#2156 - Spunky Monkey, Auburn - 5/5/2013

Thankfully, I made it to this place shortly before all the funky divey-ness was eliminated in a redesign as part of an episode of Restaurant: Impossible. After many years as a popular local joint, it was dusty and failing by the time I got here, so it appears that it had to change, and I hope the modified approach works out for them. But as one who tends to prefer the peculiar and decidedly unsophisticated personality of a small-time barkeep to the slick orderliness of a professional designer, I feel fortunate to see have seen the Monkey when it was genuinely spunky.

124 2nd St SE, Auburn, WA 98002 - (253) 804-9567
Est. 1998 - Building constructed: 1936
Web site: spunkymonkeybarandgrill.com - facebook
Reviews: restaurant:impossible ($1.99) - yelp - youtube - urbanspoon

#2155 - Red Lotus / Pagoda Room, Auburn - 5/5/2013

From Mexi-fries to fortune cookies, I love experimenting with the authentic cuisines of foreign cultures. And it's even better if it's in a restaurant with a dark lounge attached, where the mixologist serves up exotic temptations like "Jack and Coke." And thus, at the urging of some friends, we traveled all the way to Auburn, Washington -- the Gateway to Algona -- to check out the Red Lotus Restaurant and Pagoda Room Lounge.

I don't know exactly how old the Red Lotus is, but at some point someone wrote on their web site that they've been around for "50 years," and the building was constructed in 1956, so perhaps both the restaurant and lounge were here since then? It is a large, multi-roomed establishment, happily windowless, with plenty of bamboo, glowing lights, and mid-century exotic decor to keep our party of tiki fans and vintage hunters happy. The food is somewhat better than average, classic American Chinese, and the drinks are dive-bar strong with a few not-so-bad, tiki-like alternatives. The only real deviation I noticed from the archetypal half century old Chinese place is that they are closed on Christmas.

Thanks to Woofmutt and Elicia or introducing me to the place, and the other friends who came along on this visit.

714 Auburn Way N, Auburn, WA 98002 - (253) 833-6233                
Est. 1956? - Building constructed: 1956
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: redlotusrestaurant.com
Reviews: woofmutt - yelp - tripadvisor

#2154 #S1145 - Beer Junction, Seattle - 5/4/2013

Nice little stop to buy a pint or a growler (I had a Space Dust IPA)

4511 California Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 938-2337
Est. 2013 - Building constructed: 1935
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: thebeerjunction.com - facebook
Articles ranked: westseattleblog - yelp - washingtonbeer

#2153 #S1144 - Henry's on First Ave Tavern, Seattle - 5/4/2013

If you would like to know what Henry's on First in Seattle is like, just go to any recently opened large sports bar. They feel nothing like the intimate connotation that the word "tavern" has for me. There are the huge amounts of beer taps, the large range of contemporary sports bar foods (pizzas, burgers, salads, soups, tacos, fish and chips, wok dishes, etc.), plenty of TVs, the vintage photos, etc.  Henry's is run by the Restaurants Unlimited, the Seattle-based corporation that at this point counts 48 restaurants across the company under 21 brands, of varying individuality (e.g. Cutters, Palomino, Palisade, and Stanford's). Henry's, which also has locations in Portland and Plano, Texas, follows a now well-worn path in food, decor, and atmosphere, which basically takes a classic brewpub and expands the number of choices to several page menus and 100-and-some beers on tap e.g. in Seattle see the Yard House, the Tap House, Edge Grill.

Though these never make for particularly interesting bars, it can be quite convenient to have places with reliable food options and interesting beers on tap, and perhaps you can't have too many of these on game day. Henry's is in a fine old 1907 building just south of the ballparks (the original Henry's in Portland is in the old Blitz-Weinhard Brewery), and kudos for RUI for opening and sprucing up these old spaces. The bar features an iced counter for keeping beers cold, and and on days like today, when it was sunny and 75 degrees, the open side opposite First Avenue is a very pleasant setting. The cocktail menu will not be of interest to serious drinkers, and is dominated by the overly sweet options one might see at a college bar, but of course the focus is the beer and here they have any number of excellent options. I had a salad and half sandwich combo, choosing the peach, walnut, and manchego salad, which I enjoyed, and a lackluster Philly cheesesteak. Despite sourcing local beers in the ingredients (Mac and Jack braised onions and peppers, Elysian Immortal cheddar ale sauce), this Philly will not lead Seattlelites to forget Tat's, let alone get east coasters to stop whining. That was probably a poor choice on my part though, as most the food like quite reliably satisfactory.

1518 1st Ave South, Seattle, WA 98134 - (206) 624-0501
Est. 2013 - Building constructed: 1907
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: henrystavern.com
Reviews: washingtonbeerblog - washingtonbeerblog - yelp 

#2152 #S1143 - Pie Bar, Seattle - 5/2/2013

Cocktails, good beers, delicious made-from-scratch pies, and the owners are twin sisters and two of the most charming human beings you could hope to meet. If this tiny place isn't regularly packed, there is something horribly wrong with humanity.

Alyssa Lewis was the owner of Seattle Pie Company, and her sister Natalie was a long-time bartender and bar manager in Arizona (who was previously married to a baseball player in the Seattle Mariners system). They grew up in tiny Gold Bar and reunited to create a new business together after their father passed away. In addition to the small number of spaces outside, they sell pies through a window, where they will also set pies to cool and seduce customers. They now appear to be readying to expand to a second location in Ballard.

1361 E Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 300-1100
Est. May 1, 2013 - Building constructed: 1994
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: piebarseattle.com - facebook
Articles ranked: capitolhillseattle - king5 - thrillist - citylivingseattle - seattlemet - sweettoothinseattle - seattlemag - eater - thestranger - yelp

#2151 #S1142 - Frolik, Seattle - 4/30/2013

Despite being better hidden than most speakeasies in town, the word eventually gets out that there is a rare, large, rooftop lounge space on the 5th floor of the downtown Seattle Red Lion. Now the space has been re-made into Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails, which has added some vegas-y decor and attracts even more of the d-bag element that you might expect from that. But nevertheless this is the best bar space in the downtown area to enjoy the select sunny day. They've upgraded both their food and cocktail games, added a ping pong table, shuffleboard, and fireplaces. But you'll probably only think to go there on sunny days -- and so will everyone else, so get there early.

1415 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 (Red Lion) - (206) 971-8010
Est. April 19, 2013 - Building constructed: 1973
Previous bars in this location: Red Lion Terrace Garden
Web site: seattleredlionfifthavenue.com - facebook
Article ranking: seattletimes - thrillist - cornichon - bizjournals - heedthehedonist - thestranger - eater - sunset - seattlemet - thedailymeal - worldsbestbars - dailycandy - girlpowerhour - yelp

#2150 #S1141 - Wine Tea Chocolate, Seattle - 4/28/2013

Wine Tea Chocolate was refashioned into Barrel Thief in July 2013.  While the people there were nice and I could enjoy a glass of wine and light food items, it was a little precious for my tastes, and did not really seem to have me in its target demographic -- or my gender, for that matter.

3417 Evanston Ave N, Ste 102, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 402-5492
Est. Sep 2012 - Closed July 2013 - Building constructed: 2012
Previous bars in this location: None
Reviews: seattlemet - seattleite - thrillist - urbanspoon