#1022 - Shotgun Betty's, Scottsdale, AZ - 3/18/2010

The standard cowgirls-dancing-on-the-bar bar -- only it's in Scottsdale, so the women are hotter.

7330 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
NewTimes - yelp

#1021 - Lucky Silver Tavern, Tacoma, WA - 3/14/2010

A nifty old dive just down the road from the Java Jive that has been owned and run by the same family since 1966.  It was bingo night when I attended -- I played in for three games and won nothing.  Prizes included a can of sweet corn, a box of Ritz crackers, a battery lighted magnifying glass, and a box of Bodyform panty liners.

I wish I knew how old this place is, but city guides show that it's been around since at least the 50s.

2605 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma, WA, 98409 - (253) 472-0360
myspace - waymarking - clubplanet

#1020 - Adriatic Grill, Tacoma, WA - 3/14/2010

4201 S Steele St., Tacoma, WA 98409 - (253) 475-6000
adriaticgrill.com - seattlepi - yelp

#1019 - Garbe's Tavern, Chehalis, WA - 3/14/2010

Update: Garbe's Tavern was purchased by new owners and converted into Sidelines Sports Bar in April of 2014.

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This place is a little like The Star up the road with an extra room and two pool tables added. A little less divey (they didn't have any Rainier can wind chimes) and they have a DJ and live music on weekend nights.

Garbe's has actually existed in Chehalis since at least the late 40s, starting out by replacing the Eagle Tavern at 987 Chehalis Ave sometime between 1946 and 1948, and moving to the current address in the late 1970s.

313 NW Chehalis Ave., Chehalis, WA 98532 - (360) 748-4288
virtualtourist - urbanspoon - clubplanet - yelp 

#1018 - Star Tavern, Chehalis, WA - 3/14/2010

Update: The Star Tavern cloed (in 2015?)

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Google Maps listed this place as "closed permanently," -- which was news to the customers and the pleasantly sassy bartender I found there. It's a nice old dive that's been around for a long time (current owners family have run it since the 60s, I was informed). When I visited on a Sunday afternoon there were six customers, all drinking big cans of Busch Light.  I opted for a Dick Danger Ale (brewed in Centralia).

I was a little early for the big Twin Cities Sertoma Club olympics, which spanned Chehalis and Centralia bars with various contests -- pool, darts, shuffleboard, etc.  (Sertoma is a civic group that raises money for deaf youngsters and other charitable causes.)

The Star Tavern appears to have been founded in the 1960s. As per the Historic Chehalis Downtown Walking Tour, the building dates to 1910: "Constructed as the Royal Bakery, the building is constructed of stone and retains integrity in its original design. It is representative of the commercial structures erected in the second downtown. The building has also been a barber shop, apartment building, and a liquor store. In later years it became the local Junior Chamber of Commerce who used the space for rummage sales."

242 NW Chehalis Ave., Chehalis, WA 98532 - 360-748-4222
web site: facebook
chronline - urbanspoon - untappd 

#1017 - Widmer Gasthaus Pub, Portland - 3/14/2010

Pretty good beer, pretty good food, bricks and brewing vats -- pretty much what everyone now expects in a brewpub.

955 N Russell St., Portland, OR 97227 - (503) 281-3333
widmer.com - facebook - yelp - beeradvocate - barfly

#1016 - Big Red's Western Cafe, Beaverton, OR - 3/13/2010

I had lunch here, which provoked grave concerns for my health among some of the locals, though my meal was fine and uneventful and the service friendly and good.  But it was when I slipped into the bar for a quick gin and tonic that I really started to get the lowdown from some of the locals.  There was some kind of big to-do down at a slough by Wanker's Corner -- we're dressing sexy, so you should dress up, the woman at the bar was telling the big guy with a large walrus mustache and worn, tilted baseball cap.  Then she asked if he'd heard about the midget at Stars?  The midget stripper?

Unfortunately I departed without an invitation and spent the evening in a less exotic portion of Beaverton.

11485 SW Scholls Ferry Rd., Beaverton, OR 97008 - (503) 579-4292
yelp - urbanspoon

#1015 - MVP Sports Bar & Grill, Portland - 3/12/2010

This place doesn't like sports enough to actually have the sound on, and I would find no reason to go here if I were not seeking to catch some sports event.  But unlike Champions, MVP has some fairly lively patrons and also adds ample server cleavage.

yelp
110 SW Yamill St., Portland, OR 97204 - (503) 327-8219

#1014 - Veritable Quandary, Portland - 3/12/2010

From the mawkish name you might gather that this is more of a cafe than a bar, and while that is true, the narrow bar in front does feel like a "real" bar, of course with the emphasis on wine.  It's a cozy little alternative for a glass of wine or scotch, and with it's small gardens on the riverside, the patio must be very popular place with the downtown professionals when the weather heats up.

1220 SW 1st Ave., Portland, OR 97204 - (503) 227-7342
Est. 1970
veritablequandary.com - barfly - yelp - boorah - urbanspoon

#1013 - Jake's Famous Crawfish, Portland - 3/12/2010

Jake's Famous Crawfish, Portland, OR

Step into Jake's and it seems instantly recognizable to anyone who has been in one of the 85 or so McCormick & Schmick's around the country.  That means pretty good food (usually an emphasis on seafood), excellent happy hour deals, pretty good service, and a friendly, decent bar that looks -- and often is -- 100 years old.

But McCormick & Schmick purchased the business only in 1972, after the business had been running in this location since 1911. Many people date Jake's as the second oldest restaurant in Portland, after Huber's. Indeed, some date the business back to 1892, through a string of preceding businesses in other locations. The Mueller and Meier saloon was established in 1892 at 18th and Washington, and moved into the just constructed Whitney and Gray Building in 1911. Mueller and Meier sold the business to Jacob "Jake" Freiman and a partner during prohibition, with Jake passing away just as prohibition was ending. It is not clear if it took the name Jake's immediately with the new ownership in 1920, but Freiman is said to have been a popular local character who brought with him crawfish expertise and an enthusiastic following (wikipedia).

Jake's Famous Crawfish, Portland, OR

 The exterior of Jake's features a neon sign installed in 1927, at the dawn of the age of neon, and now the oldest remaining in Portland. Walking in under this sign one may be seated in one of the elegant, white tablecloth settings in multiple rooms to the right, or take a left into the bar. The bar is a hodgepodge of antiques and memorabilia, with a 37' mahogany Brunswick front bar and before that a tiled trough and drain dating back to the Mueller and Meier era. The trough once had running water for the convenience of tobacco chewing customers. The walls feature replicas of classic paintings, old photos, and sports memorabilia, around a backbar comprising various antique cabinets and counters, some reflecting the days as a soda fountain during prohibition.

 You are not likely to find cutting edge cuisine or creative craft cocktails at Jake's, but you will find a stolid, quality meal in an elegant, old school setting.

Jake's Famous Crawfish, Portland, OR

401 SW 12th Ave., Portland, OR 97205 - (503) 226-1419
Est. 1920? as "Jake's"?  1933? as a bar?
mccormickandschmicks.com - nps.gov - barfly - yelp - urbanspoon

#1012 - The Gilt Club, Portland - 3/11/2010

This is a pretty swanky place with some fairly swanky cocktails. I especially liked the Tracy's Wild Ride (Sauza Hornitos tequila, Parfait Amour, muddled cucumber, fresh lime & agave nector) -- and I ask once again: Has there ever been a bad cocktail with cucumber in it?

The web site can be found at both giltclub.com and guiltclub.com, and both seem quite appropriate.

(Picture: Megan, Hannah, and Joe the bartender)

306 NW Broadway, Portland, OR 97209 - (503) 222-4458
giltclub.com - facebook - barfly - yelp - pdxplate

#1011 - Teardrop Lounge, Portland - 3/11/2010

Wow.

The Teardrop came with several rave reviews from friends with reliable judgement of fine cocktails and I was still impressed on my first visit there. I had a traditional Chauncey and a Between The Sheets, and both were as well-made, balanced, and tasty as any cocktails I've ever had.

Portland already had a great richness of neighborhood bars with character, and now they are piling on with great stops for the best quality cocktails. At Teardrop, one wants to drop by regularly, working your way through the menu, the bartender's recommendations, and the massive arrays of bitters and tinctures aligned in little blue bottles like the mad scientists they are.

The decor is spare and elegant and the bartenders were friendly and engaging. I don't think I'll ever visit Portland again without trying to make it there at least once or twice.

1015 NW Everett St., Portland, OR 97209 - (503) 445-8109
teardroplounge.com - cocktailia - yelp - barfly

#1010 - Fez Ballroom, Portland - 3/11/2010

Of course how enjoyable these old ballrooms are is almost entirely dependent on the individual event there on any given night.  The Fez is perfectly serviceable -- and I'm biased in favor of any place with "fez" in the title.  In addition, the event the night I attended ("Shadowplay" goth night) was pleasant and fairly well attended, despite goth interest declining in some areas (not necessarily a bad thing, as such movements tend to be most robust when confined to a fairly underground scene).  I have little idea what other nights hold, but I like this Fez better than the Red Fez in Austin, so right now it's my favorite fez bar in the country.

316 SW 11th Ave., Portland, OR 97205 - (503) 221-7262
fezballroom.com - barfly - yelp

#1009 - Kelly's Olympian, Portland - 3/11/2010

426 SW Washington St., Portland, OR 97204 - (503) 228-3669
Est. 1957 (current location, est. 1902 a few blocks away)
kellysolympian.com - barfly - yelp - citysearch

#1008 - Rock Bottom Brewery, Portland - 3/11/2010

The Portland version of this national chain has something I haven't seen in the Seattle version -- a packed crowd on a weekday night, along with live music.  It wasn't exactly my kind of crowd and it certainly wasn't my kind of music, but at least the place was pulsing.

206 SW Morrison St., Portland, OR 97204 - (503) 796-2739
rockbottom.com/portland - ratebeer.com - yelp - barfly

#1007 - Champion Sports Bar, Portland - 3/11/2010

Meh...

Barfly calls this "The only dedicated sports bar in downtown ..." Portland is my favorite bar town on the west coast, but as a dedicated sports bar (a fairly low standard to begin with), this is a FAIL.

On the weekday evening I attended, a home state college team was playing in the conference tournament, and the hometown NBA team was also playing. But you could not hear either game because they preferred dumb top 40s music. That's not a serious sports bar in my book. The food is standard sports bar nachos and burgers type fare, the drinks are the standard sports bar beer and bad cocktails, and the crowd is standard medium quality hotel boring salesmen (the bar is in the downtown Portland Marriott).

marriott.com - yelp - barfly 
1401 SW Naito Pkwy., Portland, OR 97201 - (503) 499-6393

#1006 #S623 - Avila, Seattle - 3/10/2010

Update: Avila closed in July 2010.

Judging wine bars as simply bars can be a bit problematic. Since I exclude the restaurant/food portion, you're left basically with the ambiance, service, and a tiny fraction of a taste of the wine they have, when you can now get very good wines at virtually any grocery store. And the decor of wine bars is, of course, highly formulaic -- there are going to be servers dressed in black, modern exposed-concrete and steel surfaces, rolled up towels in a basket in the restroom, a touch of abstract art, votive candles on the tables, and small, halogen lamps hanging over the bar.

So setting aside the eclectic and adventurous dinner and appetizer menus at Avila ("AV'-ill-uh"), I'm basically left with a fairly typical wine bar, but with unusually friendly servers (and none of the attitude I've experienced at Smash, just up the road a bit). That makes this a pretty nice little stop if you feel like a couple glasses of wine (and an even better one if you feel like a bite of some interesting food).

1711 N 45th St., Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 545-7375
avilaseattle.com - seattletimes - thestranger - yelp

#1005 #S622 - Bottleworks, Seattle - 3/10/2010

For a moment I was not sure whether to count Bottleworks as a bar, since it is focused on retail of bottles, and the limited bar area was largely covered in boxes as the staff busily stocked the refrigerators that line the walls and maintain said bottles at temperatures tastefully maintained below the standard grocery store section dedicated primarily to your Bud Light fans picking up a half rack at halftime. But there are some good beers on tap (as well as the great selection of approx. 1,000 bottles to enjoy in the shop, if you'd like). And the table I sat at provided one perhaps the most important feature of all in a bar, which was good conversation -- this one between four people who'd never previously met.

So cheers to Matt ("Vern" to his friends), one of the strangers, who turned out to be the owner, and to cute Emily, and to the bicycling guy whose name I forget. It's a great little place for anyone who likes good beer, and I'll definitely be back.

bottleworksbeerstore.blogspot.com - yelp - bsbrewing - beermapping.com
1710 N 45th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 633-2437

#1004 #S621 - Blu Water Bistro, Seattle (Greenlake) - (OOO)

Update: This Bluwater Bistro closed in April 2015.



One more bar that I've been to plenty of times but missed from my list.  A nice restaurant with a bar that is fine, but nothing special.







7900 E Green Lake Dr N., Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 524-3985
Est. May 1, 2002 - Closed April 25, 2015 - Building constructed 1996
bluwaterbistro.com - yelp

#1003 #S620 - Palace Kitchen, Seattle - (OOO)

Another place I've been to many times (the bar, not just the restaurant), but somehow missed on my list.  The Palace Kitchen is, of course, a Tom Douglas place, which means the cocktails are not up to the level of the food, but that's a very high bar (everyone in Seattle already knows about the food at Douglas's places, so no comments necessary on that front).  The bar is pretty much the basics, but it tests your self-discipline with those dang bowls of pistachios sitting around the bar.

2030 5th Ave., Seattle, WA 98121- (206) 448-2001
tomdouglas.com - yelp