#2203 #S1147 - Ristorante Picolinos, Seattle - 6/3/2013

Anybody who lives in the Ballard area, or who is just looking for a relaxed, quality meal in a nice outdoor setting on a sunny Seattle day, should keep Picolinos on their list. It is easy to miss, sitting on a semi-commercial, suburban stretch off the main roadways, but the patio is one of the best in Seattle. Tom Bailiff opened this place in October 2008, just as the mortgage crisis was taking down the world economy. He'd taken an entire half block of shops in a 1940 building and remodeled them into a mini Italian villa, with four separate dining rooms, including the lounge, and a large, shady, terrace garden in back. Here he serves better than average classic Italian food and wines, as well as fairly standard cocktails. The food is good enough to put it on your must-try list, but the thing that will bring you back, once you have experienced, is the almost secret garden patio in back.

6415 32nd Ave NW Seattle, WA 98117 - (206) 781-8000
Est. Oct 2008 - Building constructed: 1940
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: ristorantepicolinos.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - bizjournals - roullard - myballard - yelp - urbanspoon

#2202 - The Hobnobber, Burien - 6/2/2013

This is a vintage dive which the current owner, Jack, has run since 1974. There is Witco on the walls, beer and wine only behind the counter, and the entire place looks like it's barely changed since it was built in 1967.

447 SW 153rd St, Burien, WA 98166 - (206) 433-9987                
Building constructed: 1967
Previous bars in this location: None known
Reviews: yelp - seattleweekly

#2201 - Mark, Burien, WA - 6/2/2013

This is a pleasant setting in old Burien, particularly on nice days. But the food and drinks are fairly pedestrian.

918 SW 152nd St, Burien, WA 98166 - (206) 241-6275
Est. 2006 - Building constructed: 1951
Web site: markrestaurant.com - facebook
Reviews: seattlebloggers - yelp - urbanspoon

#2200 #S1146 - Club 1Hundred, Seattle - 6/2/2013

These folks took their small bar in downtown Bellevue and moved it into the large space that previously housed the notorious Citrus. On the plus side, there do not seem to be shootings outside. But on the downside, there doesn't seem to be much of anyone inside.

1001 Fairview Ave N #2000, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 402-6364
Est. May 24, 2013 - Building constructed: 1978 - Closed 2014
Previous bars in this location: Citrus
Web site: 1hundredbistro.com - facebook
Reviews: eater - yelp - urbanspoon

#2199 #S1145 - A Terrible Beauty (SLU), Seattle - 6/2/2013

For a city with so much waterfront, Seattle does not really have that many great waterfront restaurant locations. But this former space of BluWater Bistro is one of the better ones, and surprisingly open on weekend afternoons, when the Amazonians are at home and before the evening crowds arrive. It's now home to the third instance of Irish-born Jenna Shannon Garvey and Paddy O'Brien's Irish restaurants named for a Yeats poem about Ireland's Easter Rebellion. These are the classic, woody, antique-filled, large Irish pubs, featuring a large selection of beers, a fairly sizable menu of fairly average pub food, and standard spirits.

1001 Fairview Avenue North #1700, Seattle, WA 98109 - (206) 420-4498
Est. 2012 - Building constructed: 1978
Previous bars in this location: Bluwater Bistro
Web site: aterriblebeauty.com - facebook
Reviews: thrillist - yelp - urbanspoon

#2198 - Entiat Log Cabin, Entiat, WA - 5/27/2013

Entiat Log Cabin, Entiat, WA

The town of Entiat, hugging the Columbia River at the eastern base of the Cascade Mountains, where big horn sheep often startle drivers on Highway 97, is in its third location. The first Entiat burned down in 1913, whereupon they relocated near the railroad line built the following year.  The second time they got a little more warning, and moved a few select buildings before the Rocky Reach dam inundated the area in 1962. Both in the middle and on the edge of Entiat, which has two larger portions squeezing into a narrow section in between, is the Entiat Log Cabin.

Entiat Log Cabin, Entiat, WA

The Log Cabin is a fairly large place, ordinary looking on the outside, but with a nice, log cabin lodge decor inside. It is split in half by a family restaurant side and a bar side, with taxidermy heads and wagon wheel chandeliers, and somehow seems twice as large from the inside. It serves a wide selection of bottled beers (99 of them, according to the sign), and a fairly typical pub menu of prime rib, pizza, and burgers. It hosts a combination of locals and tourists seeking the many nearby outdoor recreation options. We had a funny and friendly chat with customers Kirk and Lisa during our visit.

Entiat, WA

Entiat Log Cabin, Entiat, WA

Mysteriously entombed urinal in the men's
room of the Entiat Log Cabin

14481 U.S. 97 Alt, Entiat, WA 98822 - (509) 784-2156                   
Est. 2004 - Building constructed: 1960
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor

#2197 - Town Bar and Grill, Mansfield, WA - 5/27/2013

Town Bar and Grill, Mandfield, WA

The folks at the Town Bar and Grill said that the place was established in 1902, and one person told me that it was previously called the Town Tavern (or Town Tav) and that this had been the name all the way back to its founding. But I have not been able to find any historical information to confirm this, and there are reasons to be suspicious. 1902 would have pre-dated the railroad and the boom days, as well as a couple devastating fires. Further, Douglas County tax records indicate that the current building was constructed in 1910, and by that year Douglas County had voted itself completely dry.

Perhaps there was a saloon in this location that preceded the current building and country prohibition, or perhaps it was the "Town" buffet or cafe or something or other at the time and through prohibition.  At minimum it appears to be a very old bar, like the stacks of large boulders that dot the surrounding grain fields. The bar portion, which has a quite old back bar, offers typical neighborhood dive drink options, but at least during the day the feel of the entire place is more like a friendly care. The people there are nice, although they were apparently looking to move on when we visited, as a boy on tricycle out front greeted us by asking if we were going to buy the place from his grandmother.

Adam F., a volunteer with the mansfieldwashington.org site, informed me of some of the more recent history, noting that "... in the early 1980-90's it was owned by life long residents Gene and Lydia Goll. At that time it was known as the Town Tav.... In the mid to late 90's, they sold it to a couple by the name of Lonnie and Jody (do not know their last names) who then changed the name to the "Town Bar and Grill". Lonnie and Jody owned it for a few years before they sold it and moved to Roslyn, where they owned another small bar. Dave and Tammy Angus purchased it from Lonnie and Jody, and in the mid 2000's, Dave and Tammy sold it to the current owners, Gerald and Lynn Poole."

Mansfield, Wash

Reserving the Rigt - Town Tavern, Mansfield, WA

Back bar label, Town Tavern, Mansfield, WA

34 Main St, Mansfield, WA 98830 - (509) 683-1921
Est. ? - Building constructed: 1910