#2433 - Rita's Tequila House, New Orleans - 3/14/2014

This was not a targeted bar but rather one of those we're-ready-for-another-drink-now stops. As a group of youngish women started awkwardly dancing and grinding with each other behind us, we requested a couple of to-go cups. "Yeah, I'd want to leave too," the bartender told us.

417 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70130 - (504) 298-8227
Web site: ritastequilahouse.com

#2432 - Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, New Orleans - 3/14/2014

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, New Orleans, LA

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is a charming candlelit French Colonial cottage that basically caps the northeast end of the party zone on Bourbon Street. It is very common to hear that Laffitte's is "the oldest bar in the country," the "oldest continually operating bar in the country," the "oldest building hosting a bar," and once the home or business of pirate/adventurers Jean and Pierre Laffitte. Each of the first three claims is manifestly untrue (I recommend Jay Brooks' page for a pretty good assessment of oldest bars in the U.S.) and the latter claim is highly dubious. But the building is very old - variously reported as built between 1722 and 1732 or between 1772 and 1791 (I lean toward the latter since this is the range favored by the History Department of the University of New Orleans). It has certainly not been operating strictly as bar since that time, and appears to have hosted a variety of businesses from a dentist's office to a combination cobbler and oyster shop (nolamyths). A more likely claim to being the oldest continually operating bar in the city is made the Old Absinthe House, which appears to have been officially serving liquor fairly continuously (with a substantial exception for prohibition) since the 1880s.

However, Lafitte's may well have started as a bar in the 18th century, and it appears to have become a cafe with a barroom permit in 1933 (nolamyths), the year federal prohibition ended. It was established then as "Cafe Lafitte" by Mary Collins, Harold Bartell, and Thomas Caplinger, and over the next two decades attracted some famous clientele: "The cafe became a popular night spot that attracted a bohemian clientele, including the gay community and celebrities like Noël Coward and Tennessee Williams. However, Caplinger never held clear title to the property and the building was sold in 1953. He soon opened a second cafe at the other end of the same block named Café Lafitte in Exile, which maintains that it is the oldest gay bar in the U.S." (wikipedia).

Currently the bar is popular with both locals and tourists, still lit virtually entirely by candles, and will serve anything from a nice Sazerac cocktail to one of those horrifically candy-flavored vodka and everclear monstrosities favored by certain tourists aiming to lose their inhibitions.

941 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, LA 70116 - (504) 593-9761
Est. 1940s - Building constructed: Between 1772 and 1791
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: lafittesblacksmithshop.com - facebook
Articles ranked: link - nola - wikipedia - nolamyths - neworleans - roadtrippers - neworleanshistorical.org - punch - tebeau - oldneworleans - hauntedhouses - yelp - tripadvisor - thrillist

#2431 #S1227 - Din Tai Fung, Seattle - 3/11/2014

Din Tai Fung, Seattle

In creating this blog post for the U Village instance of Din Tai Fung I've noticed that I never created an entry for the earlier Bellevue version -- no doubt overlooked because I did not go to the bar until after I'd eaten there a few dozen times. Had I written about the Bellevue location, this post could have simply referred back to that one, as it is the same serviceable bar, the same small army of cooks methodically hand-preparing dumplings behind a window, the same regrettable, busy mall location, the same long lines to get in (despite room for 230), and the same lovely, lovely food that makes it all more than worthwhile.

Shrimp and pork wontons in spicy sauce
Din Tai Fung, Seattle

The wait is mitigated by DTF's support for the NoWait app, which you can use to reserve a place in line, if you are that prepared, or if you are not, to track the number of parties ahead of you. The latter feature allows you to loll around in Barnes and Noble until you see there are just one or two groups ahead of you. Mark Davis's bar program for the local restaurants is satisfying, and while you won't typically want to brave the mall crowds just for the bar, it can occasionally payoff as a shortcut to a seat for small parties.

Foodies will need no introduction to the Taiwanese Din Tai Fung chain -- they serve what have been called "the world's greatest dumplings," the Hong Kong restaurant has a Michelin star, and the New York Times named them one of the top ten gourmet restaurants in the world. At last count there were only 5 Din Tai Fungs in the U.S., with 2 in the Seattle area, and a 3rd on it's way (to yet another busy mall, alas -- someone needs to convince owner David Yang Wasielewski to build one on a nice waterfront location). The first northwest DTF in Bellevue caused a minor sensation when it opened in 2010, and hopes that eventually you could get in for either lunch or dinner without waiting in line have been futile.

DTF is most famous for its "xiao long bao" soup dumplings, but for my money the best item on the menu is the shrimp and pork wontons with spicy sauce. But you can't go wrong here, so if you are going for the first time it's nice to have a large group that is happy to share many items (and don't overlook the Shanghai rice cakes with pork or the cucumber salad). It won't be a cheap meal and it probably won't be a short wait, but you'll be happy you did it.

2621 NE 46th St, Seattle, WA 98105 - (206) 525-0958
Est. Dec 29, 2013 - Building constructed: 2013
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: dintaifungusa.com - facebook
Articles Ranked: thrillist - seriouseats - seattleweekly - seattletimes - heelsfirsttravel- seattlemet - seattlemet - forbes - yelp - tripadvisor - zagat - eater

#2430 #S1226 - Traveler Montlake, Seattle - 3/10/2014

Traveler Montlake, Seattle

Update: Traveler Montlake was refashioned into Pub Montlake in 2016 and then closed altogether in 2017. It subsequently housed Purr, which moved from Capitol Hill.

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Traveler Montlake is the sort of place you want to pull into after being out in the snow or rain for a while, when you're in the mood for a meal that is well made, not too common but not too fancy, and to sit by the fire with a hot cocktail of some sort. It is very Seattle-y, from the allegiance to the Huskies and local sports teams to the sweaters and jeans crowd. Most of this was probably also the case for several previous joints in this location, from the Montlake Alehouse the decade preceding it back to the 50s when UW students would bring their prime rib sandwiches from Perry Kelly's Big-K Bar-B-Q here to Jilly's East. But this incarnation, from Devlin McGill of the Leary Traveler and Nabob, is more pleasant for adults -- with more creative food (though still centered around American comfort foods), better cocktails, and elimination of the family-friendly conversation-pit area for kids.

Traveler Montlake, Seattle

I chatted with bartender Anna, who designed the bar program, and tried a 1776 Boulevardier (I liked this, though I prefer the classic, which is one of my favorites). I also had a very good Argentinean Roast Pork Sandwich and curry carrot mango soup (which comes around in the rotation now and then).

Argentinan roast pork sandwich with curry carrot mango soup
Traveler Montlake, Seattle

2307 24th Ave E, Seattle, Washington 98112-2606 - (206) 946-6980
Est. Feb 23, 2014 - Closed 2016 - Building constructed: 1922
Previous bars in this location: Jilly's East, Grady's, Bleachers, Montlake Ale House
Subsequent bars in this location: Purr
Web site: travelermontlake.com - facebook
Reviews: capitolhillseattle - thestranger - yelp - tripadvisor

#2429 #S1225 - Plaza Garibaldi, Seattle - 3/9/2014

A few years ago this was Jalisco, which was curiously right across the street from Jalisco. Just as it was difficult for me to tell the difference between the double Jaliscos, it's difficult for me to spot the difference between this new place in the Jalisco west-side-of-the-street space, as it seems to be mostly the standard, Azteca-style, American Mexican plates and magaritas. So even if you didn't realize Jalisco closed, you will know what to expect, and Garibaldi reliably delivers.

Historical notes: This space, constructed in 1926, was the home of the Footlight Tavern from the 40s into the 80s. In the mid-80s it was briefly the Sea Otter Saloon, and then Taqueria Jalisco from 2007-2012.

129 1st Ave, N Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 397-4088
Est. Aug 9, 2012 - Building constructed: 1926
Previous bars in this location: Footlight Tavern, Sea Otter Saloon, Taqueria Jalisco
Web site: pgaribaldi.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - queenannereview - thestranger

#2428 #S1224 - Serious Pie, Seattle (South Lake Union) - 3/3/2014

Sweet fennel sausage pie - Serious Pie, Seattle, WA

The drinks are fairly good at the bar they've added this instance of Tom Douglas's mini gourmet pizza chain. But of course the focus remains the pizza -- one of my favorite meals in the city. Have the sweet fennel sausage choice.

401 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 436-0050
Est. Dec 1, 2014 (date bar added) - Building constructed: 1948
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: seriouspieseattle - facebook
Articles ranked: seattlemet - seattleite - seattletimes - yelp - gastronomyblog - absolutelymonica - seattlepi

#2427 - Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA - 3/3/2014

You can't visit Santa Rosa without visiting Russian River, but the locals advise not to simply dive into the Pliny. So at the advice of bartender Jeff and customer Gary, I started with a "Row 2 / Hill 56," before moving to the inevitable Pliny the Elder. They were both my kind of beers, and had some pleasant chats with various folks at the bar. Russian River sells over 50% of its beer in this one pub, which was the main reason cited for ceasing shipments to my hometown Washington state in 2013, thus putting an end to the annual Pliny the Younger frenzy here in our thirsty town.  E.g. from the Seattle Times 2011:

"It causes lines around the block and packed houses that would violate most cities’ fire codes. Last year, Naked City Brewery & Taphouse in Greenwood blew its Pliny the Younger keg in six minutes."

'Last year, Jamie Butler, co-owner of The Dray in Ballard, nonchalantly noted on Facebook one night that he would tap Pliny the Younger at 3 p.m. the next day. He ran some errands and strolled in at 3 to find a full house with “people slamming their hands on the bar,” he said.'

"The Whisky Bar in downtown won’t announce when it will release Pliny the Younger because, the bartender said, the place would just go nuts." (seattle times)

Of course the delta between Pliny and many other fine, more readily available beers doesn't merit the mania unless you are fairly devoted. But it does add to the gratification of a northwesterner casually sipping Russian River's goods while in town.


725 4th St, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 - (707) 545-2337
Est. April 3, 2004
Web site: russianriverbrewing.com - facebook
Articles: sfchronicle - wikipedia - yelp - sfgate - craftbrewingbusiness