#1823 - Redmond's Bar and Grill, Redmond, WA - 7/15/2012

Redmond's is a fairly new, casual restaurant and sports bar in a historic town setting. Terms like "upscale" and "classy" in local reviews must be interpreted with moderation -- it is not a highly formal setting or cutting edge cuisine, but it does feature moderately upscale American comfort foods, including burgers, steaks, salads, and soups (a substantial upgrade, it would appear from the greasy spoon fare that preceded it as Odd Fellow's Grill).

For a history of the large building Redmond's now occupies, I quote from the City of Redmond's City Landmarks web page:


 "Like Lodge Hall, this building was constructed in 1903. Built as a community gathering hall, it has been used by the Eagles and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which occupied the building until 1973.... It was Redmond’s first community and entertainment hall and its first movie house with a projectionist. The building hosted local celebrities including Daphne Rosford Foss - an improvising pianist, accompanying silent movies if the sound system failed, and even entertaining crowds from Seattle. This structure is important because it dates to an early period in Redmond’s development and is a rare example of a surviving wood frame building in the community.

In 1926, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) purchased the building, and when Bill Brown’s Saloon [up the road at 7824 Leary] closed due to prohibition, Redmond’s Saturday night dances moved to this venue. The Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal organization where residents could reach out and provide support to one another in times of need. In 1970, Edwardian Antiques occupied the building and later the Odd Fellow’s Grill. It is now occupied by Redmond Grill and Sports Bar."

7979 Leary Way NE, Redmond, WA 98052 - (425) 558-9800
Est. Sep 24, 2011 - Building constructed: 1903
Previous bars at this location: Odd Fellow's Grill

Web site: redmondsgrill.com
Reviews: redmond.patch - redmond-reporter - urbanspoon - yelp
History: redmond.gov 

#1822 #S1045 - Izakaya KU, Seattle - 7/14/2012

This is a bar blog, and we stopped in here after having dinner elsewhere. So I don't have anything to say about the izakaya (informal Japanese pub food) and Korean cuisine at this tiny place. That said, it's hardly fair to rate this as a bar, as the bar is minimal (12 different spirits). So try it for lunch or dinner, but if you are looking for a bar, there are, of course, several much better options a short walk up the Ave.

5210 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105 - (206) 524-6101
Est. 2012 - Building constructed: 1975
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: izakayaku.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp

#1821 #S1044 - Shilla, Seattle - 7/13/2012

Update: Shilla closed in late 2016 after owner Scott Koh was arrested with several of his employees for the kidnapping and beating of his estranged wife's lover in June of that year. It's small triangular plot was sold to developers who plan to replace the restaurant with a 41-story tower.

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Just as local reviewers said, I'd passed this place hundreds of times and never gone in -- or even stopped to think that it might have a lounge.  Shilla's is a classy, mid-century sort of Korean and Japanese restaurant, which has been around almost 30 years. With my limited knowledge of Korean cuisine and one visit, I don't feel I can opine much on the food, but it does seem to be very popular with Korean families and visiting Korean businessmen.  The lounge is not the most lively of bars, and it won't knock your socks off with the talents of its bartenders. But it does feel like an odd kind of Seattle classic somehow, somewhere between shabbiness and elegance.

2300 8th Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 623-9996
Est. 1985 - Building constructed: 1970 - Closed 2016
Previous bars in this location: Jolly King Restaurant
Web site: shillarestaurant.com 
Reviews: seattletimes - seattleweekly - thestranger - seattletimes - urbanspoon - yelp

#1820 - Anthony's Homeport, Everett, WA - 7/7/2012

1726 W Marine View Dr, Everett, WA             

Web site: anthonys.com
Reviews: eatnabout - gayot - yelp  

#1819 #S1043 - Limelight Thai Bistro and Lounge, Seattle - 7/2/2012

Here's a bad sign when you are a Thai restaurant: You're almost empty, it's raining, and people are lined up in the rain waiting for tables at the Thai restaurant right next door.

So the food is not a particular attraction, and the limited, bland bar would not seem to be (although it was fine for the two next to me drinking raspberry vodka, lemonade, and soda). So I'm failing to see what is.

4545 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105 - (206) 420-2481
Est. June 1, 2012 - Building constructed: 1930
Previous bars in this location:  None known
Web site: limelight-seattle.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp

#1818 #S1042 - 95 Slide, Seattle - 7/1/2012

The erstwhile Hunter Gatherer Lodge has been transformed into a sports bar by owner Marcus Lalario (Captain Black's, The Saint, Molly Moon, Batch 206). It is named for the most exciting moment in Seattle sports history, when Edgar Martinez doubled home Ken Griffey Jr. in the ultimate miracle of the miracle '95 season, which not only finished off the Yankees but almost certainly preserved major league baseball in Seattle.

So of course this means primarily lots of televisions, lots of soccer, burgers and pub food. I do not know what advantage they will be taking of the nifty rooftop area.

For many years, from shortly after prohibition into the 1960s, this space hosted the Harvard Tavern. In the late 70s, it became Greg Thim and Ken Decker's Brass Door, leading the Seattle gay community out of hole-in-the-wall bars mostly in Pioneer Square to large, open spaces primarily on Capitol Hill (the Brass Door became the Brass Connection when they obtained a license to sell liquor as well as beer and wine). In the subsequent years that Lalario has held the lease, it has been an all-ages and hiphop dance club (The Beat Box, Ghetto Technologies), then Blu, the War Room, and Hunter Gatherers Lodge.

722 E Pike St, Seattle, WA. - (206) 328-7666               
Est. June 28, 2012 - Building constructed: 1920
Previous bars in this location:Harvard Tavern (30s-60s), Forun Tavern (70s), Brass Door/Connection (70s-90s), Blu, The War Room (2005-2009), Hunter Gatherer Lodge (2010-2012)

Web site: 95slide.com - facebook
Reviews: seattlemet - capitolhillseattle - eater - thestranger - yelp

#1817 #S1041 - Kangaroo and Kiwi (Ballard), Seattle - 6/15/2012

What a strange and happy marriage this is between the stately, neoclassical Carnegie library building and the lively Kangaroo and Kiwi.

The Ballard Public Library opened here on June 24, 1904, part of the 2,500 Carnegie libraries built between 1883 and 1929 in partnerships between the steel magnate and local communities. It became the first major branch of the Seattle public library system when Seattle annexed the city in 1907, and remained in service until 1963. Since then it has hosted a number of small businesses, most recently the formal French restaurant Carnegie's (2003-2010).

Kangaroo and Kiwi spent the previous eleven years at the most un-stately of locations, on Aurora Avenue just south of Beth's Cafe in the longtime location of the Meet Me Here Tavern. K&K is serious about its Australian and New Zealander theme, and bills itself as the only genuine Aussie pub on the west coast. They serve up pub food from burgers to Aussie meat pies, and a few cocktails along with a lot of beer.  Around the side and front of the building is one of Seattle's better summer, outdoor drinking spaces, and one hopes that over the long term the signage will blend into the building a bit more smoothly.

The crowd is, as you might guess, friendly, informal, and fun. It's not a library, but somehow a casual public room serving beers amidst the august surroundings seems like a perfect realization of Carnegie's democratic ideals.




2026 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 297-0507
Est. June 9, 2012 - Building constructed: 1904
Previous bars in this location: Carnegie's
Website: kangarooandkiwi.com - facebook - Ballard Carnegie Library
Reviews: seattleweekly - komonews - seattleweekly - myballard - yelp - theworldisfun