#2548 #S1253 - Stoup Brewing, Seattle - 5/30/2014

Stoup Brewing, Ballard, Seattle, WA

To be frank I am completely incapable of comparing, contrasting, or ranking most craft beer tasting rooms and smaller brewpubs. I mean, pretty much all of them have some really good beers, and my preferences vary more from beer to beer than they do from brewery to brewery. And most of them are very much alike in decor and vibe. Typically, like Stoup, they are in something like a prefab steel warehouse, with a few tables -- maybe cable spools, maybe picnic tables, maybe one made of super nice, lacquered wood -- a small number of pieces of art on the walls, a view of the brewing tanks from the indoor seats, an outdoor, concrete patio, and a food truck parked alongside during the most busy hours. Customers who all look like avid hikers come in on their bikes and/or with their dogs, and tahey all seem like perfectly pleasant people as the sip from their flight or get their growler refilled. Stroup does have a meat vending machine -- I don't think I've seen that in any other Seattle bar.

Anyway, Stoup is a prefectly fine example of one of this sort of place. Whether it's better or worse than its microbrew competitors you'll need to ask someone much more discerning than me.

1108 NW 52nd St, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 457-5524
Est. Oct 23, 2013 - Building constructed: 2004
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: stoupbrewing.com - facebook
Reviews: myballard - yelp - washingtonbeerblog - beeradvocate - untappd - washingtonbeerblog - tripadvisor

#2547 #S1252 - Hana's Kitchen, Seattle - 5/30/2014

Hana's Kitchen, Frelard, Seattle, WA

Update: Hana's Kitchen closed in late October or early November of 2014

This is an odd little location that over the years has hosted everything from the original location of Red Hook Brewery (and arguably the birthplace of the craft beer movement), to Medin's Ravioli Station, which morphed into "Trainwreck" and some colorful nights under the ownership of vivacious local bartender Hefe. Hana's is primarily an Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant, but they are giving it a go to become at least a part-time nightlife spot as well, with DJs and weekly stand-up comedy.

Hana's Kitchen, Frelard, Seattle, WA

4620 Leary Way NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 783-0745
Est. Oct 2013 - Closed 2014 - Building constructed: 1947
Previous bars in this location: Medin's Ravioli Station / Trainwreck
Web site: facebook
Reviews: westseattleherald - yelp - tripadvisor

#2546 #S1251 - Cafe Mox, Seattle - 5/28/2014

I'm not a big gamer, perhaps because when I was young my sister Julie would always win. I recently read that second born children are most likely to be criminals, so maybe she was just cheating the whole dang time. In any case, I turned into an adult who prefers to waste my time in other ways, but people who are much more into games appear to really like this place. The gaming side and the "gourmet comfort food" cafe side, run by two brothers, eventually merged, so that means you can drink a nice craft beer (I had an excellent Ballast Point Sculpin IPA) and have a nice meal (I had the caprese salad and chick and white been hummas sandwich, which were both nice), while your play board games, browse the magic cards, or just enjoy good nerd watching.

Ashtray outside of Cafe Mox, 

5105 Leary Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 436-0540                  
Est. 2011 - Building constructed: 1968
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: cafemox.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - myballard - atlasobscura - yelp - tripadvisor - seattleweekly - thestranger

#2545 - JD Slick's, Sultan, WA - 5/26/2014

JD Slick's is a large bar in a small town. Sultan, Washington lies northeast of Seattle, between the coast and the Cascade mountains and at the foot of the Cascade Loop, squeezed between the Wallace and Sultan rivers as they flow into the Skykomish. The old logging town has a population of about 5,000 people, and it was closer to 1,000 in August of 1968 when some 20,000 hippies rolled into a raspberry farm just out of town to attend the first Sky River Rock Festival and Lighter than Air Fair. The music festival, held a year before Woodstock and inspired by the Great Duvall Piano Drop, included The Grateful Dead, Santana, Muddy waters, Richard Pryor, John Fahey, Gram Parsons and many other performers.

Side of JD Slick's, Sultan, WA - The windmill from
the old Dutch Cup can be seen in the background

Although there is a new Sky River Rock Festival scheduled for August 2017, JD Slick's seems a world away from that -- its decor more like a cross between Studio 54 and an Applebees, and the politics skewing conservative. But it does host live music -- sometimes Christian rock and mostly country --  and notably one Joe Slick Band. Joe and Dawn "Slick" Schlicher established the place in May of 2013, in a building where the Dutch Cup Restaurant and Lounge had been running since the 50s (the old Dutch Cup windmill now hovers above an espresso hut across the parking lot). While it now looks like a big techno dance club, like a lot of the larger bars in smaller communities, it seems to provide a little bit of everything. All the standard suburban sports bar boxes are checked -- the Seahawks on TV, karaoke, pull tabs, pool tables, banquet chairs, Taco Tuesdays, trivia nights, Texas Hold'em, and beer pong. There's a dance floor, a sizable beer garden out back with horseshoe throwing, and they have special events for holidays and their annual arm wrestling event.

JD Slick's, Sultan, WA

JD's has a fairly standard bar menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads and fried foods, a small selection of craft beers and broader assortment of corporate standards. Four beers in a bucket of ice will cost you $11. The cocktails are generally candy flavored vodkas and lots of canned sweet juices. The staff are super nice and the kitchen seems to always be open.

Sky River Rock Festival poster, 1968
Art by Walt Crowley, image from the seattlestar.net

Dutch Cup mug, available at amazon.com

923 Main St, Sultan, WA 98294 - (360) 217-8174
Est. May 31, 2013 - Building constructed: 1953
Previous bars in this location: Dutch Cup Restaurant and Lounge
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

#2544 - Kodi's Noon Saloon, Pateros, WA - 5/26/2014

The Hub Tavern was established in this location in Pateros (puh-TAIR-uhs) Washington in 1967. It was one of the first businesses in the moved and rebuilt part of town, as that same year Wells Dam was constructed downstream on the Columbia, flooding much of the original city with what is now called Lake Pateros. Some time in the late 90s the bar evolved into Kodi's Noon Saloon & Steak House, as owner Terry Grinnell transformed it from a dive tavern into a more versatile neighborhood joint, with a full menu, hard liquor, a patio, etc.

But the dam was not the last disaster to befall the city of Pateros and its few hundred residents. About two months after this visit 95 of the 279 homes in the area were destroyed by the Carlton Complex wildfire, the largest wildfire in Washington state history. We met some real nice people there, we wish them and the rest of the town the best, and look forward to stopping in again sometime.

Kodi's Noon Saloon, Pateros, WA

Kodi's Noon Saloon & Steak House, Pateros, WA
(river side entrance)

154 Pateros Mall, Pateros, WA 98846 - (509) 923-9767
Previous bars at this site: The Hub Tavern
Web site: facebook
Reviews: quad city herald - yelp - tripadvisor

#2543 - Los Cantaritos, Pateros, WA - 5/26/2014

Fairly standard, Azteca-style, American Mexican food -- closed in 2017, but a sister location is still open in Twisp, WA.

180 Pateros Mall, Pateros, WA 98846 - (509) 587-3350
Est. 2014? - Closed April 2017
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor

#2542 - The Plaza, Oroville, WA - 5/25/2014

This is the standard sort of bar found in suburban strip malls, with stucco ceiling, corporate beer paraphernalia, cheap wood paneling, pull tab bins, diner-style food, banquet chairs, a dance floor, and, of course, karaoke.

1412 Main St, Oroville, WA 98844 - (509) 476-2664                          
Est. Sep 2012
Previous bars in this location: Fao's, Yo Yo's
Reviews: gazette-tribune - tripadvisor