#1107 #S655 - Angelina's, Seattle - 5/15/2010

A nice Italian restaurant with a fairly good bar.  The "Admiral's Kiss" (pear vodka, St. Germain, and citrus) is quite refreshing.

2311 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 932-4550
angelinaswestseattle.com - facebook - yelp

#1106 #S654 - Benbow Room, Seattle - 5/15/2010

Admiral Benbow Room, West Seattle

Update: The Benbow Room closed March 22, 2015

2nd Update: After a period hosting Vidiot, the Benbow Room was opened once again by Mark Fuller in July 2022

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The Benbow Room, the bar associated with the old Benbow Inn since 1950, has thankfully been resuscitated by new owners in conjunction with the new Heartland Cafe restaurant. The direct entrance to the bar is from an alley -- I already like it! But the real pleasure is inside, where the bar takes on the interior of an old Spanish galleon, complete with the (fake) sunlight streaming through the aft windows.

The bar also features a rather bizarre in-floor koi pond -- bizarre because it is small, half covered by a table, and split by a wall.  This must have been quite different in the original configuration -- e.g. it must have been at least partially uncovered based on a story from a friend about how she once accidentally threw up in it.  The fish are now safely shielded from patron vomit (and virtually from sight), and the quirkiness of the current structure seems to fit in -- it's a dive-bar sort of koi pond.

The cocktails are appropriately focused on rum, and strongly on the sweet side.  The beers are biased toward the Wisconsin origins of the owner.  The staff is fun and the atmosphere a bit funky -- while we were there the television was playing a 60s Danish porn film that looked like the model for Austin Powers (and inspiring animated reactions from those at the bar).  Our party reported no sightings of the legendary Benbow Inn ghost.

Admiral Benbow Room, West Seattle

There are some better photos available here and here.


Historical Notes: According to Clark Humphrey's Vanishing Seattle, the "Admiral Benbow" operated here from 1950 to 2002, when owner Neysa Longmire passed away. The current owners apparently had to recover various auctioned off parts of the old bar to restore it.  (Note that while the current operation shares the 4210 address with the Shipwreck Tavern next door, the Admiral Benbow used 4212.)

4210 SW Admiral Way, Suite A, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 922-3313
heartlandcafeseattle.com - thrillist - seafairpirates.org - seattle weekly - westseattle blog

#1105 #S653 - Lombardi's, Seattle - 5/14/2010

Update:  Lombardi's to be closed after Oct 9, 2010

 The Italian food, not the bar, is the focus at Lombardi's, but they do have a good happy hour and some better than average cocktails. But while this blog is not about the food, that is what will bring me back. It's nothing particularly fancy, but it is tasty, and they take full advantage of my weakness for bruschetta with six different kinds to choose from. For my 4 item sampler, I chose the traditional, the goat cheese, the fig, and the crab, enjoyed them all, and plan to test the remaining two in fairly short order.

2200 NW Market St., Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 783-0055
lombardiscucina.com - seattle weekly - the stranger - seattle dining - yelp

#1104 #S652 - Carnegie's, Seattle - 5/14/2010

Update: Carnegie's will close at the end of January 2011.

Carnegie's is set in a great old Carnegie library that opened to the public in 1904 and was the first major branch of the Seattle Public Library system.  It served as a library until 1963, and after various subsequent occupants, its current incarnation as a French restaurant commenced in 2003.

Carnegie's has a completely prix fixe menu, with a $12 lunch course, and a choice between a $35 course and $45 course for dinner.  The menu sounds fairly enticing, and I do plan to come back for lunch, but their bar -- beyond their wine -- is uninteresting and virtually nonexistent.

2026 NW Market St (Ballard), 789-6643
carnegiesrestaurant.com - wikipedia - the stranger - yelp

#1103 #S651 - Venik Lounge, Seattle - 5/11/2010

The Venik Lounge is a romantic, little place in the south Lake Union area that is about to experience an explosion of restaurants and lounges.  Venik is associated with Banya 5, the "urban spa experience," and features a long, mahogany bar shaped like the f-hole on a violin.  They have a small menu of quite good food, and serve pretty good cocktails to boot. 

I can't recall the particular drink I had, as it was good enough, but eclipsed in my memory by the meat and cheese plate, which included an excellent smoked shallot and an extremely tasty truffled goat cheese from Pike Place market. Their specialty is their vodka infusions, and since I did not sample these on this night, I must return and try one of their three shot samplers.

Venik would be a fine choice particularly if you are on a date and would like some place with slightly upscale food and drinks and a romantic setting, but off the beaten path and not overrun with other people.

Oh yeah, and a venik ("veh-nik") is a "leafy, fragrant bundle of leafy birch or oak tree twigs" that is an essential part of the Russian Bath experience.  So now you know.

227 Ninth Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 223-3734
veniklounge.com - facebook - the stranger - seattlest - seattle weekly - yelp

#1102 #S650 - Clam Digger Lounge, Seattle - 5/11/2010

Who doesn't like Ivar's? The Clam Digger is the lounge at the Elliot Bay location ("Ivar's Acres of Clams"). I'd never previously gone to the bar there.

1001 Alaskan Way, Pier 54, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 624-6852
Est. 1946 - Building constucted: 1900 or earlier
ivars.com - facebook - yelp

#1101 #S649 - Wann, Seattle - 5/8/2010

The fact that Wann's bar generally sticks to the basics is reflected in the bartender's answer to my question about his favorite cocktail:  Ketel One, rocks.  As the web site explains, and then seemingly contradicts itself, "[Izakaya] restaurants are often informal and have a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere....  WANN have brought class, sophistication and refinement to match the modern people of today."

I don't know if I count among the "modern people of today," but as I understand it, izakaya (literally "sake place") are basically places for drinks and upscale small plates, i.e. another tapas bar for Belltown, and the decor of Wann is apparently quite redolent of the Tokyo versions.  It does seem to provide a crush of subcultures, with a minimalist, woody interior -- and booths floating over rock gardens -- but a bar that ends with a view of a wildly colorful mural by a tattoo artist.

2020 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 441-5637
wann-izakaya.com - seattle times - seattle weekly - yelp - the stranger