#1980 #S1085 - Treehouse Lounge, Seattle - 11/21/2012

Update: The Treehouse Lounge closed in October 2016

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Drinking at the Treehouse Lounge feels like being invited to the home bar in the back shed of a particularly artsy friend.  It is a cabin-like bar in the small upstairs area of the Mind Unwind Gallery, in West Seattle, an "event-driven art studio and gallery" that features "low-key, unwinding classes become a playground for your creative imagination ... from meditation to music to art and everything imaginable." The funky little bar has a small but eclectic selection of bottled beers and wine.

2206A California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 849-7222
Est. Oct 28, 2012 - Building constructed: 2011 - Closed Oct 2016
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: mindunwind.org - facebook
Reviews: westseattleblog - thrillist - yelp 

#1979 #S1084 - Copper Coin, Seattle - 11/21/2012

Update: Copper Coin closed in early 2022

Try the: Whisky Blaxton

There's an emphasis on craft beers at the Copper Coin, but the food and cocktails are by no means simply a mediocre afterthought. There are 20 interesting beers on tap, including a house brew created by Two Beers Brewery. But the owner, who owns Hill's Neighborhood Restaurant in Richmond Beach and is a nephew of the owners of local hamburger mecca Red Mill, has also provided much better than average mixed drinks and food options. I tried the Whisky Blaxton, Justland Sour, and Old Hat, and enjoyed them all. The Vietnamese beef skewers came with a tasty peanut slaw and lemongrass marinade, and the other dishes we saw looked really good.

2329 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 420-3608
Est. Oct 15, 2012 - Closed 2022 - Building constructed: 1941
Previous bars in this location: Blackbird Bistro, Porterhouse
Web site: coppercoinseattle.com - facebook
Best articles: seattletimes - westseattleblog - washingtonbeerblog - thrillist - thestranger - yelp 

#1978 #S1083 - Rose Petals, Seattle - 11/19/2012

Update: This Rose Petals location closed in 2014

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I did not think a bar like this still existed in Seattle. With Seattle's Central District and Rainier Beach neighborhoods becoming increasingly diverse, and the closure of places like Thompson's Point of View, I didn't think there were any bars left in the city where you could count on a lively, and typically 100% African-American crowd. I'm not talking about places that may cater to recent immigrant communities, like some of the area's many Ethiopian restaurants at certain times of the day. I'm talking about an old-school, American black community bar where people are shouting insults at each other, jumping off their chairs in laughter, telling loud stories and arguing about life -- and assuming you must be lost when someone like me walks in.

During the day the crowd is more mixed in the Rose Petals restaurant, which appears to serve some of the best soul food in the city, particularly on days when Cedric or Ms. Helen are working. (Try the oxtail, I have heard.) But I arrived after the dinner hour, when the kitchen was closed and the center of activity is the back bar, lit entirely by one remaining good light bulb. Being in a neighborhood that's had it's troubles over the years, owner Bettye "Mama" Gray has had to deal with a occasional challenges over the years related to gang activity, crime, and fighting: A bouncer was killed trying to protect another man in a fight; The building was burglarized 20 times in 23 years; Some locals refer to it as "Guns and Roses." Sometimes it seems like the well-worn building is being precariously held together with plywood and masking tape.

But the staff are some of the friendliest you'll find anywhere, and most nights everyone in the bar is just looking to socialize and have a good time. And even if you are conspicuously not part of the regular crowd, you won't be allowed not to take a position in the arguments at the bar. That's more than enough to make it fun bar stop for me.



6901 Martin Luther King Jr Way S, Seattle, WA 98118 - (206) 725-7746
Est. ? - Closed 2014 - Building constructed: 1957
Previous bars in this location: None known

Reviews: seattleweekly - urbanspoon - seattletruefoodies - plateofnations - seattlemet - seattleweekly - urbanspoon - king5 - seattletimes - yelp - activediner

#1977 #S1082 - Oak, Seattle - 11/19/2012

Beacon hill has had a nice addition of restaurants and bars over the last year and Oak is a nice part of that. It has a woody, mid-century interior, including a darkened back bar, where they serve some nice beers, reasonable cocktails, and homey sorts of foods made from high quality and local ingredients. It is owned by the folks behind Capitol Hill's Redwood, and while it is definitely similar in several ways, it's a bit more intimate -- perhaps more like Ballard's Hazelwood. It draws a pleasant crowd of locals, young parents and hipsters, and I had a nice chat and friendly service from bartender Don, who says things like "Geez Louise."

3019 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 - (206) 535-7070
Est. Oct 9, 2012 - Building constructed: 1910
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: link - thrillist - fledglingsgourmet - beaconhill - thestranger

#1976 #S1081 - Baja Bistro, Seattle - 11/19/2012

What used to be Java Love expresso expanded next door into the Baja Bistro restaurant, which expanded into a tiny, attached bar. Baja is "officially" gay on Wednesdays, but fairly gay always. The bar opens at 3:00 and the restaurant workers were regularly checking in on RuPaul's All Stars on the bar TV. They serve some fairly good margaritas, fish tacos, and mole. The small bar and workers create a fun, intimate but casual vibe.

2414 Beacon Avenue South Seattle, WA 98144 - (206) 323-0953
Est. 2004 - Building constructed: 1964
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: thestranger - seattletimes

#1975 - China City, Freeland, WA - 11/18/2012

China City is located in a large Victorian building constructed in a small town that was established as a socialist commune in 1900-1901. Believing communism to be unworkable at a small scale, the founders established a store in the "Rochdale" model, where anyone of any race or creed could buy into the central cooperative store and obtain five acres of land with a small down payment, pay the remainder with their share of dividends, and eventually profit with a portion going back to the store. Stock in the store could only be sold to other members and no one member could exceed 20 shares. "More correctly, Freeland was a gathering of like-minded radicals who sought to retain a socialist entity outside the confines of a regimented communal existence." ("Utopias on Puget Sound 1885-1915," Charles Pierce LeWarne)

Freeland lasted longer than most such communal experiments, but eventually improving economic opportunities enticed the most ambitious members away, and it slowly evolved away. Excepting the name, there are few evident signs of this past to the visitor today, and the grand Victorian building that houses China City and various offices upstairs stands in sharp contrast to the modest farms of the community's founding. But despite the ornate surroundings, the restaurant's offerings may live up to the old ideals of parity, serving very average American Chinese food and suburban bar cocktails.

1804 Scott Rd Freeland, WA 98249 - (360) 331-8899
Est. May 2002 - Building constructed: 1992
Previous bars in this location: Teddy's
Web site: chinacityrestaurant.com - facebook  
Reviews: examiner - yelp - tripadvisor - urbanspoon

#1974 - Freeland Cafe and Lounge, Freeland, WA - 11/18/2012

This little cafe evidently added the back bar sometime in the mid 2000s. It's very much a local place -- outsiders can tend to expect some funny looks in the bar.

1642 E Main St, Freeland, WA 98249 - (360) 331-9945
Web site: whidbey.com/freelandcafe
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - urbanspoon