#1777 - The Islander, Mercer Island - 5/13/2012

7440 SE 27th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040 - (206) 232-6676


Web site: the-islander.com - facebook 
Previous bars in this location: Bluenose Pub
Reviews: yelp - patch - urbanspoon - tripadvisor

#1776 #S1026 - Queen Margherita, Seattle - 5/16/2012

The bar at Queen Margherita ever so barely qualifies at a bar by my definition. But it does have a small bar where people sit and drink wine. And while most people go there for the (very good) wood-fired, Neapolitan style pizza, another reason to sit at the bar is to watch the work in the open kitchen, as well as the very friendly folks who own and work at the place interacting with customers.

3111 W McGraw St # 103 Seattle, WA 98199 - (206) 548-4908
Est. Sep. 10, 2010 - Building constructed: 1974
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: queenmargheritaseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: gastrolust - natashareed - eater - seattletimes - seattleweekly - yelp - magnoliavoice - thestranger

#1775 - Stan's Bar-B-Q, Issaquah, WA - 5/12/2012

I love barbeque -- who doesn't love barbeque? -- but my favorite barbeque is Kansas City style. Oh how I miss the sweet sauce of Ribbins down in Ballard. So I've been eager for some time to try out Stan's. In case you forget where he's from, Stan has decorated the place with Kansas City Chief memorabilia.

The bar, as you might expect, is basically beer and very basic cocktails.  They have eight pretty good beers on tap, but the spirits are dominated by vodka and especially flavored vodkas -- like many a suburban dive catering to clients more interested in the effects of their drinks than the tastes.

Sam's actually has a variety of BBQ styles, with three sauces, served separately, to choose from. I had the Commander and Chief sandwich -- beef brisket with smoked ham -- and as usual in my first stop in a place I tried their beans and potato salad.  All of these were pretty good, and served by some friendly folks, but alas, it was not the can't-wait-to-go-back ecstasy of the old Ribbins. I would describe it as a very nice stop if you're in the area, but not necessarily worth going out of your way.

58 Front Street North Issaquah, WA 98027 - (425) 392-4551
Est. 2006 - Building constructed: 1888 (Oddfellow's Hall)
Web site: stansbarbq.com - facebook
Reviews: seattleweekly - urbanspoon - yelp - issaquahpress

#1774 - Issaquah Brewhouse, Issaquah, WA - 5/12/2012

The Issaquah Brewhouse was an idependent brewpub that was acquired by Rogue Ales in 2000, but still makes several of its previous brews as well, including Bullfrog Ale, Menage-a-Frog, Rye Frog, MacFrog, and Hippie Frog. It has several good beer choices on tap, fairly standard brewpub food, and a odd-shaped space shaped by various expansions and some old coal train rails.

35 West Sunset Way Issaquah, WA 98027 - (425) 557-1911
Est. 1994 (2000 - Rogue acquisition) 
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: rogue.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - beeradvocate - urbanspoon - beerme - yelp

#1773 - H&H Tavern, Issaquah, WA - 5/12/2012

The H&H Tavern is one of the oldest couple dozen bars in Washington state, apparently established in 1910, in a building constructed in the 1890s. It is now a classic rural town dive bar with old, amateur murals and taxidermied fish surviving amidst the more contemporary pull tab boxes and corporate beer paraphernalia.

91 Front St N, Issaquah, WA 98027 - (425) 392-3031
Est. 1910 - Building constructed: 1890s (originally Schomber's Bakery)
Previous bars in this location: None known
yelp  - rantandrave 

#1772 #S1025 - Cha:n, Seattle - 5/11/2012

Chan (or Cha:n) is a tiny new Korean fusion place in the courtyard of the Inn at the Market. The restaurant comes from Heong Soon Park, owner of the adjacent Italian bistro Bacco. Pretty much everything about Chan is tiny: the space is tiny (38 seats), the bar is tinier, and the food is served in small plates.

The bar has a couple interesting offerings, incorporating soju, but the selection of spirits is, again, tiny. I did not eat on this visit, and some foodies have complained that the offerings tend to be a bit more bland that traditional Korean, but it seems like a nice place to sample a good number of Korean-based dishes that at least looked good to me.



86 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 443-5443
Est. April 30, 2012 - Building constructed: 1985
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: chanseattle.com - facebook 
Reviews: seattlemet - almostfittoeat - sexyfood - cornichon - gastrolust - yelp

#1771 #S1024 - The Neighbor Lady, Seattle - 4/30/2012

The Neighbor Lady is a new bar from Stephan Mollmann and Shira Bray, owner and bartender respectively of the Twilight Exit. It is a heavily remodeled space in the location of the old Thompson's Point of View, soul food cafe and lounge. Thompson's was probably the last bar in Seattle where you could generally count on being the only white person there, a sad but inevitable victim of growing gentrification and racial change in Seattle's Central District.

I happened to be in the area and stumbled across it open before it's official opening date, but much of the menu and most the drinks were available. The owners did a handsome job of remodeling and redecorating the space, with dark wood, wine-colored damask wallpaper and wainscoting.  The physical configuration inside is completely different, with the intimate, often crowded bar area walls removed and a larger, open space devoted to drinkers. It has a Victorian house of ill repute sort of decor, apparently modeled on such an institution of the same name that the owner admired in Amsterdam.

 The menu is focused on vegetarian items, being constructed by Meagan Lass, a former chef at Cafe Flora. The drinks are much more redolent of a steady neighborhood dive, focused on the basics and generally poured with a heavy hand.

2308 East Union Street Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 695-2072
Est. May 1, 2012 - Building constructed: 1928
Previous bars in this location:  Thompson's Point of View
Web site: facebook

Reviews: seattletimes - thestranger - seattlemet - seattleweekly - centraldistrictnews - eater - eater - yelp