#1888 #S1063 - Kickin Boot Whiskey Kitchen, Seattle - 9/6/2011

Kickin Boot Whiskey Kitchen, Seattle, WA

Update: Kickin Boot closed in October 2017

Try the:  Dark Sparrow

Kickin Boot Whiskey Kitchen is large and instantly popular, and people like to criticize big, popular places. But I'm a fan. The Matador guys (Zak Melang and Nathan Opper) have done a great job of remodeling the 1927 Henry Whyte warehouse, which once hosted Ballard Millwork, Union Wines, and then Olsen Furniture. The place is large, rustic and industrial. It is very pretty, but also rather corporate -- you won't find charming little shabby and personal touches, no items from childhood or inherited from Uncle Hank. In that sense it seems a bit out of place in Ballard and even Seattle -- it immediately feels more like a place in Dallas or Scottsdale.

Nevertheless it is a beautiful setting, and a fine alternative, I believe, to the more hole in the wall sorts of BBQ joints which pepper the Ballard area. The BBQ and choice of 5 sauces at your table are not knock your socks of good, but they are quite adequate. And the cocktails are more than adequate. The horse shoe shaped bar is the center of attention, backed by a giant triangle of whiskey in the large back window. The emphasis, as the name says, is on whiskey, and they have flights for tasting and whiskey (Buffalo Trace) on tap.

Kicking Boot Whiskey Kitchen, Seattle, 

Some BBQ purists may resent that it's an attraction as much or more for socializing and its large patio as it is for its smoked meats or sauces. But I see it as a fine bar and dinner alternative.

5309 22nd Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 783-2668
Est. Aug 16, 2012 - Building constructed: 1927
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: kickinboot.com - facebook  
Best Reviews: seattleweekly - thestranger - seattletimes - myballard - building history - seattlemet - seattlemag - thestranger - yelp

#1887 #S1062 - Cafe 56, Seattle - 9/5/2012

Update: Elliot's Seafood Cafe changed its name to Cafe 56 in early 2013.

Update: Cafe 56 is now closed

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This is a nice little casual option, particularly on sunny days at the waterfront, to the more formal main restaurant at Elliott's, and I suppose tourists and oyster lovers will enjoy the sidewalk oyster bar. But I shall miss humble Steamer's, where guys who looked like they could have been cooking on some old ship for 40 years pulled hunks of salmon and corn on the cob from under smokey hoods.

1201 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 623-4340             
Est. 2012
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: elliottsoysterhouse.com 
Best Reviews: christinecox - seattlemet - northwestwiningandining - seattleweekly - thrillist - thestranger - yelp - eater

#1886 #S1061 - Nick's Off Market, Seattle - 9/4/2011

Update: Nick's was further reconfigured into "Eetbar" in 2014, which closed in Nov 2015.

Tonight's dinner has forced me to reshuffle my list of Favorite Sandwiches in Seattle:

1. Crab BLT - Seatown Snackbar
2. Nick's Nitro Prime Dip - Nick's Off Market
3. Cuban Roast - Paseo

NOM is a substantial reconfiguration of the shortlived Amber Den. It is now less of a wine bar, less of a fern bar, more casual, with more beer choices and cocktails. The cocktails and "Northwest comfort food with a twist" are both pretty good, and the Nitro Prime Dip (prime beef, chorizo, red onion, mushrooms, pepperoncinis, pepperjack cheese, chipotle mayo and au jus) is must-try sandwich.

1556 NW 56th St, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 783-0131
Est. Aug 1, 2012 - Building constructed: 2000 - Closed 2014
Previous bars in this location: Amber Den
Web site: nicksoffmarket.com - facebook
Best Reviews: myballard - thrillist - bloomspot - eater - thestranger - yelp

#1885 #S1060 - Outlander Brewery and Pub, Seattle - 9/4/2011

Outlander Brewery is an adventuresome nanabrewery with a pub located in a 100-year-old Victorian house in the Fremont neighborhood. Owners Dragan Radulovic and Nigel Lassiter use a 1-barrel brewing system to churn out two kegs at a time of brews like Peanut Butter Stout, Strawberry Wheat,  Vanilla Jasmine Porter, Yam Ale, Chili Amber Ale, Oyster Robust Porter. These are not just names, they are actual ingredients. They also have a monthly poll that allows their customers to select new brews from multiple options.

 Dragan was friendly and engaging from behind the small bar created from an old church door and located in the old house kitchen.  The house has retained the original room structure, and aside from the bar and taps in the kitchen appear very much like your grandmother might still live there. It's a great fit for Fremont and a very nice stop for beer lovers.

225 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 486-4088             
Est. Aug 3, 2012 - Building constructed: 1900 or earlier
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: outlanderbrewing.com - facebook
Best Reviews: thestranger - fueledbybeer - sauced - seattlebeernews - thrillist - yelp

#1884 #S1059 - Add-A-Ball Arcade, Seattle - 9/4/2011

"We weren’t going for the creepy-uncle’s-rumpus-room feel," Add-a-Ball owner Travis Echert told Komo News, "But, that’s kind of what happened." Travis and his Partner Brad Johnson used to run ADD Motorworks here, fixing scooters in a basement space off an alley in the building that hosts the Piece of Mind head shop. Parties and pin-ball tournaments evidently led to converting to a new business that hosts vintages pin-ball and video games for the over 21 crowd along with beer. The games are mixed in with funky garage items, old board games, piles of spark plugs, and oddities.

I had a pleasant chat with Brad and customer Meredith at the 2-seat bar with 2 taps and a decent choice of beer in cans. Brad was in the midst of expanding to their second location, John John's Game Room on Capitol Hill. I'm not much of a gamer myself, but it is a cool little hangout.

315 N 36th St, Unit 2B, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 696-1613
Est. Dec 2011 - Building constructed: 1900 or earlier
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: add-a-ball.com - facebook
Best Reviews: komonews - fremontuniverse - fremocentrist - thrillist - skill-shot - findwell - yelp

#1883 #S1058 - Tin Lizzie Lounge, Seattle - 9/3/2011

The Tin Lizzie lounge is a darkly attractive bar created in the historic Marqueen Hotel on lower Queen Anne, across from the street from Toulouse Petit, in a building where the Seattle Engineering School used to retrain blacksmiths to work at the Ford assembly plant on Lake Union. It has a pressed tin roofs, ornate antiques, and multiple semi-private rooms off the main space. It has been positioned as hub for fine cocktails with a speakeasy vibe, although the bartenders don't have the craft cocktail chops that one usually finds in such places. But it is definitely one of the most pleasant drinking spaces in the city.

600 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA - 206.282.7407
Est. Aug 8, 2012 - Building constructed: 1918  
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: marqueen.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - eater.com - yelp

#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