#1091 - Alibi Sports Bar, Elma, WA - 5/3/2010

I have little idea how long this space has been a bar, but the bartender, who is getting up in years, said it has been for as long as she can remember, though she couldn't recall the previous names.  One can make out "Ye Ole Saloon" in the chipping paint of the facade, and you can find enough mentions on the internet of "Rocky's Ye Old Saloon" that the new name cannot be more than a year or two old.

Pre-prohibition city guides list 5 bars between 3rd and 4th on Main, but as they do not include any exact addresses, I can't say if this was one of them. By 1937 a bar is listed at this address named "Eaton's Cigar Store," which appears to have remained until at least 1959.

There were few surprises in the place until I checked out the backroom dance area, which includes a caged area with stripper bar -- apparently the action at ye ole sports bar sometimes gets significantly more heated than it was on this lazy Monday afternoon.


314 W Main St., Elma, WA 98541 - (360) 482-5088
Other bars in this location: Eaton's Cigar Store (50s)
myspace

#1090 - Shelburne Inn Pub, Seaview, WA - 5/2/2010

The Shelburne Inn has been operating continuously since 1896, which makes it the oldest continually running hotel in the state of Washington, according to David Campiche, who has owned it with Laurie Anderson for the last 33 years. And indeed this is confirmed in a proclamation by the state of Washington from the inn's 100th anniversary in 1996.

In 1911 the structure was hauled across the street by a team of horses and joined with another building. About 70 years later, one of David's and Laurie's remodels added the current structure of the small pub, along with the art deco stained glass windows from the late 1800s and salvaged from a church in Morecambe, England that was to be demolished.

The building, decor, and gardens are all a tad too precious for my personal tastes, but you'll find good food, good wine, and good conversation there. I had a very pleasant chat with David in the pub, ranging from art history (David has a degree in it), to his family history with the sea, to the watching his roof blow up the hill in the 140mph winds of December 2008.

4415 Pacific Way, Seaview, Washington 98644 - (800) 466-1896
theshelburneinn.com - facebook - uniqueinns - tripadvisor -

#1089 - The Sea Pearl, Ilwaco WA - 5/2/2010

There are two signs outside the Harbor Lights Motel, Restaurant, and Lounge -- neither of which include the new name for the lounge ("The Sea Pearl"), which shows up only on a blackboard resting inconspicuously in a back corner. One of these signs is hand-painted and gray -- indicating just the sort of place you'd like to spend the night and/or have a drink when visiting a small, northwest, coastal town. The other is more professional and plastic, devoid of character and charm.

Unfortunately, the Harbor Lights lounge is very much like the second sign. The space is too large and bright, and the decor too plastic and new, to result in a welcoming lounge. Then, for the first time ever, my "safe" order for a dive bar fails, and I can't get a gin and tonic because they are completely out of tonic. They are also out of the first beer I request from their taps.

While all this might have augured a total fail, the Sea Pearl came through with that most desirable of bar qualities, likable regulars and good conversation. That's the reason I'll probably go back.

Postscript:  On a bulletin board in the Sea Pearl was an 8 1/2 x 11 flyer for "RedDog Tatoo & Design."  I didn't try asking any of the folks at the bar, but it does seem to beg the question of who would ever get a tattoo from someone who cannot spell tattoo?

147 Howerton Way SE, Ilwaco, WA - 360.642.3196
harbor-lights-ilwaco.com - yelp

#1088 - Raven & Finch, Ilwaco WA - 5/2/2010

Raven & Finch is a very pleasant little wine bar with a patio looking out onto the Port of Ilwaco.  It has light food items, cigars, wine to go, mahjong on Thursdays and jazz every Saturday night, year-round.

It's especially welcoming on a blustery night in the off-season, when the tourists are few and the joint seems more out in the middle of nowhere.

(more pictures)

215 Howerton Way, Ilwaco, WA 98624 - (360) 642-7009
ravenandfinchwine.com - yelp

#1087 - Pioneer Tavern, Long Beach WA - 4/30/2010

This place is along the main highway on the Long Beach peninsula and I've passed by it many times and never been particularly tempted to go in.  But when I finally did I found the best cast of characters of any of the peninsula's bars and the nicest people of any bar in -- well, pretty much anywhere.

It's a fairly typical neighborhood bar, with a card room for Texas Hold'em and Cribbage nights (it also has a weekly "chick flick night," though chicks were a very distinct minority, and chicks below 60-years-old).  It has tavern sorts of food, and both the bartender and the assembled drinkers were cheerful and wry.

102 Pioneer Rd E, Long Beach, WA 98631 - (360) 642-2302
yelp

#1086 - Charlie's Sports Bar, Montesano WA - 4/29/2010

From the hand-painted sign out front to the Nascar promotional stuff in the windows, to the cracking paint of the VFW hall that surrounds it, nothing about Charlie's prepares you for the bar you'll find inside. I refer not to the business, but to the physical bar itself, a huge, antique, mahogany Brunswick-Balke-Collender bar that runs for 20-some feet along the back wall of the surprisingly large barroom.

Tara the bartender informed me that the bar was shipped to the west coast and its current location "some time between 1910 and 1913," and the location had been a saloon for at least a few years before that. A sign painted on the VFW hall now in the adjoining section of the building states that it was constructed in 1910 for James E. Crass, features 12" concrete walls, and has housed the Crass Tavern, Brook Saloon, a theater for 30 years, a bowling alley, doctor's office, barber shop, Golden Rule store, Smoke Shop Tavern and the VFW.

My limited records for Montesano from city guides show "Sib's Smoke Shop" at this address in the late 70s and early 80s, and "Jim's Smoke Shop" here in 1994. It also shows "The Smoke Shop" at 317 Main, which I would seem to be the 3rd portion of the building that was razed and is now a parking lot, from at least 1935 through 1970. (The 1941 Polk guide list The Smoke Shop under Cigars, but not under Beer Parlors.) City guides also list "The Brook" on Main Street under saloons in 1911. A plaque near the top of the center portion of the bar states that it was patented in 1903.

The back of this photo is lableled "Approx 1917," which
would place it during state-wide prohibition, hence a
smoke shop, but not a (licensed) saloon at the time.
(Note the Brunswick bar on the left.)

Current online listings refer to the bar as both "Charlie's Tavern" and "Charlie's Cavern," but "Charlie's Sports Bar" is what the signs out front say and which Tara confirmed was the current name.

We stopped again in Charlie's on Oct 28, 2018 to wet our whistles and get some better photos of the bar. The folks there were really friendly, and I'd recommend it to anyone passing through the area, including folks from Seattle heading to the Long Beach peninsula as we often do.


(Montesano was named the 3rd "Most Redneck City in Washington" by roadsnacks.net.)

313 S. Main St., Montesano, WA 98563                              
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1910
Previous bars in this location: Crass Tavern*, Brook Saloon*, Smoke Shop Tavern*, Sib's Smoke Shop, Jim's Smoke Shop
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

*In the same building but, probably not the same section as the current Charlie's

#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.")

#1078 #S635 - Flying Fish, Seattle - 4/21/2010

Update: In 2010 Flying Fish moved to a new location in South Lake Union. This space was subsequently occupied by Local 360.

As with most upscale restaurants, the bar at Flying Fish serves mostly the basics.  But they do feature a small list of more original cocktails, and I had a very fine "First And Bell" (Ransom Old Tom Gin, Vya Sweet Vermouth, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur).

Historical notes:  This location has housed bars since the 19th century, and the current building, constructed in 1930, housed the Liberty Tavern from the 40s into the 80s.

2234 1st Ave., Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 728-8595
Est. 1995 - Moved out: 2010 - Building constructed: 1930

flyingfishrestaurant.com - facebook - seattle times - seattle pi -  yelp

The Ditto (AKA Writer Boy's Ditto Tavern), Seattle - 9/6/1986

This is an entry on bar already counted in the starting list for this project.

For a good period and particularly in 1986 and several years following, Richard Pauletti's hole in the wall under the monorail, the Writer Boy's Ditto tavern, was the most dependable venue in Seattle for interesting, alternative live music.  Such venues were rare in Seattle in the 80s.  Most bars featured cover bands playing Beatles medleys, while more original, cutting edge music had two mainstays in the Central Tavern and The Vogue (on weekdays), were temporarily joined by a churn of less consistent and/or shorter lived venues like Scoundrel's Lair, Squid Row, Gorilla Gardens, Club Fiasco, The Boom Boom Room, etc. etc.)  In the mid 80s, the prevailing punk and art band ethic at the Ditto and alternative bands like Pure Joy and Chemistry Set started to make way for what we would later call "grunge."  (I distinctly remember the first time I saw a band with hippy-like long hair at the Ditto -- though I can't remember which one it was -- and wondering how in the hell they even got in.)

I started seeing bands like Green River, Skinyard, Sound Garden and later Nirvana, playing the Ditto along with a huge assortment of alternative groups like Vexed, Melting Fish, Handful of Dust, Bundle of Hiss, and Weather Theater.  While I confess to seeing little of this myself, the Ditto also catered to a poetry crowd.  In additions to readings and slams there were a few typewriters in the place, including one bolted to the ceiling.  For a small, divey place, the Ditto had a wide selection of beers on tap, well before the craft beer heyday.  If the bands were playing, it was easy to find, but visually it had little hint of it's existence beyond the neon " sign in the window.  The Ditto lasted from 1986 to 1998.

Richard Pauletti

#1077 #S634 - Flow Lounge, Seattle - 4/19/2010

For a place I read was reconfigured by the owner for more of a lounge focus, this has a pretty brief cocktail menu, and a bartender who doesn't have a lot to say when you ask for recommendations.  However the sazerac I had was very nice and so were the affordable small plates (I had the caprese salad, a salmon slider, and mini pot stickers, which were all three quite tasty).  The decor and the general vibe don't seem all that much different from the Opal days, but I like it a bit more.

2 Boston Street Seattle, WA 98109 - 282-0142
thrillist - queenanneview - yelp

#1076 #S633 - Mistral Kitchen, Seattle - 4/15/2010

The cocktail menu at the new Mistral Kitchen, in the able hands of Andrew Bohrer (formerly of Chantanee), is quite enjoyable.  On my first visit I had an excellent "Oak Aged Martinez" followed by a good, if a tad too sweet, "Trader Vic's style" mai tai.  And the cocktail menu is helpfully listed "in order of similarity to dreamy fluffy clouds transitioning to bitter angry poets."  Given that, I suppose I'll have to work my way through it starting from the bottom.

But the thing that will limit my visits is the unfortunate decor.  I guess a lot of people like very bright lighting and stark industrial modernism with their foie gras, but it is antithetical to the warm dark glow I prefer in a bar.

2020 Westlake Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 623-1922
mistral-kitchen.com - facebook - the stranger - seattle weekly - yelp - seattlepi

#1075 #S632 - Mecca Cafe, Seattle - (OOO)

While making a list of my favorite dive bars, I was rather stunned to discover that I somehow never added The Mecca to this blog. The Mecca Cafe is, of course, lower Queen Anne's version of the Five Point: Dive bar to the left, greasy spoon cafe to the right, strong cheap drinks, strong jukebox, good dive bar mix of people.

Near the height of the dotcom boom, I saw an ad in the Mecca mens room offering rewards for recommending computer techs. If ever there should have been a sign that things were getting out of hand ...

526 Queen Anne Avenue N., Seattle, WA 98109-4520 - (206) 285-9728
citysearch - yelp - the stranger -  seattle weekly

#1074 #S631 - The Diller Room, Seattle - 4/12/2010

The Diller Room opened in the back area of the Stella Cafe on April 1, and is hosting a grand opening party on Thursday April 22.  The web site say's "it’s time for The Diller Room’s return to its rightful place as the most opulent lounge in the City."  Well, it's not quite that.  But it is a nice room and bar with more character than most downtown Seattle bars, and pretty decent cocktails to boot.  And it's great to see the old sign and a worthy revival of what a part of Seattle's first luxury hotel (est. 1898) and later a (genuine) speakeasy.

1224 1st Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 619-3632
dillerroom.com - seattle weekly - thrillist - yelp - the stranger -

#1073 #S630 - The New Orleans, Seattle - 4/12/2010

114 1st Avenue S., Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 622-2216
neworleanscreolerestaurant.com - yelp - citysearch