Rotgut.org Blog

Thursday, March 20, 2014

#2162 #S1147 - Lost Lake Cafe and Lounge, Seattle - 5/11/2013

Like the "instant dives" that various places are trying to create today, Lost Lake is an attempt to create an instantly old diner, along the lines of the venerable 5 Point, which one of the Lost Lake owners purchased in 2009, with a twist of Twin Peaks style small town mid-century diner. They serve food for 24 hours and booze for almost 24 hours (the lounge closes at 2am and re-opens at 6am). It is owned by Dave Meinert (5 Point) and Jason Lajeunesse (Neumos, Big Mario's), and promises the stiffest drinks on Capitol Hill. As if to get a head start on a dissolute edginess, it was constructed in the former location of a gay bathhouse, and it collected a lot of hype when a self righteous Google Glass user was refused service unless he removed them, commencing an online war of overwrought words.

It is a pretty place -- a bit too pretty and too new to have the sort of soul of the places that served as its models -- but it also fills its chosen niche nicely. Seattle has only a handful of 24-hour restaurants, and it is a near perfect venue and comfort food menu for a stop after closing down some of the bars and clubs on the Capitol Hill. Everything points to financial success and a long, successful run serving local hipsters. But one gets the sense that it will never feel genuine unless it also draws in a small but faithful crowd of grizzled, elderly regulars, like every one of the great old places that it imitates.

1505 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122 - (206) 323-5678
Est. May 8, 2013 - Building constructed: 1910
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: lostlakecafe.com - facebook
Articles ranked: seattletimes - capitolhillseattle - seattlemet - thrillist - seattlemag - thestranger - eater - yelp

#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

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

#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

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

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

Update: Gastropod closed on Sep 11, 2015

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

Saturday, March 08, 2014

#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

#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.