#2209 - Mick Kelly's Irish Pub, Burien - 6/26/2013

This is a fairly typical, large, American, Irish bar owned by Mick Purdy and Kelly Adrian. The food and drinks are not outstanding, but it's a friendly place, and I'm inclined to reward them with my business more after reading this is a review: "I also hate it when a restaurant thinks they should tell guests how to wear their baseball hats. I was told repeatedly that turning my cap backwards was not allowed."

435 SW 152nd St Seattle, WA 98166 - (206) 246-2473
Est. Sep 15, 2005 - Building constructed: 1948
Previous bars in this location: The Shaft
Web site:  mickkellysirishpubburien.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - yelp

#2208 - Ulysses Restaurant and Lounge, Tukwila - 6/26/2013

At age 25, Ulysses Kollias migrated from Kaloskopi Parnassidos, Greece, and at 36 he founded Ulysses Restaurant and Lounge in Tukwila, which has remained run by the family ever since. The emphasis seems a bit more on the lounge side of the business, with a fairly typical suburban bar serving up inexpensive drinks, karaoke, and televisions showing sports events.

16360 42nd Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98188 - (206) 243-1875
Est. 1978 - Building constructed: 1972
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

#2207 #S1150 - Billy Beach Sushi and Bar, Seattle - 6/22/2013

I'm not a good judge of sushi. But not only has Billy Beach been running or worked at what seems like every modern sushi bar in Seattle (Japonessa, Wasabi Bistro, KushiBar, Rain, I Love Sushi), but this new ballard restaurant serves some very nice original and traditional cocktails. I especially enjoyed the Diesel Fuel (bourbon, Cocchi Torino, Zucca, whiskey barrel aged bitters), by bartender Cameron.

5463 Leary Ave NW Leary Ave NW, Seattle, Washington 98107 - (206) 257-4616
Est. May 1, 2013 - Building constructed: 1950
Previous bars in this location: Paratii Craft Bar
Web site: billybeachsushi.com - facebook
Reviews: onceuponabite - thrillist - ballardnewstribute - seattlemet - eater - yelp - thestranger

#2206 #S1149 - TanakaSan, Seattle - 6/22/2013

TanakaSan is a new and basically particularly inventive izakaya restaurant from Tom Douglas and his long time executive chef Eric Tanaka. "T-Doug" is the most prominent chef in Seattle, particularly in the downtown area, and Tanaka has been with him since 1993. I keep waiting for some new piece of Douglas's growing mini empire to be disappointing, but it just never happens.

Douglas and Tanaka do not refer to this place as izakaya, since that does not communicate the breadth or inventiveness of the contemporary, pan-Asian fusion menu (Douglas called it "LA punk Asian").  It is part of a large mall of shops that Douglas calls "Assembly Hall" at the base of new condo building. The bright, modern setting is not my prefered sort of setting to relax and have a cocktail, but the food is excellent and the cocktails are creative and good.

(I will have get some better pictures on a return trip.  See Foodspotting or heyprettything)


2121 6th Ave Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 812-8412
Est. June 10, 2013 - Building constructed: 2013
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: tanakasanseattle.com - facebook
Suggested articles: seattlemet - seattletimes - eater - seattlemag - surlygourmand - gastrolust - culinaryfool
More articles: seriouseats - thestranger -

#2205 - Lake Forest Park Bar & Grill, Lake Forest Park - 6/15/2013

"This place is always hopping," says one review.  Hmm, it seemed somewhat sterile and slow when I was there, and at 10:30 on a Saturday night, no less.  But this chain does a good job of serving a fairly good, fairly standard American restaurant menu in its various locations -- Greenlake Grill, Eastlake Grill, and Bremerton.  What makes this one less interesting to me than the Seattle locations is that those have some great locations with a patio looking out upon Lake Union and across the street to Greenlake.  This one is stuck in the corner of a typical suburban shopping center, so while it is seems a decent, convenient choice for folks who live nearby, there doesn't seem to be anything in particular to tempt anyone from outside the neighborhood.

17535 Ballinger Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155 - (206) 364-1261
Est. May 21, 2009 - Building constructed: 1965
Previous bars in this location: Fandango's, Coco's
Web site: lakeforestbarandgrill.com - facebook
Reviews: seattletimes - yelp

#2204 #S1148 - Chico Madrid, Seattle - 6/12/2013

Chico Madrid closed on April 13, 2014

---

It's a little unclear whether to count the short-lived Chico Madrid as a bar, as it was more a cafe emphasizing charcuterie and bocadillos (Spanish baguette sandwiches).  But it did serve wines, beer, sangria, shrubs, and other largely juice-based cocktails around a horse-shoe shaped bar or counter. It was in a bright, small space at the bottom floor of an apartment meeting on one of the more moderately traveled commercial sections of Capitol Hill, and run by the people behind Honore Bakery and Fuel Coffee in the neighborhood.

711 Bellevue Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102
Est. March 28, 2013 - Closed April 13, 2014 - Building constructed: 2013
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: chicomadrid.com - facebook
Reviews: seattlemet - seattletimes - seattlemag - yelp

#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

#2196 - The Shorthorn Tavern, Omak, WA - 5/27/2013

Omak Washington, named for the Salishan Indian term "Omache" ("good medicine," a reference to the favorable climate), is a small city, but with about 5,000 people it is the largest community in Okanagan County. It is most well known for the annual Omak Stampede and its Suicide Race. Along Main Street, many of the business names echo the old west and cattle raising themes. According to the Wenatchee World, in 1910 Omak voted itself dry 97-2, while nearby Okanagan voted against prohibition by 82-40. Nevertheless, as we drove around the two cities in 2013, it was in Omak where we located an open bar, the Shorthorn Tavern.

The Shorthorn is a little larger than it looks from the outside, and serves up the classic small town dive bar drinks and food choices, pool tables and pull tabs. If you're going to be on Omak for a while, you could also try the lounge in the back of Mickey's (formerly The Lariat) or the North Country Pub, which we were not able to experience but look like they are also comfortable small town dives. You'd better have cash though, because that's all some of these places accept, and Mickey's has a notice specifically prohibiting bumming beers or cigarettes.

3 N Main St, Omak, WA 98841 - (509) 826-0338            

#2195 - Sit'n Bull Saloon, Conconully, WA - 5/26/2013

If things are a little raucous or dark for you at the Tamarack Saloon up the street, you can drop by the Sit'n Bull, which is brightly lit and considerably more sedate. On the Saturday night I visited it featured karaoke run by an unlikely looking host who looked like Ben Stein in a camo baseball cap. Basic dive bar food and drinks.

308 N Main St, Conconully, WA 98819 - (509) 826-2947