#1229 - Golden Pheasant, Shelton WA - 9/14/2010

Update:  By my visit in May 2014, the Golden Pheasant had closed, and been replaces by a private Moose Lodge.

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The Golden Pheasant, which is down the road a piece from downtown Shelton and just north of Golden Pheasant Auto Wrecking, was my first clue to the series of antique bars in the area. The main sign is maybe 30 yards west, along highway 101, and can give the illusion that the tavern is actually located in a small storage shed.

Once they got over their suspicions of a city slicker taking photos of the place, the patrons and staff were both quite friendly. In between noting how stupid various projects on the local roads and parks were (they assumed each one was "an Obama thing"), they informed me about the other bars in town and the old bowling alley with floors that shifted when the tide came in.

There's nothing fancy about the drinks, but they are quite reasonably priced and options do include several microbrews on tap.

The bar, I am told, has been around since 1939, though "Uncle Elmer was probably selling liquor someplace" well before prohibition was ended. Some of the patrons recalled when he used to have outboard motors attached to the bar as he worked on them. When I noted that the freezer door looked like it dated back to the origin of the place, they informed me that it was older than that, as it had been relocated here from the city morgue.

930 W Golden Pheasant Rd, Shelton, WA 98584 - (360) 426-2808

#1228 - Starlight Lounge, Shelton WA - 9/14/2010

I took a small trip to Shelton, WA to pick up a craigslisted bearskin rug, and decided to have lunch and a drink at the Little Creek Casino, across the street from the designated bear rug exchange point.  I had never been to Shelton before, and would not have wasted precious drinking time among the lifeless casino denizens had I any idea of what a rich supply of fine, historic old bars the town featured.  I paid a tiny amount ($2.25) for an even tinier gin and tonic -- in one of those micro juice glasses that senior citizens are used to for exotic rarities like orange juice.  In fact, as I later discovered, it was Senior Citizens Day at the casino, which probably took the average customer age up several years over the usual 80.  And even though it was a lazy weekday afternoon, the place was packed, though I suspect it emptied considerably just before the O'Reilly Factor.

In any case, the town of Shelton is populated with several lovely old bars surviving from the 30s and 40s, when a booming logging industry filled a long string of bars along First Street (and a bowling alley on the river, whose angles would change as the tide came in).  So if you ever find yourself in those parts, don't make the same mistake I did -- head straight for the bars with history and character (and characters), and don't waste time and liver space on the gawdawful casino bars.

91 West, Highway 108, Shelton, WA - (800) 667-7711
little-creek.com

#1227 #741 Sonrisa, Seattle - 9/13/2010

Update: Sonrisa closed in mid-year 2013

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Again, I'm not particularly fond of bars in malls. But Sonrisa has substantially better than average Mexican food and the Magarita Die Infierno is very tasty.

2614 NE 46th St, Seattle, WA 98105 (U Village) - (206) 524-2242
Est. 2007 - Closed 2013
Previous bars in this location: None known
Subsequent bars in this location: Eureka
sonrisamodernmex.com - seattle weekly - the stranger - yelp

#1226 #740 Viola!, Seattle - 9/12/2010

2805 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98112 - (206) 322-5460
Est. 2004 - Building constructed 1925
Previous bars in this location: None known
voilabistrot.com - seattlepi - seattle times - the stranger

#1225 #739 Luc, Seattle - 9/12/2010

Update: Luc to close Aug 28, 2021

Luc is the new, more casual (and less expensive) sister restaurant to Rover's, the James Beard award wining French restaurant from Thierry Rautureau ("the Chef in the Hat"), in a klatch of fancy schmancy French cafes in Madison Valley, of which Rover's is the fanciest schmanciest.  There are even James Beard references in the Luc mens' room graffiti.

Luc, named after the chef's father, was largely funded by selling advance gift cards (Rautureau says he got the idea from Barack Obama).  It is about evenly split between restaurant and bar portion.

I had a nice Manhattan with Punt e Mes in lieu of the regular rosso vermouth, and a fantastic salmon BLT sandwich that I wish was not a special so I could count on having it again.


2800 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98112 - (206) 328-6645
thechefinthehat.com - seattlemagazine - seattle times - seattle met - seattle weekly - seattle weekly 2 - the stranger - citysearch - yelp

#1224 - Papa's Pub & Grill, White Center, WA - 9/11/2010

Update: Papa's closed on Feb 5, 2012

Papa's (formerly Brewsky's) is just a few doors down from the Locker Room, and at least on the night that I went, it had a much more diverse and likable crowd.  Like pretty much any really good dive bar, it had cheap drinks, a mix of ethnicities, lots of blue collar folk, and some cocky little old ladies.

9635 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106
the stranger

#1223 - The Locker Room, White Center, WA - 9/11/2010

Update: The locker room was seriously damaged by a fire on April 21, 2021. Before it was reopened, it was totally destroyed by a second fire -- apparently caused by discarded smoking material -- on the morning of Sep 13, 2021.

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White Center's "Locker Room" was included in Mike Seeley's 10 Most Intimidating Dive Bars in Seattle (presumably in the top 7 now, as three others have gone out of business in the past 6 months) and The Stranger calls it "feared by locals."  So what is it doing with a rack of Avon catalogs in the window?

On the Saturday night that I went the street was filled with police cars, but the drama was coming from elsewhere -- the liquor-less Evo dance club up the street seems to have been the source of all the excitement and police attention in recent months.

The Locker Room, on the other hand, just had a bunch of heavyset people singing karaoke.

Historical notes:  There was a bar in this building at least as far back as the 30s, with a beer parlor, Glen's Rendezvous, owned by Glen C. Stevens listed in the 1937 and 1939 city guides. It may go back near the end of prohibition, as the building was constructed in 1933. By 1960 it was the J&W Tavern (J&W Saloon by 1980) and by 1990 it was the Locker Room.

9633 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106-2828 9633 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106 - (206) 762-9805
Building constructed: 1933
Previous bars in this location: Glen's Rendezvoux, J&W Saloon/Tavern
seattle weekly - yelp