#2233 - Captain's Corner, Aberdeen, WA - 7/15/2013

This building was constructed in 1898 and there have been bars in it for over 100 years.  City guides for this old timber and fishing town, once know as "the port of missing men" and the "hellhole of the Pacific," show a saloon in this locaiton by 1911 owned by Wiest and McCracken, and up to the edge of state-wide prohibition with one owned by Samuel Ross in 1915.  Shortly after prohibition, by at least 1935, it became the Joe & Jack Beer Parlor, and then Joe's Tavern by 1939.

I don't know how long it has been the Captain's Corner (or Captain's Corner II, Captain's Corner III, or Captain's Corner Hi, as I've found in various listings) -- Manta says 1995.  It is a medium large neighborhood joint that covers all the basic small community bar standards: pull tabs, flat screen televisions showing sports, karaoke, pool, darts, etc.

701 W Curtis St Aberdeen, WA 98520 - (360) 533-2908               
Building constructed: 1898
Previous bars in this location: Joe & Jack Beer Parlor / Joe's Tavern (1930s)
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - insiderpages

#2232 - Charlie's Chowder House Tiki Lounge, Astoria, OR - 7/15/2013

Charlie's Chowder House is a funky little corner spot in Astoria where you can drop in for some ice cream, clam chowder or a drink or two. It has a small tiki bar attached, although it is not the sort of bar that tiki fans like, and rather more resembles decor you might see at a high school prom, with things like African masks and a Jimmy Buffet album passing for "tiki."  It doesn't have great cocktails (I am informed to go around the block to Albatross for that), but the folks there are nice, and it's a perfectly fine joint for a brief lunch or snack.

"Tiki" decor at Charlie's Chowder House, Astoria, OR

1335 Marine Dr, Astoria, OR 97103 - (503) 741-3055               
Web site: facebook
Reviews: roadfood - urbanspoon - tripadvisor - yelp

#2231 - High Climber Room (Logger Restaurant), Astoria, OR - 7/15/2013

I always stop for a "Spar," a "Logger," or a "Pastime,"  including this place, listed as in Astoria but well south of the city on Old Highway 30. The food here is typical diner fare and the bar is typical dive drinking options (although the bar is too light, neat, and new to feel like a dive bar). A few tourists stop to eat, but it's mostly older locals. Our stop was pretty much what you would expect for a roadside joint, with the exception of a cook (not sure if she was the owner or had just been there long enough to feel like she was) being unnecessarily bitchy to the bartender.

Logger Restaurant, High Climber Room, Astoria, OR

42929 Old US Highway 30, Astoria, OR 97103 - (503) 458-6886
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - urbanspoon

#2230 - Conestoga, Clatskanie, OR - 7/15/2013

Conestoga Restaurant and Bar, Clatskanie, OR

The Conestoga Restaurant and Bar is located "in downtown Clatskanie, across from Humps at the main stoplight." The iconic wheels were removed for safety, and now the red and white forms of the Conestoga wagon float mysteriously about the restaurant door. Inside is a diner, with a classic neighborhood dive in back. It's been cleaned up recently by some new owners, who improved the food, and will tell you about various types of businesses previously in the space, including, as it so often is in these small towns, the city mortuary.

85 N Nehalem St, Clatskanie, OR 97016 - (503) 728-3702
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

#2229 - Quay Restaurant and Bar, Vancouver, WA - 7/12/2013

Stepping into the Quay Bar in Vancouver Washington's riverside Red Lion can feel a bit like stepping on board the Flying Dutchman. The feeling strikes you initially as you take in the considerable work done to make it appear that you are in an 18th century sailing ship. Slightly less ancient are the pop cover songs coming from the bands there on weekend evenings, as the 50-ish crowd hits the dance floor to early 80s rock. But the sense of doom does not come only from the dance floor -- the building itself is slated to be demolished as efforts move forward to build a new, much wider bridge here where I-5 crosses the Columbia River to Portland. And perhaps partially due to that impending fate, you can sometimes find your party sitting forlorn at a table and starting to wonder if there really were any servers in the place, or if those were just ghosts, now slunk back to their watery graves, the promise of foodstuff now just a haunting memory.

Quay Restaurant and Bar, Red Lion Vancouver, WA

As if to further make you doubt your senses, the Red Lion web site doesn't reveal a hint of the abundant ship decor in any photos or descriptions of the restaurant. Here's their description of the bar:

"Adjacent to the restaurant and overlooking the Columbia River, the bar has a pool table, and offers live entertainment Friday and Saturday evenings."

That's right. A pool table!

Quay Restaurant and Bar, Red Lion Vancouver, WA

The people are fairly nice, and the hotel, restaurant and bar are all adequate, but they feel like a golden opportunity lost. You should go to the Quay Restaurant to check out the sailing ship decor and the fine view of the Columbia River. If the buffet is open, you should definitely choose that option -- not because there is anything particularly great about the buffet, but because it's a bit dicey whether a server will happen by any time soon (a lesson learned on our first visit and reinforced on our second). If you like any music written after 1981, you might want to skip the band. Enjoy the location and trouble not your mind over what could have been.

Quay Restaurant and Bar, Red Lion Vancouver, WA

Red Lion's exciting photo of the Quay Bar's exotic decor.

100 Columbia Street, Vancouver, WA 98660 - 360-694-8341
Est. 1962
Web site: redlion.com
Reviews: tripadvisor - yelp - urbanspoon - examiner - barflymag

#2228 - Lady Luck's Cowgirl Up, Tacoma, WA - 7/12/2013

A large, old west themed bar, with serving girls that dance on the bar to country music.  They serve diner style steaks and standards, and decorate the knotty pine walls with beer corporation paraphernalia.

14114 Pacific Ave S, Tacoma, WA 98444 - (253) 538-4996
Est. 2004
Web site: ladyluckcowgirlup.com - facebook
Reviews: tacomaweekly - yelp - urbanspoon

#2227 #1152 - some random bar, Seattle - 7/10/2013

No, I wasn't so drunk that I can't even remember the name, they really did name this place "Some Random Bar." It's the first bar from Mike Maione, who decided to put his biology degree aside and move back to Seattle from Florida with his wife Jean Wallace and start a bar and restaurant in Seattle. The bar is in the former space of the short-lived C.S. Finnegan's, and seems a bit like a bar in the middle of some small town, that tries to bring a little bit of everything. They have Seahawks and soccer games -- and moved to the televisions so that you can watch from the bar with a neck injury -- and some interesting cocktails and food choices.  There's are eight beer taps with a "no crap on tap" policy and menu items like twice-cooked oxtails, lamb tongue salad, and chicken fried quail.

It's hard to tell if this place is going to catch on and make it, but the owners are very nice and it's a kind of place you root for.

2604 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 745-2185
Est. July 9, 2013 - Building constructed: 1903
Previous bars in this location: C.S. Finnegan's Irish House
Web site:  somerandombar.com
Reviews:  thrillist - seattlemet - cornichon - yelp - thestranger