#1085 - The Honeycomb Room, Montesano WA - 4/29/2010

There's nothing really remarkable about the Honeycomb Room other than it's name, which is in keeping with the Bee Hive Restaurant, which surrounds it. But it is a sort of classic lounge attached to a classic little diner, which stresses its pie and would be at home in Twin Peaks if it didn't press the theme a little too far. The lounge wsa built in 1971, but the building and the "Bee Hive" date back to 1940.

The Bee Hive comes with its own little, laminated newsletter, with ads for local businesses, jokes, and advice. "Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little stringy things out of it," the newsletter explains, then adds "That's how primates do it."

zevents - yelp
300 S Main St Montesano, WA 98563 - 360-249-4131

#1084 #S641 - Chungees Eat 'N Drink, Seattle - 4/28/2010

Chungee's Drink N Eat is a small Chinese restaurant with a tiny bar a bit off the beaten commercial paths of Capitol Hill. If you don't have a project to hit every bar in Seattle, I'm not sure why you'd ever choose the Chungee's bar over the other neighborhood options, but there's room for about 9 or 10 people to do so.

1830 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 323-1673
chungees.com - seattlemet - the stranger - yelp

#1083 #S640 - Mars Bar, Seattle - 4/28/2010

The Mars Bar (adjacent to and associated with Cafe Venus) is a nifty to bar with some cool and friendly bartenders and a likable and interesting set of customers, in what I think (?) was the location of the old rough and tumble punk bar "The Storeroom."  An off-duty bartender suggested I try a Corpse Reviver #2, and helped round up ingredients for the prohibition era cocktail (3/4 ounce gin, 3/4 ounce Cointreau, 3/4 ounce Lillet blanc, 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice, and 2 dashes absinthe). 

It was a tasty thing indeed, and the food (which they serve until 10pm) was really, really good as well.  And note for the future:  Pints of Manny's are just 2 bucks on Wednesday nights.

609 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 624-4516
cafevenus.com - the stranger - yelp - seattle weekly

#1082 #S639 - Amber, Seattle - (OOO)

I somehow forgot to include this back when I first went there, and frankly, I'm just as happy to forget all about it.  The title of their web page is "Seattle's Premier Restaurant, Lounge, and Bar."  I don't know if this was meant as a joke, but it's chilling to just imagine a city where this might have been true.  On the other hand, if you're a fellow who likes to dress up in your untucked, blue-striped white dress shirt and go out on the town with a pack of friends who are all wearning untucked, blue-striped white dress shirts, hoping the product in your hair will clarify what an individual you are, then this may be a nice place for you.

2214 1st Ave., Seattle, WA 98121
amberseattle.com - yelp

#1081 #S638 - Pour House, Seattle - 4/23/2010

I shouldn't judge the Pour House by comparison to the Luau, but I can't help thinking that there was very little addition to the new place -- just a lot of subtraction.  The food is pretty good and my Pimms Cocktail did nothing to upset my rule that I've never had a bad cocktail with cucumber.  But while a friend reported the place pretty full at 8:30, it was virtually vacant by the time I arrived at 11:30 (on a Friday night).  So at least in the early stages this is more of a neighbors' bar than a neighborhood bar.  (Leny's, the amiable dive down the block, was packed.)  I wish them good luck, but the bar portion of the physical venue and of the bar portion of the evening will need to gain significantly more momentum and character for me to feel like swinging by this relatively remote portion of town.

2253 N 56th St., Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 633-5828
pourhouseseattle.com - mygreenlake - yelp - seattletimes - thestranger

#1080 #S637 - Boom Boom Room, Seattle - 3/7/1987

Another bar from days of yore which I neglected in my starting list.  The Boom Boom Room, in the Century restaurant on the north end of University Ave. (where the Rat & Raven currently resides) briefly hosted alternative bands.  The one show I can recall attending for certain was Feast, Pure Joy and Bundle of Hiss in '87, but I know there were several others.

5260 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105

#1079 #S636 - Canlis, Seattle - 4/21/2010

While recently reading my copy of Bourbon Dandy, I realized that, while I'd eaten there a few times over the years, this list still lacked an entry for the bar at Canlis, and I'd never sampled their new cocktail menu.  With the stalwart aid of a couple thirsty friends, this was rectified last night.

Frankly, I'd love Canlis regardless of the food and drinks, as long as it preserved that great Pacifica-style cantilevered structure, the fine stone and cedar decor, and the excellent view.  But of course Canlis joints are renowned for their fine (and fairly pricey) food, and if that were not good enough, they've recently decided to put a renewed focus on upgrading their cocktail menu, under James Mac Williams.  Even the ice has been thoroughly upgraded, filtered multiple times, frozen with a Cryovac process to minimize gases, thawed, and refrozen, and arriving in your Old Fashioned in a magnificent tiny ice berg lodged to the bottom of your chilled glass.  I myself had an Our lady of Thermidor (strawberry infused vodka en sous vide, bitter lemon elixer, Champagne & a dash of Campari) which was good, and the l'Abbatoir d'Amour, which was excellent.  My friends were just as much impressed with their Manhattan and Old Fashioned.

If you're ready to drop some significant cash for dinner, you can count on Canlis to get it right, and you'll appreciate the famous extra touches -- the servers ironing the table cloths, the valets having your car waiting when you leave without ever taking your name or number, and the other small things that have made them the James Beard runner up for best service in the country a couple times. And I was pleased to see the Canlis family still not only operating, but taking a very active role -- a few questions to my server about some of the more tiki elements of the old days prompted a nice visit from Mark Canlis.

But even if you're on a tight budget you can still enjoy the decor -- you can do as we did this visit and just drop into the lounge for a couple cocktails.  They are a bit pricey ($12 to $18 for our choices), and you'll want to be a at least moderately dressy, even in the lounge.  But if you're in the mood for an upscale experience, Canlis delivers.

2576 Aurora Ave N., Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 283-3313                 
canlis.com - tiki central - seattle times - seattle pi - yelp -
(Props to Russell at Bourbon Dandy, and Mimi and her extensive collection of tiki menus and history.  Second image is a scan from "Chub" at TikiCentral.com, from the 1966 publication "Great Restaurants of the United States and their Recipes.")