#1118 #S666 - Vela Pizzeria & Lounge, Seattle - 5/28/2010

Vela is number 666 on my list of bars in the Seattle city limits.  Perhaps I should take something exciting from that.  I did see some references to the "Union Bar" which conjured images of a great old blue collar dive in the basement of this temple to an era where such working people used to command a bit more societal respect.

But Vela Pizza, while in a great old Labor Temple space, is just a pedestrian pizza joint by day, and by night a bar that is a cliche second rate bump and grind club.

2800 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 441-8352
velaseattle.com - facebook - yelp

#1117 #S665 - Hunter Gatherer Lodge, Seattle - 5/27/2010

Update: The Hunter Gatherer Lodge is closing after Saturday March 31, 2012.


This is not one of my favorite types of bars and the cocktails are basically of the frat party variety.  However there are at least three reasons to be very happy about the new Hunter Gatherer Lodge, in the space of the previous War Room:  1) It presumably will give us continued access to a fine upstairs patio in the summer months; 2) it keeps an active bar in a structure that was built in 1920 and which has hosted a bar (mostly the Harvard Tavern) since at least 1935; and 3) it has a sweet section of wall with taxidermy heads extending from live ivy.

722 E. Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 328-7666
Est. April 9, 2010 - Closed April 1, 2012 - Building constructed 1920
hglodge.com -  the stranger - yelp

#1116 #S664 - Noble Fir, Seattle - 5/26/2010

Update: Noble Fir closed Dec 2022.

This is a pleasant new place on Ballard Ave (it opened to the public on this date), with a quite good beer and wine selection and some interesting food items with nice meats, cheeses and desserts.  The decor is woody and neat, and surprisingly spare for a place with forest sort of theme. 

But don't go if you're not ready to get your drink on -- the wines by glass are a bit on the spendy side and the tap beers are not served in anything less than 20oz imperial pints.

It's not immediately clear to me that this will be enough to make people choose the Fir over various other place along this stretch, but I suppose we'll see.


5316 Ballard Ave. NW, Seattle, WA 98107

5316 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 420-7425
thenoblefir.com -  seattle pi - thrillist - yelp

#1117 #S665 - Ruby Asian Dining, Seattle - 5/24/2010

Update: Sabai closed in Feb 2014

(Now "Sabai") There's not much to the bar here, but they do have a few house cocktails, very much on the sweet side.  I chose the Sabai Sabai (Mekhong rum, lemon juice, sugar syrup, thai basil, soda), which actually looked like the least sweet and sugary option, but it's nothing to write Siam about.

200 Lake Washington Blvd, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 322-7288
rubyasiandining.com - the stranger - yelp

#1115 #S663 - Porterhouse, Seattle - 5/22/2010

Update:  The Porterhouse closed Dec. 3, 2011.

The Porterhouse, in the old Blackbird space in West Seattle, is the sister pub to a place in Mount Vernon of the same name, but is nevertheless owned by a West Seattle native, Silas Reynolds.  As the name suggests, the emphasis at the Porterhouse(s) is beer, and in general they seem to get very good reviews for their numerous west coast brews, with more mixed reaction to their gastropub food.

When the gal at the bar found out that I was more in the mood for an "interesting cocktail," she fetched Kristin, who made me a fairly nice French 75.


2329 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 932-2575
westcoastales.com - facebook - westseattleblog - thestranger - urbanspoon - yelp

#1114 #S662 - Brickyard BBQ, Seattle - 5/19/2010

Update: Brickyard BBQ closed in 2012.

In neighborhood bar areas, as in business, it seems to be a general trend that the rich get richer.  For Seattle area bars, the richest for me are Capitol Hill (particularly the stretch around Olive between Broadway and I5), the Georgetown/SoDo area, and California Avenue in West Seattle.  Along the latter, which ranges from great old dives (e.g. Poggie Tavern) to swanky (best represented by the recently demised Ama Ama) to fancy schmancy (e.g. Spring Hill), you can add one of very few barbecue places that really looks and feels like a barbecue place.

The Brickyard BBQ serves quite good Texas-style barbecue in a quirky building (much of it necessitated by quirky building codes) with a decor assembled from various friends, and designed with warm, summer afternoons in mind.  There is currently a fair amount of outdoor seating and a garage door that opens the inner portion in warm weather, and Don Kriley, who co-owns the place with his brother Dan, took me back to see the grassy area in back that they plan to have ready to open this Saturday May 29th with horse shoe pits, fire pits, an outdoor bar, and live music, and I hope to be able to check it out that night.

Thanks to Don's friend David for giving me a bit of history of not only this place, but the Blue Eagle, Alki, and some of the other old bars of West Seattle.  There's not much fancy about the bar or drinks at the Brickyard, but this is place gives me one more reason to look forward to those warm summer days in between the gray ones.


2308 California Avenue Southwest Seattle, WA - (206) 933-3109
Est. 2010 - Closed 2012
brickyardbarbq.com - facebook - urbanspoon - westseattleblog

#1113 #S661 - Tilikum Place Cafe, Seattle - 5/18/2010

Tilikum Place Cafe, Seattle, WA

This is a quite nice, somewhat upscale, cafe just up the street from the (in no way upscale, but excellent) Five Point, on a historic corner in Seattle at the meeting of land claims by founders Arthur Denny, Carson Boren and William Bell (of the "Belltown" neighborhood). The menu comes from a chef, Ba Culbert, who previously worked at the Palace Kitchen and The Ruins, and seems to feature fine takes on European comfort food sorts of dishes.  In the evenings the bar is a  pleasant stop with better than average drinks. Best seats in the house are the left-most bar seats, where one can observe the small but finely-tuned kitchen churning out their great looking dishes.

Meals coming out of the kitchen as viewed from the bar

Fried Brussels Sprout Salad

Pan seared chicken with broccolini, mashed potatoes, sauce Normany

Wild boar meatballs

Savory tart

407 Cedar St, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 282-4830                    
Est. October 2008 - Building constructed 1927
Previous bars at this location: None know (printers shop before cafe)
Web site: tilikumplacecafe.com - facebook
Articles:  seattletimes - belltowninseattle - cornichon - the stranger - seattle weekly - yelp