#2683 #S1300 - Red King Crab Seafood, Seattle - 1/1/2015

Red King Crab Seafood Restaurant, Seattle, WA

Update: Red King Crab Seafood closed in June of 2015.

Owner Kwang Yoon serves some nice sushi and various Asian and seafood plates in this old Belltown Austin Bell building location in what seems like a halfway point between casual and white tablecloth fancy. The cocktails here are not as much of an attraction, but you can find a nice wine.

Red King Crab Seafood Restaurant, Seattle, WA

2328 1st Ave, Seattle, Washington - (206) 441-7511
Est. Dec 5, 2014 - Closed June 28, 2015 - Building constructed: 1908
Previous bars in this location: Taberna del Alabardero, Cascadia
Web site: redkingcrabseattle.wix.com/redkingcrab
Reviews: eater - yelp - tripadvisor - urbanspoon

#2682 - Brick 29 Bistro, Nampa, ID - 12/30/2014

Brick29, Nampa, Idaho

The description of "comfort food elevated" and promise to satisfy foodies and less adventurous eaters was just the ticket for our extended family dinner, and Brick 29 delivered in spades. The upscale but affordable food from James Beard award winning chef Dustan Bristol was delicious and the cocktails did not disappoint. This was served in a pleasant old Masonic Hall, with early 20th century touches. (Since this visit they have moved to the upper floor of the building.)

320 11th Avenue South, Nampa, ID 83651 - (208) 468-0029
Est. 2007
Web site: brick29.com - facebook
Articles ranked: idahostatesman - idahopress - boiseweekly - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2681 - Broadway Bar, Boise, ID - 12/27/2014

This is a nice, old (50 years or so?), divey, neighborhood bar.

1712 South Broadway Avenue, Boise, ID 83706 - (208) 342-9951
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1925
Web site: facebook 
Reviews: yelp - boiseweekly  

#2680 - Applebees, Boise, ID - 12/27/2014

Yeah, well, it does have a bar and I was hungry.

On a subsequent visit to my old neighborhood in Boise, Facebook popped up with a message that it found three "highly rated restaurants" that it thought I would like. The three were Denny's, Applebees, and Copper Kitchen.

Perhaps there should be some solace in the fact that the social media goliath sitting on top of the world's richest trove of personal data -- including many hundreds of restaurants I have checked into and commented upon -- does not have the first clue what I like. But in any case, here I was in December 2014; and the food is just fine here, and as long as you stick to beer and the basics, so are the drinks. And though I can't rely on Mr. Zuckerberg and company for much help, we still manage to find a bar now and then that more profoundly catches our fancy.


2810 Elder Street, Boise, ID - (208) 344-5630
Web site: applebees.com - facebook 
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - boiseweekly 

#2679 - Juniper, Boise, ID - 12/26/2014

Juniper on 8th, Boise, ID

This is just a swell place all around -- nice setting, great food, very good cocktails, and funny and efficient server Bri (and I am totally unbiased by the fact that she responded to my Krampus Christmas sweater with "I think you might be awesome").


211 North 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702 -  (208) 342-1142                              
Est. June 28, 2014
Web site: juniperon8th.com - facebook
Reviews: idahopreferred - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2678 - The Mode Lounge, Boise, ID - 12/26/2014

The Mode Lounge, Boise, ID

Craft cocktails in a swanky, intimate setting with a historic neon sign restored? I'm in.

The Mode Lounge can seem a little poncy with its DJ and admixture of midcentury, prohibition era, and modern decor, but why not? The owners of this place also own Pie Hole Pizza in the same historic old department store space, below the old second flood Mode Tea Room where shoppers congregated over tea and cake well over a century ago. But the Pie Hole's skateboarder personality that could hardly be more different than this romantic ode to cocktailing and classic style. If you enjoy fine cocktails this is a must-stop in Boise.

800 West Idaho Street, Boise, ID 83702 - (208) 342-6633
Est. Jan 24, 2014 - Building constructed: 1895
Previous bars in this location: Grape Escape
Web site: themodelounge.com - facebook
Reviews: roadtrippers - boiseweekly - yelp - tripadvisor 

#2677 - Jumpin' Janet's, Boise, ID - 12/26/2014

Jumpin Janet's, Boise, ID

A neighborhood bar with a hodgepodge of themes, loosely tied together by the personality of its biker owner Janet Carter. In additional to pool tables and dive bar priced drinks, Janet's serves better than average American comfort foods included a much liked prime rib dinner on Wednesdays and Fridays.

574 South Vista Avenue, Boise, ID 83705 - (208) 342-7620                              
Est. October 12, 1999
Previous bars in this location: Brass Lamp Pizza
Web site: jumpinjanetsboise.com - facebook
Reviews: roadtrippers - yelp - tripadvisor - boiseweekly