, owners of Southbay Dickerson's Barbecue in Olympia, who stripped it down to its bones and refurbished it, while maintaining the name, the neon sign, the unique facade, and preserving the history. Eric showed me around on the visit, including the basement entry behind the bar, where barrels of beer were once received on rails. It's a shame I had other lunch arrangements, but I will definitely come back to try some great looking BBQ and spend a bit more time in one of the oldest bars in the state.

The Opal Lounge, Tacoma, WA - 2012

I have found quite inconsistent dates attributed to the opening of the Opal Saloon, including 1906 and 1912 and there is an old photo of the saloon behind the bar that was subsequently labeled "1902," but this shows the Opal in the building just north of the old Edison Soft Drink Parlor (constructed c. 1900), an address that is now 5220. The "Opal" name is not listed in any Tacoma Polk guides from pre-prohibition years. Nevertheless, I am fairly confident the Opal Saloon was established in its current location by 1901. Various documents associate the ownership in the early years with the Yorkheimer brothers, and Polk Guides list a saloon owned by "Yorkheimer Bros" and later just Frank Yorkheimer from 1901 through 1915. The Dec 31 1915 issue of the Tacoma Times, which includes comments from virtually all bar owners in town on what they planned to do when statewide prohibition went into effect Jan 1, 2016 also puts the Opal Saloon at the current 5226 address, and quotes owner Frank Yorkheimer saying, "I am going to put in a pool table and will sell near beer and lunches." Thus, at least in terms of a bar that maintains the basic name and has existed in the same building, the Opal is the oldest bar in Tacoma and one of the 5 to 10 oldest in the state of Washington.

Nowadays, the bar is a classic little dive, the senior citizen of stretch of dives along the old abandoned highway that is South Tacoma Way. Years ago, the place was known more for its pizza, which it served out through the window of what is now a karaoke stage. The place was purchased by Richard & Carol Charette in 2002.  Richard passed away about a year ago, and Carol put a For Sale sign in the window, but folks at the bar say that she's not willing to part with it for a price that anyone else would be willing to pay.

 Sometime in the last few years the outer facade was painted red, white and blue. The super patriotic theme continues inside with American flag after American flag hanging from the ceiling, and various military and patriotic stickers and tchotchkes lining the walls. The patriotism takes mostly positive, upbeat forms -- including posters for benefits and tributes; but in a few places it takes a more embittered form -- a urinal lined with "Hanoi Jane" stickers, another sticker telling people if they can't speak English they don't belong here. For better or worse, this stretch is lined with old drinking holes and some old ideas.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2007/10/15/179437/strong-drinks-and-yes-a-little.html#storylink=cpy

5226 South Tacoma Way Tacoma, WA 98409 - (253) 473-2600
Est. 1901 or earlier

weeklyvolcano - thenewstribune - waymarking - yelp

#1787 - The Red Hot, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

The Red Hot has a great selection of beers and a broad selection of unusually dressed hot dogs, and is one of Tacoma's favorite bars.

2914 6th Avenue Tacoma, WA 98406 - (253) 779-0229
Est. Aug 16, 2007 
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: redhottacoma.com - blog
Reviews: thebestcraftbeer - grittycityfood - buddiesandhotdogs - tnt - beeradvocate - beerretard - ratebeer - yelp - urbanspoon

#1786 - 1022 South, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

1022 South, AKA the Hidden Apothecary, is a small cafe and craft cocktail lounge in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood. The mad pharmacists there will turn their tinctures, herbs, and potions into some of the best cocktails in the Pacific northwest. They have an excellent cocktail list, but this is one of those places where you will want to tell the bartender a bit about your tastes and let them concoct something surprising and lovely for you.

In addition to the friendly and talented bartenders, we met customer Chris here, who grew up in my (Greenwood) neighborhood and kindly gave me some coins from the Old 5th Ave. Tavern.  We had a fine visit. It is out of the way for most people I know, but the New York Times somehow made it all the way there and found it well worth the trip.

1022 South J Street Tacoma, WA 98405 - (253) 627-8588           
Est. March 2009
Web site: 1022south.com - facebook - blog 
Reviews: nytimes - seattleweekly - tacomaweekly - seattlemag - alcademics - seattlemet - thestranger - urbanspoon - yelp

#1785 - Park Way Tavern, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

Tacoma's Parkway Tavern has a better neighborhood pub feel than any bar in Seattle. The tavern appears unexpectedly, in a 1935 wood-shingled bungalow in the midst of the homes of a quiet neighborhood two blocks from Wright Park. Hipsters and beer connoisseurs mix easily with families and folks of all ages. The walls hold several interesting old photographs from Tacoma history -- including one of the bar itself from just after 2:00am Friday October 8, 1983, after "a disgruntled customer rammed his pickup truck six or seven times into the front of the Parkway Tavern."

There's been a bar in this building since at least 1960, when it was Alexander's Delicatessen & Tavern. The building was renovated a little over five years ago, and now has a high, exposed, vaulted ceiling and comfortable dark wood. Around the corner from the front bar there are a couple more rooms, including one suddenly decorated in African artifacts, as if you've been invited to dinner at the dean of anthropology's house. The bartenders and servers are very friendly and cool. They have a large and interesting selection of beers on tap (and growlers available), and better than average sandwiches and pub food. They were recently recognized by Esquire Magazine as one of the best bars in the country.

I don't know how old the bar at Parkway is. The current building started as a delicatessen in 1935, and became a tavern at some point later. But it's been serving the locals for decades and with quality improvements more recently has become of the most welcoming and comfortable bars in the the Pacific northwest.

313 North I Street Tacoma, WA 98403 - (253) 383-8748
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1935

Web site: parkwaytavern.com - facebook
Reviews: esquire - grittycitywoman - weeklyvolcano - beeradvocate - voices.yahoo - chowhound - urbanspoon - yelp - taplister

#1784 - Golden West, Tacoma, WA - 5/20/2012

Buffino's Golden West Restaurant and Lounge is a fairly typical dive, which features the owner's band, the Back Porch Band, on Friday and Saturday nights. It has an interesting back bar, a sort of art deco design, but I was unable to obtain any information about it from the folks there during our visit. So we sat dividing our attention between noticing new details of the bar, and watching TV, learning from the Monkeys' Mickey Dolan about a fantasic, never-before-offered collection of great rock hits.

The Golden West has been here since at least 1935.

5228 S Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA 98409 - (253) 471-9892
weeklyvolcano - insiderpages