#1882 #S1057 - Fogon Cocina Mexicana, Seattle - 9/3/2011

Noel Cortez and Jose Ambriz, whose families come from Michoacán, Mexico and run the Mi Tierra restaurants in Monroe and Woodinville, are having a go in this tough luck Capitol Hill space with Fogon ("stove"). They provide everyone a complementary tostada at the start, as other Mexican places provide chips, and follow that with some nice Michoacán entrees and tasty margaritas.

crab and shrimp enchiladas, Fogon Cocina Mexicana, Seattle

600 East Pine Street Seattle, Washington 98122 - (206) 320-7777
Est. 2012 - Building constructed 2001
Previous bars in this location: Kiki, Kurrent
Web site: fogonseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: thestranger - capitolhillseattle - yelp - urbanspoon 

#1881 #S1056 - Vessel, Seattle - 9/2/2011

Update: This version of Vessel closed Sep 27, 2013

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Like the previous location, Vessel starts with an encumbrance to my affections, as I do not prefer cold, modernist decor in bars -- I wince a bit when I see lots of light, big windows, prominent shiny metals and bright colors. But of course the reason for going to Vessel is the cocktails, and while the decor and service may vary, the cocktails at the place are a continual joy.

For people outside the areas of Seattle and/or the craft cocktail movement, Vessel was a seminal bar for craft cocktails in the area. While you could find great cocktails in a small number of other locations before 2006, Vessel was a place that *preached* great cocktails. You didn't have to be in some tiny coterie of cocktail devotees (that included a tiny minority of bartenders), nor to luck into the rare meeting with a mixologist knowledgeable and patient enough to invest time exploring how your uneducated tastes might best navigate finely made drinks. At Vessel, you *were* going to get a great cocktail, regardless of all other circumstances. And if you wanted vodka, you were out of luck.

Indeed, probably the greatest value that Jamie Boudreau, Jim Romdall, et. al. provided with Vessel was not the individual, carefully crafted cocktails themselves, but rather in spreading the fact that there *are* great cocktails -- a fact that had somehow eluded 99.9% of bar goers heretofore. The rotating bartenders would explore your tastes, create a drink with a manifest precision and care, and they did so not in some secretive back alley hangout, but virtually pressed against the windows of a downtown space next to the 5th Avenue Theater where they snagged your attention like a Macy's Christmas window display.

In December 2010, this original vessel lost its lease and closed shop. The much anticipated new location is in a space of significance to long-time Seattleites, as it housed the original El Gaucho Steakhouse from 1953 to 1985. Owner Jim Romdall had more freedom to design in this space, and one of the ways he took advantage of this was to make multiple decisions that increased the connection between customers and the centers of attention behind the bar. (When one couldn't find a space at the tiny number of seats at the old bar, you sometimes found yourself in an upstairs room that felt a bit like the kids' table at Thanksgiving dinner.) The owners manage a rotating lineup of 25 crackerjack bartenders.

Although I may generally despair of big, bright windows in bars, it is rather nifty that people on the street can see through these into "The Lab," where bartenders experiment with various ingredients and techniques, and pursue the contemporary holy grail of perfect ice. Inside a "Clinebell" machine churns out 300-lb blocks of crystal clear frozen water that is then reduced with chainsaws, band saws, and chipping tools into the ideal spheres or other shapes to balance coldness and dilution. Due to the success of the movement that they helped precipitate, the current Vessel is not quite as essential and unique as the original, but it remains a fantastic place to explore and experience the art of the cocktail.


624 Olive Way Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 623-3325
Est. Aug 28, 2012 (October 2006 in previous location) - Building constructed: year
Previous bars in this location: El Gaucho
Web site: vesselseattle.com - facebook
Best Reviews: seattlemet - seriouseats - seattleweekly - eater.com - yelp - thestranger

#1880 #S1055 - Rocco's, Seattle - 9/2/2013

Rocco's does not serve my favorite pizza in town, but they are the prettiest. And in addition to their better than average pizza, they provide some quite good craft cocktails. Rocco's is new from Jesus Escobar, the owner of Noc Noc, squeezed into the former space of Dope Burger and Noodle Bar in the same larger structure as the Lava Lounge.  Like many of the other old spaces in this stretch, it is narrow and long. They have done a great job in remodeling the place, with darkened, exposed brick, romantic lighting, old neon beer signs, various celebrity icon portraits, and patches of succulents growing in frames on the walls. The tables were made by the owner from wood pulled from the 1911 ceiling.

One of their more interesting drinking options is a selection of shrubs -- drinking vinegars infused with fruit juices and herbs, with addition bitters and ingredients that you apportion and mix yourself. It is open late for Belltown drinking nights, and seems positioned to do very well in the area without catering too much to the sorts of Belltown crowds you'd prefer to avoid.

2228 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 448-2625
Est. August 22, 2012 - Building constructed: 1911
Previous bars in this location: Dope Burger
Web site: roccosseattle.com - facebook
Best Reviews: seattletimes - thrillist - seattlepi - thestranger - yelp - seattleweekly

#1879 #S1054 - Fumaca Brazilian Steakhouse, Seattle - 9/2/2011

Update: Fumaca closed in June 2014. The building is slated for demolition.

Meat Heaven.

Fumaça (Portuguese for "smoke") was created by some of the crew that worked at the Ipanema Brazilian Grill at the top of the Harbor Steps, and the Amazon Grill in Bellevue.  They even offered to recognize gift certificates issued by the ownership of those restaurants in their own place, built in basically the same model. The owners are Columbian and Puerto Rican, and feature Brazilian "rodizio", Puerto Rican "sazon", and Peruvian ceviche.

Of course you must have the rodizio here.  It is not super cheap ($24 for lunch and $40 for dinner), but it is well worth it if you are hungry.  The salad bar sorts of offerings, from artisan cheeses, to various fruits and vegetables, beans, etc. are probably worth the price alone, but the stars are the charcoal grilled meats, continuously brought to your table on stakes by "gauchos."

The bar is not particularly special, but you can have a nice caipirinha as you recover from your food coma.

101 Denny Way, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 453-4366
Est. Aug 28, 2012 - Building constructed: 1926
Previous bars in this location: Whym, Blush Lounge, 101 Lounge
Web site: fumacaseattle.com - facebook
Best Reviews: seattletimes - thrillist - eater.com - yelp - thestranger

#1878 #S1053 - El Borracho, Seattle - 9/1/2011

El Borracho ("the drunk") is a new Mexican place in the space of the old Pan African along 1st Ave in the Pike Place Market. It is run by Kittie Davidovich of Le Bon Ton Roule, who has said she is after a sort of taco truck kind of place. There is a wide range of pretty good taco truck style tacos (including lamb, shrimp, pork, fish, beef, and rabbit) and a nice choice of margaritas.

1521 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 538-0440
Est. Aug 2012
Previous bars in this location: Pan African Market

Reviews: seattlemet - thestranger - yelp

#1877 #S1052 - Ballard Station, Seattle - 9/1/2011

The Ballard Station Public House is a substantial upgrade in maturity in both management and drink quality from the shortlived Ballard Avenue Pub.  The cocktails are quite good -- I especially liked the Sundance Kid (Old Overholt rye, lillet and Cynar) -- the vibe is casual and welcoming, and features nods to both Ballard history and traditional British pubs.

2236 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 999-5600           
Est. Aug 13, 2012 - Building constructed: 1927
Previous bars in this location: Ballard Avenue Pub
Web site: theballardstation.com - facebook
Best Reviews: myballard - seattlemet - thestranger - seattleweekly - yelp

#1876 #S1051 - Borsalino's, Seattle - 8/29/2011

Update: Borsalino's closed in Feb 2013.

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For the past decade or so (2001-2011), this was Romio's Pizza, in the odd castle-like building just south of the University Bridge and across the street from the original Red Robin Tavern/Restaurant. In October of 2011, it was modernized into Borsalino's, which included upgrades to more high quality food stressing organic ingredients. The remodeling did not go so far as to replace the signage outside, but instead drapes some quickie banners over the railing. The bar and the food both seemed fairly pedestrian -- a decent alternative if you happen to be nearby, but nothing notable enough to draw from a wider area.

Historical (and personal) notes: In addition to serving as a furniture store and art gallery, this castle-like building has hosted the Town House Restaurant in the 30s, the Llahngaelhyn jazz and coffee house from 1965 to 1968,  Rapunzel's Tavern from 1975 to 1985, and the Scoundrel's Lair (and "Club Fiasco") briefly in the mid 80s. Scoundrel's Lair was booked by Jon Poneman of SubPop, and was one of the few pre-Nevermind clubs that booked alternative bands, including small touring national acts like the Cowboy Junkies and Dead Milkmen, as well as local bands like Green River, Soundgarden, The Melvins, Pure Joy, Room 9, Cat Butt and Girl Trouble. In addition to seeing several of those bands there, I remember a particularly rocking night with the Royal Crescent Mob, and also one night there when I first really talked to the woman who would become my wife (after meeting at the Central Tavern before a Sonic Youth show).

3242 Eastlake Avenue East Seattle, WA 98102 - (206) 323-4444
Est. Oct 2011 - Closed Feb 2013 - Building constructed: 1916
Previous bars in this location: The Town House, Rapunzel's Tavern, Scoundrel's Lair
Web site: borsalinospizzapasta.com  
Reviews: thestranger - eastlakeseattle.org (building history) - yelp - urbanspoon