#2154 #S1145 - Beer Junction, Seattle - 5/4/2013

Nice little stop to buy a pint or a growler (I had a Space Dust IPA)

4511 California Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116 - (206) 938-2337
Est. 2013 - Building constructed: 1935
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: thebeerjunction.com - facebook
Articles ranked: westseattleblog - yelp - washingtonbeer

#2153 #S1144 - Henry's on First Ave Tavern, Seattle - 5/4/2013

If you would like to know what Henry's on First in Seattle is like, just go to any recently opened large sports bar. They feel nothing like the intimate connotation that the word "tavern" has for me. There are the huge amounts of beer taps, the large range of contemporary sports bar foods (pizzas, burgers, salads, soups, tacos, fish and chips, wok dishes, etc.), plenty of TVs, the vintage photos, etc.  Henry's is run by the Restaurants Unlimited, the Seattle-based corporation that at this point counts 48 restaurants across the company under 21 brands, of varying individuality (e.g. Cutters, Palomino, Palisade, and Stanford's). Henry's, which also has locations in Portland and Plano, Texas, follows a now well-worn path in food, decor, and atmosphere, which basically takes a classic brewpub and expands the number of choices to several page menus and 100-and-some beers on tap e.g. in Seattle see the Yard House, the Tap House, Edge Grill.

Though these never make for particularly interesting bars, it can be quite convenient to have places with reliable food options and interesting beers on tap, and perhaps you can't have too many of these on game day. Henry's is in a fine old 1907 building just south of the ballparks (the original Henry's in Portland is in the old Blitz-Weinhard Brewery), and kudos for RUI for opening and sprucing up these old spaces. The bar features an iced counter for keeping beers cold, and and on days like today, when it was sunny and 75 degrees, the open side opposite First Avenue is a very pleasant setting. The cocktail menu will not be of interest to serious drinkers, and is dominated by the overly sweet options one might see at a college bar, but of course the focus is the beer and here they have any number of excellent options. I had a salad and half sandwich combo, choosing the peach, walnut, and manchego salad, which I enjoyed, and a lackluster Philly cheesesteak. Despite sourcing local beers in the ingredients (Mac and Jack braised onions and peppers, Elysian Immortal cheddar ale sauce), this Philly will not lead Seattlelites to forget Tat's, let alone get east coasters to stop whining. That was probably a poor choice on my part though, as most the food like quite reliably satisfactory.

1518 1st Ave South, Seattle, WA 98134 - (206) 624-0501
Est. 2013 - Building constructed: 1907
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: henrystavern.com
Reviews: washingtonbeerblog - washingtonbeerblog - yelp 

#2152 #S1143 - Pie Bar, Seattle - 5/2/2013

Cocktails, good beers, delicious made-from-scratch pies, and the owners are twin sisters and two of the most charming human beings you could hope to meet. If this tiny place isn't regularly packed, there is something horribly wrong with humanity.

Alyssa Lewis was the owner of Seattle Pie Company, and her sister Natalie was a long-time bartender and bar manager in Arizona (who was previously married to a baseball player in the Seattle Mariners system). They grew up in tiny Gold Bar and reunited to create a new business together after their father passed away. In addition to the small number of spaces outside, they sell pies through a window, where they will also set pies to cool and seduce customers. They now appear to be readying to expand to a second location in Ballard.

1361 E Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 300-1100
Est. May 1, 2013 - Building constructed: 1994
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: piebarseattle.com - facebook
Articles ranked: capitolhillseattle - king5 - thrillist - citylivingseattle - seattlemet - sweettoothinseattle - seattlemag - eater - thestranger - yelp

#2151 #S1142 - Frolik, Seattle - 4/30/2013

Despite being better hidden than most speakeasies in town, the word eventually gets out that there is a rare, large, rooftop lounge space on the 5th floor of the downtown Seattle Red Lion. Now the space has been re-made into Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails, which has added some vegas-y decor and attracts even more of the d-bag element that you might expect from that. But nevertheless this is the best bar space in the downtown area to enjoy the select sunny day. They've upgraded both their food and cocktail games, added a ping pong table, shuffleboard, and fireplaces. But you'll probably only think to go there on sunny days -- and so will everyone else, so get there early.

1415 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 (Red Lion) - (206) 971-8010
Est. April 19, 2013 - Building constructed: 1973
Previous bars in this location: Red Lion Terrace Garden
Web site: seattleredlionfifthavenue.com - facebook
Article ranking: seattletimes - thrillist - cornichon - bizjournals - heedthehedonist - thestranger - eater - sunset - seattlemet - thedailymeal - worldsbestbars - dailycandy - girlpowerhour - yelp

#2150 #S1141 - Wine Tea Chocolate, Seattle - 4/28/2013

Wine Tea Chocolate was refashioned into Barrel Thief in July 2013.  While the people there were nice and I could enjoy a glass of wine and light food items, it was a little precious for my tastes, and did not really seem to have me in its target demographic -- or my gender, for that matter.

3417 Evanston Ave N, Ste 102, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 402-5492
Est. Sep 2012 - Closed July 2013 - Building constructed: 2012
Previous bars in this location: None
Reviews: seattlemet - seattleite - thrillist - urbanspoon

#2149 #S1140 - The Sixgill, Seattle - 4/28/2013

Update: Sixgill closed April 15, 2017

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The Sixgill starts out considerably handicapped for my tastes as it is located on the ground floor of some box-ish condos that are the antithesis of what has made Fremont an attractive neighborhood. The owners (Ellen Kelly and Rick Weersing of Ballard's Noble Fir) compensate for this with a nautical theme, a lot of nice wood and books, but it still feels more like downtown Bellevue than Fremont.

But I could not complain about the drinks and food. While there is still a beer emphasis here (36 rotating taps), this place adds some very nice cocktails and food selections by Eric Stover (Ocho, Tom Douglas). I had a nice Old Sharkey (rye, green Chartreuese, Apernol and grapefruit bitters) with the house Negroni (Punt e Mes, Averna and Four Roses bourbon -- which is their well!).  I also enjoy the Steakwich (flank steak, smoked mozzarella, garlicky kale, chimichuri) and Little Fingerling Potato Skins (goat cheese fondue, bacon salt).

It's enough to bring me back in now and then despite the regrettable setting, as the boring back portion of gentrification continues to squeeze old Fremont.

3417 Evanston Ave N, #104, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 466-2846
Est. April 24, 2013 - Closed April 15, 2017 - Building constructed: 2012
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: thesixgill.com - facebook
Articles ranked: thrillist - seattlebeernews - seattlemet - sunset - thestranger - eater - yelp

#2148 #S1139 - Tonga Lounge, Seattle - 4/27/2013

This is a small place with a slapdash polynesian theme with decor that, for all I could tell, could have all been assembled from a Hallmark store in the ten minutes before I got there. But in addition to the two balloon monkeys and a couple posters hung with push pins, they do actually have a list of tiki drinks -- although not the sort that anyone much over 21 years old would likely drink. Along with the jello shots and candy flavored liquors they feature some reasonable looking juices and smoothies, DJs, and after hours dancing for 18 and over.

4209 University Way NE Seattle, WA 98105 - (206) 632-1111
Est. 2013 - Building constructed: 1923
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: tongalounge.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp