#2303 - Nikki's Restaurant and Lounge, Covington, WA - 9/27/2013

Covington Washington is a small city of about 18,000 people, about 20 miles southeast of Seattle, with a retail core hugging state highway 516. It was incorporated only in 1997, largely as a defense against either "being annexed by Kent or being developed into oblivion by King County." (historylink)  When the first Europeans arrived in the area in the 1850s, it was home to the 'Stkamish, Smulkamis, and Skopamish ... later, all three tribes would be lumped together under the name of other groups along the White and Green rivers, as "Muckleshoot."' (ibid) The Muckelshoot and Klickitat fought removal from their homes, killing nine settlers a few miles from present day Covington, but you know how that story went in the long run.

The area was first known to the white people as Jenkins Prairie, and later took the name of the Northern Pacific Railroad's surveyor, Richard Covington, who laid out a route known as the Palmer Cutoff, or in the code of the railroad's telegrams, "Rodent Frugality." Once almost entirely a bedroom community, the current conquerors are the strip malls and corporate chains. Since about 2000 the highway has been increasingly surrounded by the tribes of the Walmarts, Costcos, Home Depots, Targets and Applebees.

Nikki's is an exception to that. There aren't many places to have a drink in Covington. There are no taverns left, and although Nikki's is relatively new and more known for its breakfasts, it does have a sizable lounge that hosts live bands. Previously there was a Godfather's Pizza here for many years before the location eventually hosted the "272 Bar and Grill." But the 272 was too pricey for Covington, I was informed -- an observation I found echoed in just about every Yelp entry from the time -- and it became Nikki's in Dec. 2011. And while the space itself still doesn't have much character, the few people there on this lazy Friday afternoon did.

Bartender Jamie was explaining how her husband couldn't figure out how he had a hangover after having only 6 beers, though he also had 2 Irish Coffees and couldn't remember the number of jello shots. Customer Joe isn't content to just have jello shots at Nikki's, so he makes himself a bowl at home ("a shot is a table spoon"). Joe had recently come from a doctor visit ("No, my doctor's in old Renton -- you have to go armed"). Apparently Joe's doctor keeps telling him he needs to quit drinking but Joe told him "I run into more old drunks than old doctors." I was disappointed to find no old taverns in Covington, but more pleased to find at least a few old tavern kind of people.

27120 174th Pl SE Covington, WA 98042 - (253) 236-5623
Est. Dec 12, 2011 - Building constructed: 1985
Previous bars in this location: 272 Bar and Grill
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp - urbanspoon - tripadvisor

#2302 #S1176 - Foundation, Seattle - 9/26/2013

Update: Foundation Nightclub was closed Aug 9, 2018 after Seattle police confirmed in-house, management-approved drug dealers, seized "829 grams of cocaine, over 1,000 grams of MDMA, 400 ecstasy pills, 800 Xanax pills, 190 grams of ketamine, 13 grams of DMT, 176 grams of GHB, 1200 Molly capsules, and additional prescription drugs, as well as two handguns and more than $60,000 in cash,” and had an underground officer coached by one of the dealers on how to dose women with date-rape drugs.

Oontz oontz oontz oontz ...

Boy George, Foundation Nightclub, Seattle

2218 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121 - (206) 535-7285
Est. Oct 31, 2012 - Closed Aug 9, 2019 - Building constructed: 1913
Previous bars in this location: Baccano Ristorante & Vinoteca, Club Medusa, Venom
Web site: foundation-nightclub.com - facebook
Reviews: seattleite - yelp

#2301 #S1175 - Monkey Bridge, Seattle - 9/25/2013

There's only a tiny little bar here, which you are unlikely to seek out for just a drink. But it is pleasant place to have a sip while waiting for some pretty good Vietnamese food from the Nguyen family what used to run Viet Chi downtown.

1723 NW Market St Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 297-6048
Est. 2008 - Building constructed: 1955
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: themonkeybridge.com
Reviews: seattleweekly - seattletimes - yelp - seattlemag - seattlepi - thestranger

#2300 #S1174 - Barnacle, Seattle - 9/25/2013

Barnacle Bar, Seattle

Sometimes it seems like Renee Erickson and I were just not mean to get along. Everybody else in Seattle seems to love, love, love Renee Erickson, but our tastes just seem doomed to an ill-fated relationship. So I was never blown away, as everyone else in this town seems to have been, by The Whale Wins, and I certainly do not wake up craving the octopus terrine at Barnacle that everybody else seems to love. It seems senseless to me that a civilization that has discovered fire and has access to bacon and blackberries should ever settle for scavenging the low tide for sustenance and serving it tartare. And that's not to mention considering it a great treat to receive a plate of razor slim octopus floating in a plate of olive oil. I don't even like oysters.

I could probably make a logically consistent argument for me tastes if I didn't love lobster and Dungeness crab so much, but that's beside the point, so don't tell Renee Erickson about that. And her brightly lit Barnacle Bar, the Italian apertivo squeezed into a hallway-shaped space adjacent Staple and Fancy, which looks like a kitchen set from a Martha Stewart program, is close to the opposite of my preferred bar decor. And finally, as if to rub sea salt in the wound, Erickson confessed to The Stranger that she loves Lays potato chips, sardines, Steely Dan, and Fleetwood Mac -- and she hates chili. How could I ever, ever be expected to get along with such a woman?

Barnacle Bar, Seattle

And yet she keeps seducing me back. The cocktails bartender Ria provided me at Barnacle Bar were lovely, and while much of Renee's menu reflects our dysfunctional relationship, there are always a few highly enticing treasures lying between the slimy creatures from the tidal pools, even if it means resorting to cheese tactics. . So yes, Renee, even as I escape to long chili binges and extended Lays potato chip fasts, God help me, you know I'll be back.

Octopus terrine, Barnacle Bar, Seattle

4743 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, Washington 98107 - (206) 706-3379
Est. Sep 23, 2013 - Building constructed: 1900 or earlier
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: thebarnaclebar.com - facebook
Reviews: thestranger - seattletimes - seattlemag - seattlemet - seattlemet - yelp

#2299 - The Wooly Toad, Newcastle, WA - 9/23/2013

The Wooly Toad, a cigar and brandy lounge hidden up the stairs at Scott Oki's Newcastle Golf Course clubhouse, is perfect for those times you feel like sinking back in an overstuffed leather chair with a brandy, recalling war stories before discussing mergers and acquisitions after a brisk polo match, and literally looking down on the rest of the greater Bellevue-Seattle area from the crest of the area's old coal mines. It doesn't feel like it, but the club is public, and I recommend going at least once or twice a year even if you don't golf.

The Golf Club At Newcastle 15500 Six Penny Ln Newcastle, WA 98059 Phone number (425) 793-5566
Est. 1999 - Building constructed: 1999
Previous bars in this location: None
Web site: okigolf.com
Reviews: seattletimes - cascadegolfer - foleydesign - yelp

#2298 - The Calcutta Grill, Newcastle, WA - 9/23/2013

Country clubs and golf courses are an often overlooked option for just eating and drinking, and that is certainly true of Newcastle if one is in the mood for a casual but elegant setting with sweeping views of Lake Washington and its environs. The main restaurant is named for "calcutta" style wagering, not for Indian food -- it serves traditional American seafood and steaks in a semi-formal and simple way, ala, say, an Anthony's. The cocktails are pedestrian, but you're not here for culinary creativity or masterful craft cocktails, but rather for the sun, the grass, the views, and the formal service. And perhaps to daydream a bit like you're retired and living this every day.

15500 6 Penny Lane, Newcastle, WA 98059 - (425) 793-4646
Web site: okigolf.com
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor

#2297 - Pub 44, Lynnwood, WA - 9/22/2013

Despite being in a shopping center lot, this bar used to have an interesting name ("Daverthumps") and a nautical theme to distinguish it from other bars. Currently they seem to be trying to squeeze out whatever character it once had and make it into a sort of bland karaoke/sports bar like virtually every other bar in Lynnwood. Thankfully, there are still vestiges of the old place around -- at least for now -- and it can be a friendly and lively place to watch Seahawks games.

19720 44th Ave W Lynnwood, WA 98036 - (425) 582-8808                
Previous bars in this location: Daverthumps Pub
Reviews: yelp