#1623 - Vesper Bar, Las Vegas - 11/25/2011

Of all the shows in Vegas, my favorite is sitting in the Vesper Bar in the Cosmopolitan on a Friday or Saturday night, watching the parade of humanity roll past. As in most of the bars in the Cosmopolitan, you can also do so while having some well-made cocktails.  Give the bartender a base spirit, let him concoct a special drink for you, and sit back and enjoy the show.

3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S (The Cosmopolitan), Las Vegas, NV 89109 - (702) 698-7000
cosmopolitanlasvegas.com - theminty - drinkspirits - foodgps - yelp

#1622 - The Chandelier Bar, Las Vegas - 11/25/2011

The Cosmopolitan has the best bar selection on the strip for cocktail lovers.  Of these, the most elaborate is the Chandelier Bar -- three stories of bar within a massive, ornate chandelier.

3708 Las Vegas Blvd. S (The Cosmopolitan), Las Vegas, NV 89109 - (702) 698-7000
cosmopolitanlasvegas.com - lasvegassun - lavishvegas - grapesandgrainsnyc - hollywoodlife - vegas.com - yelp

#1621 - Studio 54, Las Vegas - 11/25/2011

Studio 54 is closing February 4, 2012
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S (MGM Grand), Paradise, NV 89109 - (702) 891-7279
mgmgrand.com - vegas.com - wikipedia - hauteliving -  yelp

#1620 - miX, Las Vegas - 11/25/2011

A highly regarded restaurant (Michelin star winner) and lounge with a nice patio and 360 degree, 64th story view.

3950 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89119 - (702) 632-9500
mandalaybay.com - gastronomyblog - vegas.com - facebook

#1619 - Minus 5°, Las Vegas - 11/25/2011

An ice bar where most everything -- walls, furniture, decorations, cups, female torso shot dispenser -- are made of ice.

3930 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119-1010 - (702) 740-5800

#1618 - Rainforest Cafe, Las Vegas - 11/25/2011

3799 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109 - (702) 891-8580

#1617 - Liquidity, Las Vegas - 11/24/2011

3900 S Las Vegas Blvd (at Luxor Hotel & Casino), Las Vegas, NV 89119

#1616 - Crazy Horse III, Las Vegas - 11/24/2011

3525 W Russell Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89118 - (702) 673-1700

#1615 - Octane, Las Vegas - 11/24/2011

3850 S Las Vegas Blvd (Excalibur), Las Vegas, NV 89109

vegas.com

#1614 - CatHouse, Las Vegas - 11/24/2011

3900 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, NV 89119 - (702) 262-4228
cathouselv.com

#1613 #S966 - Harborside Bistro, Seattle - 11/23/2011

This is the old McCormick and Schmicks, sold to the Landry chain, and remodeled a bit. It is a tad swankier, and Thomas the bartender knows his stuff, but the spirits are still fairly limited for a moderately upscale restaurant and the cocktail menu has room for some more serious drinks.

1200 Westlake Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109-3543 - (206) 270-9052
Est. Nov. 2011 - Building constructed: 1971
Previous bars at this location: Triples on Lake Union, O Lounge, McCormick & Schmick's 
harborsideseattle.com - eater - bizjournals - thestranger - yelp

#1612 #S965 - Republiq, Seattle - 11/19/2011

Update:  Republiq closed Feb 6, 2012 and filed for bankruptcy.

Not to be confused with South Lake Union's "re:public," this is most often a club of the "ultra lounge" variety. That means, of course, the cookie-cutter white couches, the pink lights, the badly made drinks, the VIP area silliness, photos in front of the logo, thumping techno, and the pat-downs at the door.

2946 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 552-8730
Est. Oct. 17, 2009 - Building constructed: 1918 (radically remodeled)
republiqofseattle.com - facebook - yelp - voiceplaces

#1611 #S964 - Rookies Sports Bar and Grill, Seattle - 11/19/2011

A nice little sports bar with a floor made from a basketball court floor and a bar made from a bowling alley.  Rookies has a family-restaurant area and a bar area, and serve fairly standard sports bar food with very friendly service.

3820 S Ferdinand St, Ste 101, Seattle, WA 98118 - (206) 722-0301
Est. Nov 2011 - Building constructed: 1990
Previous bars at this location: None known (Verve Wine Bar once in adjacent suite)
rookiesseattle.com - facebook - rainiervalleypost - thestranger - seattleweekly - yelp

#1610 #S963 - Bogart's, Seattle - 11/19/2011

Update: Bogart's closed on Dec 27, 2013

---

Bogart's is pretty near suburban dive bar perfection. It's big, like dive bars in industrial areas should be; it serves a wide range of bar food; it has a stage for live bands; it has poker tables; it has a web site equivalent of a hand-painted sign; it has friendly patrons diverse in age, race, and gender; and to top it all off it has karaoke, but on a separate floor with a fireplace and away from the other patrons. 

If you like dive bars, Bogart's is not to be missed.

Historical Notes:  When Brad Bogart first purchased the space in 1997 (previously Adolfo's Italian Restaurant), he named it Goldies, to go along with the Goldies he owned in Wallingford (now Iron Bull).  He sold it in 2008, and re-acquired it in early 2011, changing the name to Bogart's (years ago he owned the Bogart's on 2nd Ave in Pioneer Square).   The "South End Tavern" was at this address but in a previous building by 1939 through the 40s.



3924 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA 98108-5215 - (206) 622-1119
Est. 2011 - Building constructed: 1950
Previous bars at this location: Goldie's, South End Tavern
bogartsairportway.com - facebook - seattleweekly - yelp

#1609 #S962 - Ship Canal Grill, Seattle - 11/19/2011

This place doesn't know what it wants to be. It's not just the bridge/construction theme that replaces the, well, whatever the "Kristos" theme as in its previous incarnation; it is also the hodgepodge menu, and the various attempts to pull different sorts of crowds to different parts of the space.

It's in what must be a difficult space -- with few apparent parking spaces and at an odd intersection of streets which leave drivers little time to decide before being quite down the road to another part of the city. The food and drinks are okay, but with that sort of challenge it would seem like you need a lot of people to make a special effort to seek you out, and without a really standout menu and cohesive personality, it's just difficult for me to see that happening.

3218 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102 - (206) 588-8885
Est. Nov 18, 2011 - Building constructed: 2008
facebook - seattlemet - thestranger - yelp

#1608 #S961 - Kelly O'Brien's, Seattle - 11/18/2011

A fairly standard, American Irish-themed bar from Marcus Tellefson, the owner of Sully's Lounge. The wall opposite the bar includes old photos of Irish relatives, and the standard TVs, Guiness ads, and soccer flags fill out the remaining space. Guiness and Jameson are the go-to drinks here, and the bar seems to have enthusiastic fans for the games on TV, no matter what part of the country the teams are from.

5410 17th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107-3817 - (206) 257-6080
Est. June 2011 - Building constructed: 1946
sullyslounge.com - facebook - myballard - seattleweekly -  yelp

#1607 - Buzz Inn Steak House, Everett, WA - 11/17/2011

A fairly standard 80s roadside diner, with cheap steaks and a small bar in back.

3615 Broadway, Everett - (425) 259-1972
buzzinnsteakhouse.com - tripadvisor - yelp

#1606 - Anchor Pub, Everett, WA - 11/17/2011

Update: The Anchor closed in mid 2013 and opened under new management in August 2014.

---

A bar was established here shortly after the building was constructed in 1906, hard by the railroad tracks, just up from Possession Sound, and constructed in the brick "flatiron" (wedge) style ala the Flatiron Building in Seattle which hosts the Triangle Pub.  It was "Mulligan's" when it started in 1907, and some of Larry Mulligan's sign painted on the back north wall is still visible.  Mulligan ran it until Washington state prohibition in 1916, with an interregnum during a local prohibition measure.  As of the repeal of the 18th Amendment, it resumed tavern life as "The Anchor" in 1934.

It was recently a pretty rough place -- like bars named "The Anchor" around the world, one sailor told me, you went there when you wanted to get into a fight.  However the crowd has much mellowed under current ownership, Holly and Jeff Gibson.  They have cleaned up and expanded the place, adding a nice space for a wide range of live music and open mic thursdays.  It maintains many an homage to unions and the working man, including items on the "Everett Massacre" when two deputies and at least five Wobblies were killed on the dock just down Hewitt Avenue.

 The upgrades in decor, beer, food, and range of clientele make it questionable whether it still merits the description of a "dive bar."  But while the brick walls ooze history and hard times, The Anchor is now one of the more relaxing and pleasant places to have a beer in Everett and the greater Seattle area.



Update: After this visit, the Anchor closed in mid 2013 and opened under new management in August 2014. It's much the same, but the new owner has  barrel aged Negroni and Manhattan that are well worth asking for.


I don't know if this fellow was a customer before, but when we asked bartender Mari about some binoculars on the bar, she explained that there is a guy who comes in every day with something to trade for beers. Items included the binoculars, a candle holder, and a toilet plunger.

1001 Hewitt Ave Everett, WA 98201 - (425) 252-2288
Est. 1907 - Building constructed: 1907
anchorpubeverett.com - facebook - urbansketchers - yelp

#1605 - Jodie's Drink, Everett, WA - 11/17/2011

Jodie's Drink, AKA Jodie's Bikini Bar, is a classic dive with the addition of scantily clad bartenders, ala the bikini barrista trend.  With the exception of bartenders showing more skin, it is a very typical dive, and appropriately pours strong, cheap drinks for a friendly group of blue collar patrons.  Owner Jodie claims this is the first bikini bar in Washington state, so here's to the pioneers. 

For details, I quote the Everett News:

Bartenders wear bikini bottoms and they used to wear pasties on top but apparently the liquor board put a stop to that so they have string bikini tops.  She stressed that its not a strip club, there are no table dances just cheap drinks and food. She said her background is in strip clubs and her family had been involved with several in the Everett area over the years. She told me things here are going so good that she is scouting for three or four more locations outside of Everett. She said there are lots of rules, no cameras allowed and don’t try and take a picture with your cell phone. They open at 9am for breakfast with food, drink and bikinis all the way until 2am. With the explosion of Bikini Barista stands popping up all over Everett it will be interesting to see if more bars will follow this trend.

1817 Broadway Ave, Everett, WA 98201 - (425) 304-1039
Est. July 2010
everettnews - yelp

#1604 #S960 - Heidelberg Haus, Seattle - 11/16/2011

Update: Heidelberg Haus closed January 31, 2016

At the moment the bar in this new German restaurant is about as about as meager as a bar can get.  There are exactly four wine options and four beers on tap, and a lot of blank, empty space on the walls.  But the plans are to eventually expand to a full bar.

In the meantime, lest you think the Heidelberg Haus to just a kitschy theme for a typical neighborhood pub, here you can have some rarely delicious, made-from-scratch, southern German food, and in a place where most the staff and about half the patrons converse in German.  The bartender told me about his father still bringing him homemade Schnapps from the Black Forest.

I had the Wienerschnitzel mit spatzle and an extra side of the Kartoffelsalat (potato salad), with a pint of Weihenstephaner Premium Lager.  A couple patrons with much more experience than I in German cuisine assured me that this was some of the best schnitzel they'd had.  I am personally not a large fan of lagers, nor most German beers, so I will leave comments here to persons who share those tastes.  But I will say that I would be very surprised if you would find better German food in many places in our area, and while the bar area is a bit overly bright for a bar, the company is interesting and engaging.


2122 NE 65th St, Seattle, WA 98115 - (206) 466-5369
Est. Nov. 10, 2011 - Closed Jan 1, 2016 - Building constructed: 1921 
Previous bars in this location: None known
seattle-eats-german.com - facebook - ravennablog - eater - thestranger - seattleweekly - yelp