Rotgut.org Blog

Sunday, April 24, 2011

#1363 #S823 - Moby's Restaurant, Seattle - 2/5/2011

Moby's appears to have once been a fern bar, and is now barely a ghost of a bar. There are three tap handles on the ten beer taps, exactly 15 different bottles of liquor, and the shelves behind the bar are now crammed with knickknacks - manekis and model ships, chrome dolphins and silk butterflies, Betty Boop and Native American figurines.

It's not the sort of place anyone would ever seek out for a drink or a good time -- it closes by 7:30 every evening. The restaurant appears to be run by some nice, older Chinese ladies, who serve the kind of food you might find in a retirement home cafeteria. My chicken skewers came with no sauce of any kind, and with exactly ten french fries, and the salad was your basic iceberg and bottled Italian dressing. It is curiously pallid for a place next to a live theater (ACT), but probably a pretty good fit for many of the older crowds that frequent various convention center events.

725 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101-2361 - (206) 447-0507
mobysseattle.com - yelp

#1362 #S822 - Thai One On, Seattle - 2/4/2011

This is a slightly better than average Thai food restaurant with the vestiges of a swanky bar for beginning drinkers. The physical bar and bad liquor are still there -- the flavored vodkas, variations on creme de menthe, the red bull and the watery beers. Even some old karaoke equipment. But the bar is now basically just a brightly colored ghost, which occasionally houses overflow from what was clearly always a more pleasant restaurant side.

12343 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98125-5401 - (206) 362-6999
Est. Feb 2005 - Building constructed: 1945
thaioneonusa.com - seattletimes - thestranger - yelp

#1361 #S821 - Verve Wine Bar, Seattle - 2/3/2011

Update: Verve closed Sep. 24, 2011

Nice little Columbia City wine bar with very good food. I had a glass of the 2009 Tierra Del Sol (tempranillo and mendoza) and the 2009 Las Perdices (malbec and tempranillo), both quite nice; and I would not have gone after eating dinner had I previously seen the great looking plates coming out of the kitchen.

3820 S Ferdinand St, Suite 102 #102, Seattle, WA 98118 - (206) 760-0977
Est.2007
vervewinebar.com - facebook - seattlepi - yelp

Saturday, April 23, 2011

#1360 - Barrio, Bellevue, WA - 2/1/2011

Like its Seattle counterpart, this has better than average Mexican food and better than average cocktails. Get there early in the afternoon to watch the wall-scaling employee hand lighting all the candles.

Try the: jalapeno margarita.

10650 NE 4th St, Bellevue, WA 98004 - (425) 502-5021
barriorestaurant.com - foodfascination - yelp

#1359 #S820 - Arabica, Seattle - 1/31/2011

Update: Arabica closed on Feb 15, 2015.

A different sort of lounge, both more quirky and more comfortable than most, as much a social art project as a place for wine or coffee, which reflects the personality of its artist owner, Jojo Corväiá.

Historical notes: As far as I can tell, this is the first business that could classify as a bar at this location. It hosted a Supercuts for the most recent 25 years.

1550 E Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98102 - (206) 347-6093
Est. Sep. 2010 - Closed Feb 15, 2015 - Building constructed: 1924
arabicalounge.com - facebook - seattleweekly - capitolhillseattle - thestranger - patmybutter - yelp