#1885 #S1060 - Outlander Brewery and Pub, Seattle - 9/4/2011

Outlander Brewery is an adventuresome nanabrewery with a pub located in a 100-year-old Victorian house in the Fremont neighborhood. Owners Dragan Radulovic and Nigel Lassiter use a 1-barrel brewing system to churn out two kegs at a time of brews like Peanut Butter Stout, Strawberry Wheat,  Vanilla Jasmine Porter, Yam Ale, Chili Amber Ale, Oyster Robust Porter. These are not just names, they are actual ingredients. They also have a monthly poll that allows their customers to select new brews from multiple options.

 Dragan was friendly and engaging from behind the small bar created from an old church door and located in the old house kitchen.  The house has retained the original room structure, and aside from the bar and taps in the kitchen appear very much like your grandmother might still live there. It's a great fit for Fremont and a very nice stop for beer lovers.

225 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 486-4088             
Est. Aug 3, 2012 - Building constructed: 1900 or earlier
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: outlanderbrewing.com - facebook
Best Reviews: thestranger - fueledbybeer - sauced - seattlebeernews - thrillist - yelp

#1884 #S1059 - Add-A-Ball Arcade, Seattle - 9/4/2011

"We weren’t going for the creepy-uncle’s-rumpus-room feel," Add-a-Ball owner Travis Echert told Komo News, "But, that’s kind of what happened." Travis and his Partner Brad Johnson used to run ADD Motorworks here, fixing scooters in a basement space off an alley in the building that hosts the Piece of Mind head shop. Parties and pin-ball tournaments evidently led to converting to a new business that hosts vintages pin-ball and video games for the over 21 crowd along with beer. The games are mixed in with funky garage items, old board games, piles of spark plugs, and oddities.

I had a pleasant chat with Brad and customer Meredith at the 2-seat bar with 2 taps and a decent choice of beer in cans. Brad was in the midst of expanding to their second location, John John's Game Room on Capitol Hill. I'm not much of a gamer myself, but it is a cool little hangout.

315 N 36th St, Unit 2B, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 696-1613
Est. Dec 2011 - Building constructed: 1900 or earlier
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: add-a-ball.com - facebook
Best Reviews: komonews - fremontuniverse - fremocentrist - thrillist - skill-shot - findwell - yelp

#1883 #S1058 - Tin Lizzie Lounge, Seattle - 9/3/2011

The Tin Lizzie lounge is a darkly attractive bar created in the historic Marqueen Hotel on lower Queen Anne, across from the street from Toulouse Petit, in a building where the Seattle Engineering School used to retrain blacksmiths to work at the Ford assembly plant on Lake Union. It has a pressed tin roofs, ornate antiques, and multiple semi-private rooms off the main space. It has been positioned as hub for fine cocktails with a speakeasy vibe, although the bartenders don't have the craft cocktail chops that one usually finds in such places. But it is definitely one of the most pleasant drinking spaces in the city.

600 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA - 206.282.7407
Est. Aug 8, 2012 - Building constructed: 1918  
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: marqueen.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - eater.com - yelp

#1882 #S1057 - Fogon Cocina Mexicana, Seattle - 9/3/2011

Noel Cortez and Jose Ambriz, whose families come from Michoacán, Mexico and run the Mi Tierra restaurants in Monroe and Woodinville, are having a go in this tough luck Capitol Hill space with Fogon ("stove"). They provide everyone a complementary tostada at the start, as other Mexican places provide chips, and follow that with some nice Michoacán entrees and tasty margaritas.

crab and shrimp enchiladas, Fogon Cocina Mexicana, Seattle

600 East Pine Street Seattle, Washington 98122 - (206) 320-7777
Est. 2012 - Building constructed 2001
Previous bars in this location: Kiki, Kurrent
Web site: fogonseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: thestranger - capitolhillseattle - yelp - urbanspoon 

#1881 #S1056 - Vessel, Seattle - 9/2/2011

Update: This version of Vessel closed Sep 27, 2013

---

Like the previous location, Vessel starts with an encumbrance to my affections, as I do not prefer cold, modernist decor in bars -- I wince a bit when I see lots of light, big windows, prominent shiny metals and bright colors. But of course the reason for going to Vessel is the cocktails, and while the decor and service may vary, the cocktails at the place are a continual joy.

For people outside the areas of Seattle and/or the craft cocktail movement, Vessel was a seminal bar for craft cocktails in the area. While you could find great cocktails in a small number of other locations before 2006, Vessel was a place that *preached* great cocktails. You didn't have to be in some tiny coterie of cocktail devotees (that included a tiny minority of bartenders), nor to luck into the rare meeting with a mixologist knowledgeable and patient enough to invest time exploring how your uneducated tastes might best navigate finely made drinks. At Vessel, you *were* going to get a great cocktail, regardless of all other circumstances. And if you wanted vodka, you were out of luck.

Indeed, probably the greatest value that Jamie Boudreau, Jim Romdall, et. al. provided with Vessel was not the individual, carefully crafted cocktails themselves, but rather in spreading the fact that there *are* great cocktails -- a fact that had somehow eluded 99.9% of bar goers heretofore. The rotating bartenders would explore your tastes, create a drink with a manifest precision and care, and they did so not in some secretive back alley hangout, but virtually pressed against the windows of a downtown space next to the 5th Avenue Theater where they snagged your attention like a Macy's Christmas window display.

In December 2010, this original vessel lost its lease and closed shop. The much anticipated new location is in a space of significance to long-time Seattleites, as it housed the original El Gaucho Steakhouse from 1953 to 1985. Owner Jim Romdall had more freedom to design in this space, and one of the ways he took advantage of this was to make multiple decisions that increased the connection between customers and the centers of attention behind the bar. (When one couldn't find a space at the tiny number of seats at the old bar, you sometimes found yourself in an upstairs room that felt a bit like the kids' table at Thanksgiving dinner.) The owners manage a rotating lineup of 25 crackerjack bartenders.

Although I may generally despair of big, bright windows in bars, it is rather nifty that people on the street can see through these into "The Lab," where bartenders experiment with various ingredients and techniques, and pursue the contemporary holy grail of perfect ice. Inside a "Clinebell" machine churns out 300-lb blocks of crystal clear frozen water that is then reduced with chainsaws, band saws, and chipping tools into the ideal spheres or other shapes to balance coldness and dilution. Due to the success of the movement that they helped precipitate, the current Vessel is not quite as essential and unique as the original, but it remains a fantastic place to explore and experience the art of the cocktail.


624 Olive Way Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 623-3325
Est. Aug 28, 2012 (October 2006 in previous location) - Building constructed: year
Previous bars in this location: El Gaucho
Web site: vesselseattle.com - facebook
Best Reviews: seattlemet - seriouseats - seattleweekly - eater.com - yelp - thestranger

#1880 #S1055 - Rocco's, Seattle - 9/2/2013

Rocco's does not serve my favorite pizza in town, but they are the prettiest. And in addition to their better than average pizza, they provide some quite good craft cocktails. Rocco's is new from Jesus Escobar, the owner of Noc Noc, squeezed into the former space of Dope Burger and Noodle Bar in the same larger structure as the Lava Lounge.  Like many of the other old spaces in this stretch, it is narrow and long. They have done a great job in remodeling the place, with darkened, exposed brick, romantic lighting, old neon beer signs, various celebrity icon portraits, and patches of succulents growing in frames on the walls. The tables were made by the owner from wood pulled from the 1911 ceiling.

One of their more interesting drinking options is a selection of shrubs -- drinking vinegars infused with fruit juices and herbs, with addition bitters and ingredients that you apportion and mix yourself. It is open late for Belltown drinking nights, and seems positioned to do very well in the area without catering too much to the sorts of Belltown crowds you'd prefer to avoid.

2228 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 448-2625
Est. August 22, 2012 - Building constructed: 1911
Previous bars in this location: Dope Burger
Web site: roccosseattle.com - facebook
Best Reviews: seattletimes - thrillist - seattlepi - thestranger - yelp - seattleweekly

#1879 #S1054 - Fumaca Brazilian Steakhouse, Seattle - 9/2/2011

Update: Fumaca closed in June 2014. The building is slated for demolition.

Meat Heaven.

Fumaça (Portuguese for "smoke") was created by some of the crew that worked at the Ipanema Brazilian Grill at the top of the Harbor Steps, and the Amazon Grill in Bellevue.  They even offered to recognize gift certificates issued by the ownership of those restaurants in their own place, built in basically the same model. The owners are Columbian and Puerto Rican, and feature Brazilian "rodizio", Puerto Rican "sazon", and Peruvian ceviche.

Of course you must have the rodizio here.  It is not super cheap ($24 for lunch and $40 for dinner), but it is well worth it if you are hungry.  The salad bar sorts of offerings, from artisan cheeses, to various fruits and vegetables, beans, etc. are probably worth the price alone, but the stars are the charcoal grilled meats, continuously brought to your table on stakes by "gauchos."

The bar is not particularly special, but you can have a nice caipirinha as you recover from your food coma.

101 Denny Way, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 453-4366
Est. Aug 28, 2012 - Building constructed: 1926
Previous bars in this location: Whym, Blush Lounge, 101 Lounge
Web site: fumacaseattle.com - facebook
Best Reviews: seattletimes - thrillist - eater.com - yelp - thestranger

#1878 #S1053 - El Borracho, Seattle - 9/1/2011

El Borracho ("the drunk") is a new Mexican place in the space of the old Pan African along 1st Ave in the Pike Place Market. It is run by Kittie Davidovich of Le Bon Ton Roule, who has said she is after a sort of taco truck kind of place. There is a wide range of pretty good taco truck style tacos (including lamb, shrimp, pork, fish, beef, and rabbit) and a nice choice of margaritas.

1521 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 538-0440
Est. Aug 2012
Previous bars in this location: Pan African Market

Reviews: seattlemet - thestranger - yelp

#1877 #S1052 - Ballard Station, Seattle - 9/1/2011

The Ballard Station Public House is a substantial upgrade in maturity in both management and drink quality from the shortlived Ballard Avenue Pub.  The cocktails are quite good -- I especially liked the Sundance Kid (Old Overholt rye, lillet and Cynar) -- the vibe is casual and welcoming, and features nods to both Ballard history and traditional British pubs.

2236 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 999-5600           
Est. Aug 13, 2012 - Building constructed: 1927
Previous bars in this location: Ballard Avenue Pub
Web site: theballardstation.com - facebook
Best Reviews: myballard - seattlemet - thestranger - seattleweekly - yelp

#1876 #S1051 - Borsalino's, Seattle - 8/29/2011

Update: Borsalino's closed in Feb 2013.

---

For the past decade or so (2001-2011), this was Romio's Pizza, in the odd castle-like building just south of the University Bridge and across the street from the original Red Robin Tavern/Restaurant. In October of 2011, it was modernized into Borsalino's, which included upgrades to more high quality food stressing organic ingredients. The remodeling did not go so far as to replace the signage outside, but instead drapes some quickie banners over the railing. The bar and the food both seemed fairly pedestrian -- a decent alternative if you happen to be nearby, but nothing notable enough to draw from a wider area.

Historical (and personal) notes: In addition to serving as a furniture store and art gallery, this castle-like building has hosted the Town House Restaurant in the 30s, the Llahngaelhyn jazz and coffee house from 1965 to 1968,  Rapunzel's Tavern from 1975 to 1985, and the Scoundrel's Lair (and "Club Fiasco") briefly in the mid 80s. Scoundrel's Lair was booked by Jon Poneman of SubPop, and was one of the few pre-Nevermind clubs that booked alternative bands, including small touring national acts like the Cowboy Junkies and Dead Milkmen, as well as local bands like Green River, Soundgarden, The Melvins, Pure Joy, Room 9, Cat Butt and Girl Trouble. In addition to seeing several of those bands there, I remember a particularly rocking night with the Royal Crescent Mob, and also one night there when I first really talked to the woman who would become my wife (after meeting at the Central Tavern before a Sonic Youth show).

3242 Eastlake Avenue East Seattle, WA 98102 - (206) 323-4444
Est. Oct 2011 - Closed Feb 2013 - Building constructed: 1916
Previous bars in this location: The Town House, Rapunzel's Tavern, Scoundrel's Lair
Web site: borsalinospizzapasta.com  
Reviews: thestranger - eastlakeseattle.org (building history) - yelp - urbanspoon

#1875 - Marko's Place, Roslyn, WA - 8/25/2011

Marko's is a very old, very laid back, and a bit artsy. It's under fairly new management, which has upgraded the beer choices. It has a mix of art on the brick walls, a pressed tin ceiling, and a grand old oak back bar. The sign says that it was established during prohibition, in 1931, and while it is unclear when it became a legal bar, it seems highly likely that this was shortly after the federal Beer and Wine Revenue Act took effect in April 1933. Two daughters of founder Marko Korich, Mary and Eva, have left audio recordings describing their father buying the place around the start of the decade and selling wine he made in the basement as well as bootleg whiskey though prohibition. While at the bar I also chatted with Alex, now 84, who remembered sneaking into the bar when he was 11-- i.e. in 1939.  (Alex's hearing is not what it used to be; when someone asked "Do you have email?" he responded, "Have female?")


The 1937 Polk Guide lists a bar owned by Marko Korich, but at the address of 13 1st N. I'm fairly confident this was the same building, because we already know that Roslyn changed the street numbering scheme along this street, as The Brick, now listed at 100, was listed at 1 in the 1930s and 40s. In addition, Marko's daughters allude to the bar being in the same building the entire time.

The sisters also mention that Marko purchased the bar from a Mr. Bruno, and a 1913 Polk Guide lists a bar owned by Bruno & Filberto. This listing does not include an address, but it is intriguing to consider whether it is the same location.

In any case, it's a friendly bar, with a nice patio area, fairly basic liquors and beers. The new owner is working on fixing up the back patio area, where locals used to play bocce ball 70 years ago.

(There are some very old looking bar tokens for Marko's out there.)

106 North First Street, Roslyn, Washington 98941 - (509) 649-2349
Est. 1931 (bar since at least 1933?)
Web site: facebook
Best Reviews: dorandbob - yelp - tripadvisor 

#1874 - Arnie's Horseshoe, Ellensburg, WA - 8/25/2011

I do not know how old the Horseshoe is, but a 1970 article in the Ellensburg Daily Record describes it as being sold to a new owner in 1918 (this account may not be entirely correct, as it describes that year as "a year before prohibition became law," and prohibition was in effect in Washington state Jan 1, 1916). Also, there is no bar listed at this address in either the 1937 or 1949 Polk Guides (I did not check under other business types), however there is one listed in 1911 under "Whitman & Lee" and again in 1913 under "C E Whitman."

In any case, the article recounts a storied history, back to the days when bars on the street were open 24-hours and the owner did much of his sales in gold. As was not unusual northwest bars in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Horseshoe also appears to have served as a bank, payroll office, and employment office -- e.g. distributing payroll to thrashing crews.

The current version of the Horseshoe positions itself as a sports bar, but more closely resembles a class, rural dive, with hunting trophies, paraphernalia for watery, corporate beers, and stickers sporting dopey jokes. Some of the latter evince a bit of the douchebag element that currently tends to hang out there ("Are all women on the rag the same day?" "Speak English or get the fuck out"). It can sometimes have a high BBCS (Backwards Baseball Cap Score), but most the folks there seem pretty agreeable.

106 West 3rd Avenue Ellensburg, WA 98926 - (509) 925-4044
Est. ? (1911 or earlier?)
Reviews and articles: Ellensburg Daily Record - yelp - urbanspoon

#1873 - The Palace Cafe, Ellensburg, WA - 8/25/2011

Ellensburg may be the best town in the state for old bars, and as you are reminded by a number of signs, the Palace Cafe has been around since 1892. It existed in a couple different locations until opening in the current space in 1949. However, it is not clear how long the cafe has also featured a saloon. The drinks are pedestrian, but it's got a nice vibe with lots of historical photos. And while it is not quite an alley entrance (always a welcome sign for a bar), there is a sort of back door side entrance that most the bar patrons use.

323 North Main Street Ellensburg, WA 98926 - (509) 925-2327
Est. ? (Restaurant est. 1892, in current location 1949)

Web site: thepalacecafe.net - facebook
Reviews: tripadvisor - yelp - collegehotsheet - urbanspoon