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Bars where Pete has had a Drink (5,608 bars; 1,754 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:


Bars where Pete has had a drink

Friday, May 07, 2010

#1095 #S643 - Table In Gallery (TIG), Seattle - 5/6/2010

Update: This location of TIG closed sometime after mid-2014. It reopened in the U-District in 2016


Table In Gallery, or TIG Asian Tapas Bar, is a pan-Asian restaurant and bar, that even the bartender tells me "hardly anyone knows about" in the historic Pioneer Building in the middle of the touristy part of Pioneer Square.  It's next door to the old Doc Maynard's (now Zasu nightclub) in a red-bricked space that was the home of the Horseshoe Saloon in 1898, the Alaska Club in the late 40s, and more recently a grocery store and then empty for a spell, until the TIG folks opened about two and a half years ago.

The food gets mixed reviews, my dinner was average, and the bar serves the basics.  I've seen two web sites associated with the place, both of which currently belong to completely different businesses (perhaps that has some relationship to why so few people know about it?).

614 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 332-0844
yelp - the stranger -

#1094 #S642 - Roosevelt Ale House, Seattle - 5/4/2010

Update: The Roosevelt Ale House closed after a fire the night of Friday Dec 15. While it originally intended to reopen, but eventually announced that they were dropping these efforts after disputes with their insurance provider.


The Roosevelt Ale House is still owned by the folks who ran The Jones there before, and the new incarnation was basically achieved with a lot of subtraction.  There is less intimacy, fewer seats, less ambitious food, and a of course a bland name replacing the chic one.  There are relatively few beer choices on tap for an "ale house," but there is a large selection of bottles.  A pool table was added, consistent with the owners' goal of converting from a romantic vibe to more of a friendly, local sports bar.  This apparently was done largely to cut down on time and expenses.

Of course this approach basically relinquishes the ability of the physical surroundings to create any sort of personality and whether it becomes and enjoyable place or not depends strictly on what kind of regulars decide to frequent the joint, so the jury is still out.  One hopes that the owners recognize that success in the friendly local approach means not just providing more basic pub food, but dropping the attitude that would occasionally lead to some comically bad service (the kitchen had no problem making you wait 40 minutes for a hamburger if they felt like entertaining a couple friends).  I personally would have preferred The Jones with friendly, efficient service, but I wish them well on the new approach.

8824 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 - (206) 527-5480
rooseveltalehouse.com - facebook - seattletimes - yelp

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

#1093 - Pup Room (Poodle Dog Restaurant), Fife - 5/4/2010

I finally made it to the Pup Room, and it is everything a vintage lounge should be -- dark wood, a large fireplace, animals jutting from the walls (the sconces, in this case), and a bartender and customers that seem like they've been there since the day it opened.  Indeed, Kathy, the bartender, was two days away from her 25th anniversary working for the Poodle Dog and Pup Room, and she filled me in on some of the history.

The Poodle Dog restaurant was started in 1933, originally in railcars, and still serves classic greasy spoon diner food.  A bar was added in the 1940s, the building was torn down and replaced in 1949, and the structure that currently houses the Pup Room lounge in the 1960s.  Since then Louis Armstrong and Glen Miller have played in this lounge, and one can only imagine how much greater it was to see them in this setting than to see the parade of warmed-over stars who today march through the soul-less casino down the road.

Mike Shea, congratulated on winning a wager that he could
walk 4.6 miles from Tacoma to Fife in under an hour, after a
dispute arising from the 1937 Cooks & Waiters Bunion Derby
Poodle Dog, 1938 (Tacoma Public Library photo)
1522 54th Ave E, Tacoma, WA 98424 - (253) 922-6161)
weeklyvolcano - waymarking - yelp

#1092 - ShuJack's Bar & Grill, Elma, WA - 5/3/2010

The sign outside ShuJack's Bar & Grill announces that it is the "friendliest bar in town." In case you don't have a handy bar count for the metropolis of Elma, Washington, that would make them friendlier than 4 other bars -- two others downtown and two on the outskirts. That may not sound like many, but it does mean they have to beat out more opponents than the Mariners do to win their division.  I've not done enough research to personally vouch for their claim, but a patron, Keevan, not only confirmed it for me even added the penultimate venue in the Elma friendliness standings (Betty's, just up the street).

From the drink side, Shujack's is your standard sports bar -- beer and the most basic liquors, with the various candy-flavored stuff you see in all neighborhood bars that cater to a significant portion of customers in their 20s.  In the back there is a darker, woodier area with a stage that looks like it wouldn't be a bad place to catch some music.

326 W Main St, Elma, WA 98541 - (360) 482-1276
facebook

#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