#1357 - Munch Bar, Bellevue, WA - 1/31/2011

Update: The Munchbar closed permanently after a man was shot and killed in the bar on a crowded Christmas eve night. (The shooter was Ja’mari Alexander Jones, one of the men who beat to death cherished Seattle institution Ed "Tuba" McMichael.)

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"Skateboarder fusion" might be the best description of the menu at Munchbar.  Their burritos have carnitas marinated in CocaCola and their Ahi tuna tartare comes with Rice Krispy sticks.  The cocktail menu is a mix of summer patio standards and candy-like house cocktails.  Add the graffiti-like decor and it's like the X-Games competitors were allowed to create their own restaurant.

That doesn't mean there are not some reasonable options for people over 20.  The beer selection is aggressive and interesting, and you can find some decent food between the ones designed to convince you that the chef must have been stoned.  But if you don't call all everyone "Dude," it's unlikely to be a good choice for you.

505 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, WA 98004 - (425) 454-6862
munchgroup.com - facebook - yelp
Est. 1/28/2011

#1355 #S817 - Mesob Ethiopian, Seattle - 1/29/2011

Update: Mesob closed in late 2013, after developers acquired the surrounding property to build townhouses. The owner has opened a new restaurant called Shewaber at 1221 S. Main.

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Mesob has been around about ten years selling some of the better Ethiopian food in town.  The treat is the bar in the back room, which has an island/tiki feel to it, due not just to the raffia roofs over the bamboo booths, but also the ramshackle, low-budget extension to the building that houses them.  The cocktails are nothing to write back to the mainland about, but you can sip them in a pleasantly casual vibe, with the smell of spices and incense wafting through the air.

1325 East Jefferson St, Seattle, WA 98122-5537 - (206) 860-0403
Building constructed: 1948
mesobseattle.com - the stranger  - yelp

#1354 - The Beachcomber, Skyway, WA - 1/29/2011

This is the kind of place where the bartender doesn't want to take your credit card when you start a tab, because she's concerned she might lose it. The Beachcomber is nowhere near a beach, and Cheryl the bartender has no idea why it is named that.

Cheryl used to have an accounting business next door, and she started working there with the place was owned by "The Greek" (Mike Semandaris, the Mike of Mike's Chili in Ballard. Cheryl has been working at the Beachcomber for ten or eleven years, still helping out though her plan was to be retired.

Around the corner from the cheap paneling walls and popcorn ceiling, Bert Harvey the owner makes massive burgers back in the kitchen. An elderly, school marmish lady nurses a drink at one end of the bar, three elderly aged white men drink at the other end, and three middle-aged black men sit near the fireplace in the back section. It's not clear whether the Beachcomber has benefited from the closing of Champs, just up the street, but Cheryl tells me that it attracted a bad crowd and the closure was a blessing for the neighborhood. The Beachcomber, on the other hand, has been slinging beers since 1947 (although not in the current location for quite that long).

12623 Renton Ave S, Seattle, WA 98178 - (206) 772-5183
Est. 1947; Building constructed: 1952
seattle weekly - yelp

#1353 #S816 - Maneki Hannya Room, Seattle - 1/28/2011

Maneki has been in the current building since the owners returned from internment, but the business is 107 years old.  It recieved the James Beard award as one "America's Classics."  It is, of course, Seattle's oldest sushi bar, and while there is always a line, the sake choices in the Hannya Room lounge will fortify you for the wait.

304 6th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 622-2631
Est. 1904, Current location since 1946; Building constructed: 1914
manekirestaurant.com - seattle weekly - seattle times - the stranger - yelp

#1352 #S815 - Santolea, Seattle - 1/27/2011

Santolea closed Feb 2011

501 N. 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 453-4350
Est. May 2010; Closed Feb 2011; Building constructed: 1927
yelp - youtube

#1351 #S814 - Showa, Seattle - 1/27/2011

Update: Showa closed in Feb 24, 2013

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Very good izakaya (Japanese small bites) with pretty good cocktails in a cozy, interesting space.

701 N 36th St Ste 200, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 388-3913
Est. Nov. 2010 - Closed Feb 2013 - Building constructed: 2001
showafremont.com - the stranger - seattletimes - seattlemag - yelp

#1350 #S813 - Woodsky's, Seattle - 1/27/2011

A sort of ski lodge inspired quick substitute for the short-lived Sinners and Saints.

303 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 547-9662
Est. Jan 2011 - Closed Jan 22, 2019 - Building constructed 1900 or earlier
facebook - fremont universe - thrillist (sound) - yelp - the stranger