#2161 - Marianna Ristoraunte, Renton, WA - 5/7/2013

"Beware Sal" says a sign in the bar. "Sal" is Salvatore Lembo, a partner in Marianna, and the person who trained primary owner Santiago Potenciano. Lembo, from Sicily, owns a winery in Tuscany and for two decades ran Firenze Ristorante Italiano in Bellevue. Potenciano, from Mexico, learned the trade starting as a busboy, learning Italian wine and food from Lembo and then travels to Italy. Potenciano then opened his own place, Vino Ristorante Italiano, in Renton. Marianna is basically an expansion of that place.

The northern Italian menu looks very good, but I only had time for a cocktail after dinner elsewhere in town. The bar is not particularly remarkable, and the restaurant is the focus here.

I learned about Lembo and Potenciano only after my visit here, but my curiosity was piqued by the "Beware Sal" sign. "He's tri-polar," the bartender explained. "But what would Italian food be without that passion?" Then he answered his own question, disdainfully concluding "It would be French food."

310 Wells Ave S, Renton, WA 98057 - (425) 271-7042
Est. Jan 2013
Web site: vinorestorante.com - facebook
Reviews: rentonreporter - yelp - urbanspoon

#2160 - Uncle Mo's Snappy Inn, Renton, WA - 5/7/2013

The Snappy Tavern has been in this address since at least the 1940s, although the current building dates back to 1954. Maurice "Uncle Mo" Leclech has owned it for many years now, and remodeled and expanded the place into Uncle Mo's Snappy Inn. It is now a fairly typical suburban neighborhood bar, with pull tabs, karaoke, jello shots, and cheap drinks.

321 Williams Ave S, Renton, WA 98057 - (425) 917-3130
Web site: facebook
Reviews: thepicaroon - yelp - seattletimes - patch

#2159 - Melrose Grill, Renton, WA - 5/7/2013

The Melrose is one of the very oldest bars in Washington state. It was constructed and opened in 1901 with a saloon in the same first floor location as today. Ben Atkinson was the owner then, building the saloon and cafe, and a 60 room hotel on the two floors above with his earnings from gold panning in the Yukon. When Washington state enacted state-wide prohibition in 1916, until federal prohibition was overturned, the lower Melrose served as a pool hall and card room. In 1928 a fire destroyed the top two floors, but the saloon and original back bar were saved and remain intact today. In 1972 the Melrose was sold to well-known local celebrity boxer  Boone Kirkman, who added a boxing ring to the bar.

The current owners took possession and reopened the Melrose Tavern as the Melrose Grill on Jan 13, 2002. It is now a nice steakhouse, slightly upscale but very reasonably priced, with the original back bar still intact and various old photos of the place.

819 Houser Way S, Renton, WA 98057 - (425) 254-0759
Est. 1901 - Building constructed: 1901
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site:  melrosegrill.com - facebook
Reviews: examiner - rentonreporter - theblackberrychronicles - yelp

#2158 #S1146 - Gastropod, Seattle - 5/7/2013

Update: Gastropod closed on Sep 11, 2015

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After Cody Morris opened a tiny brewery in December, 2008, expanding to a tiny tasting room in December 2010, he joined with chef Travis Kukull (Elemental, Tilikum Place) to expand from tiny to small, and regularly pair Kukull's imaginative food sections with Cody's adventurous brews. Here in the 1920s KR Trigger Building Sodo warehouse, I had the tasty Petit Tender Steak, which was prepared sous-vide and presented with a rhubarb steak sauce and Comte cheese scalloped potatoes, and while I forgot to note the beer, Cody's concoctions are always enjoyable and different from beers I've ever had before.

The menu changes weekly, and to give you an idea of the range, here are just a few of the recent choices:

• Sake kasu skate wing Kim Chee butter cauliflower
• Hawaiian pizza okonomiyaki
• Baby artichoke, wood sorrel, nicoise olive, Meyer lemon yogurt salad
• Nettle pasta, nettle pesto, morels, fiddle heads, salmon berry blossoms
• Rabbit-liver mousse profiteroles served with lemony French sorrel and sweet maple syrup
• Watermelon gazpacho served with roasted corn salsa
• Japanese sweet potato and green garlic soup with fried rice noodles and a wasabi and vinegar foam

3201 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134 - (206) 403-1228
Est. March 24, 2013 - Building constructed: 1923
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: gastropodsodo.com - facebook
Articles ranked: thestranger - gastrolust - seattletimes - foodspotting - ratebeer - whatsthesoup - seattlemag - seattlemet - vinewoman - thrillist - thestranger - yelp

#2157 - Bad Monkey Bar and Grill, Kent, WA - 5/5/2013

Yes, it was a double monkey bar kind of night. Unfortunately, once you get past the sign, any apparent uniqueness of this place ends, and it is indistinguishable from a thousand other suburban bars across the country.


623 Central Ave S, Kent, WA 98032 - (253) 859-4800
Building constructed: 1948
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

#2156 - Spunky Monkey, Auburn - 5/5/2013

Thankfully, I made it to this place shortly before all the funky divey-ness was eliminated in a redesign as part of an episode of Restaurant: Impossible. After many years as a popular local joint, it was dusty and failing by the time I got here, so it appears that it had to change, and I hope the modified approach works out for them. But as one who tends to prefer the peculiar and decidedly unsophisticated personality of a small-time barkeep to the slick orderliness of a professional designer, I feel fortunate to see have seen the Monkey when it was genuinely spunky.

124 2nd St SE, Auburn, WA 98002 - (253) 804-9567
Est. 1998 - Building constructed: 1936
Web site: spunkymonkeybarandgrill.com - facebook
Reviews: restaurant:impossible ($1.99) - yelp - youtube - urbanspoon

#2155 - Red Lotus / Pagoda Room, Auburn - 5/5/2013

From Mexi-fries to fortune cookies, I love experimenting with the authentic cuisines of foreign cultures. And it's even better if it's in a restaurant with a dark lounge attached, where the mixologist serves up exotic temptations like "Jack and Coke." And thus, at the urging of some friends, we traveled all the way to Auburn, Washington -- the Gateway to Algona -- to check out the Red Lotus Restaurant and Pagoda Room Lounge.

I don't know exactly how old the Red Lotus is, but at some point someone wrote on their web site that they've been around for "50 years," and the building was constructed in 1956, so perhaps both the restaurant and lounge were here since then? It is a large, multi-roomed establishment, happily windowless, with plenty of bamboo, glowing lights, and mid-century exotic decor to keep our party of tiki fans and vintage hunters happy. The food is somewhat better than average, classic American Chinese, and the drinks are dive-bar strong with a few not-so-bad, tiki-like alternatives. The only real deviation I noticed from the archetypal half century old Chinese place is that they are closed on Christmas.

Thanks to Woofmutt and Elicia or introducing me to the place, and the other friends who came along on this visit.

714 Auburn Way N, Auburn, WA 98002 - (253) 833-6233                
Est. 1956? - Building constructed: 1956
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: redlotusrestaurant.com
Reviews: woofmutt - yelp - tripadvisor