#2346 #S1191 - Grog, Seattle - 11/24/2013

It would be difficult for me to not like a bar named "Grog," and it becomes even more unlikely when they have a skull in their logo and actually serve grog.

Grog is the backroom bar behind the Ballard Annex Oyster House, which formerly housed the apothecary bar of Fu Kun Wu (and its purported opium den downstairs). Before that it housed the Ballard News printing presses. The new places are the work of Zak Melang and Nathan Opper, the two people best known for the Matador chain. Most of Melang and Opper's places are instantly packed with people, but Grog is a little different. It is marketed largely as an event space and the first evening I dropped by for a cocktail the space was reserved for an art class.

The drinks too were quite different, embracing east Asian and maritime themes, and offering real grog (rum mixed with water and other flavors) and other cocktails served communally in hot teapots. I have heard that sine that time they have changed to the more common cocktail menu (and containers) used by the Oyster House bar, so it could be that this experiment is over? Obviously a return visit is in order.

5410 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 783-5410
Est. Nov 15, 2013 - Building constructed: 1908
Previous bars in this location: Fu Kun Wu
Web site: ballardannex.com
Articles ranked: seattleweekly - seattletimes - seattlemet - eatinseattle - yelp - eater - urbanspoon - tripadvisor - thestranger

#2345 #S1190 - Lamplighter Public House, Seattle - 11/24/2013

May still be temporarily closed due to electrical fire in Jan 2015.

The Sundown Tavern was apparently located on three of the four corners at this intersection, including the former laundromat building which would eventually become Sweet Lou's and now the Lamplighter Public House. New ownership assumed control in June of 2013 and would seem to want to gentrify the joint a bit. In addition to general cleanin and fixin and good beer addin, they've created patio seating out front. It's gotten less divey with each ownership iteration, and it's now a fairly typical neighborhood bar, owned by the Stedman family who also run the Magnolia Village Pub and now the more Bellevue-ish Normandy Park Ale House. I'm confident that most the neighbors like it better this way, though I have a weak spot for the divey old version with aged patrons and bartender.


820 NW 85th St, Seattle, WA 98117 - 820 NW 85th St
Est. Nov 19, 2013 - Building constructed: 1953
Previous bars in this location: Sundown Tavern/Saloon, Sweet Lou's
Web site: lamplighterseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - urbanspoon

#2344 #S1189 - Altstadt Bierhalle and Brathaus, Seattle - 11/24/2013

Despite being of more German extraction than any other ethnicity, I'm not much of a fan of German beer or German cuisine, so I'm not to be trusted to tell you about a place like Altstadt ("old town") Bierhalle and Brathaus. But I do immediately have interest in any place whose logo is a jackalope (if that's what they are called when they have wings -- did not even know that variation existed). Aldstadt sits about 250 feet from the former location of the first licensed bar in Seattle, Plummer's Snoqualmie Hall, now the site of the Bread of Life Mission. This is in Seattle's "old town," Pioneer Square," known for the original "skid row" and for the past several decades noted largely for bums and nightclubs that cater to douchebaggery.

The gentrification of Seattle over recent years has included star chefs like Matt Dillon (Bar Sajor and London Plane), Mike Easton (Il Corvo, Pizzeria Gabbiano) and Josh Henderson (Quality Athletics), and a number of other intriguing bars reinvigorating great old spaces, such as Good Bar. Altstadt continued this trend with award-winning chef  Brendan McGill (Hitchcock) the most well-known of three owners, moving into a historic space that has hosted bars at least as far back as 1906 and for forty years contained Larry's Greenfront, which would become Seattle's pre-eminent blues club for a couple decades. McGill sold his interest in Altstadt to the other two partners a year later.

Aldstadt serves pretty much the menu and beer selection you would expect from a large, modern German bierhalle, but a bit upgraded. The space would be completely unrecognizable to anyone who remembers Larry's Greenfront -- or for that matter the Crimson C nightclub that spent a few desultory years here. It has been opened up exposing a large brick-surrounded space with rustic wood tables, including long picnic style communal tables and a chess set sitting on a plank set across to casks. It seems positioned to attract a wide range of potential customers and is in a good location to attract fans on their way to see the Sounders, Seahawks or Mariners. And unlike most of the new places listed above, it makes the area seem studier and considerably nicer, without such a jarring diremption between its grimier past and the fine dining young professionals both visiting and moving into the neighborhood in ever greater numbers.

209 1st Ave S, Seattle, Washington - (206) 602-6442
Est. Nov 14, 2013 - Building constructed: 1900 or earlier
Previous bars in this location: Larry's Greenfront, Crimson C
Web site: altstadtseattle.com - facebook
Articles Ranked: seattlemag - seattletimes - culinaryfool - eater - thestranger - yelp - zagat

#2343 #S1188 - Louisa's Cafe, Seattle - 11/22/2013

Update: Louisa's closed in December 2017


Louisa's is a homey, feminine sort of cafe and bakery that seems like it belongs around the corner from the main street in some tiny town. It's menu is both slightly fancy and American traditional comfort food, and though it's a fairly small place it often hosts live music. In October 2013 they added a 7-seat cocktail bar, and while I feel like I'll have to come back to get a good handle on it, I was quite content with my "Cocktail a la Louisiane" (rye, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, pastis, and bitters). The emphasis at Louisa's for most hours remains the bakery and cafe, and the bourbon flatiron steak sandwich was quite nice.

Bourbon Flatiron Steak Sandwich (whiskey marinaded grilled
steak on warm focaccia with arugala, tomato, and smoked
sweet onions - Louisa Cafe, Bakery, and Bar, Seattle

Season salad (red pear, toasted almonds, mixed greens, white
balsamic vinaigrette) at Louisa's Cafe, Seattle

2379 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102 - (206) 325-0081
Est. 1998 - Bar added Oct 14, 2013 - Building constructed: 1989
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: louisascafe.com - facebook
Reviews: gastrolust - seattlepi - thestranger - yelp - thrillist

#2342 #S1187 - Roux, Seattle - 11/19/2013

Update: Roux closed Feb 18, 2018.

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I don't know how much of this is New Orleans and how much of this is Matt Lewis, but the food at Roux is demented. Root beer barbecue, watermelon pickle, frog legs with parsley, braised rabbit leg, crispy pig ear, turtle bolognese, fried alligator tail -- the menu reads like something you might see people forced to eat on a cruel Japanese game show. And yet everything I have here tastes really good.

NOLA native Lewis became well known around Seattle starting in 2010 with his "Where Ya At Matt?" food truck. In 2013 he opened this place in an historic Seattle bar location, the home of the Buckaroo Tavern since 1938 (and other bars slightly before that). Nothing can compensate for the demise of a great old dive like the Buck, but it's a bit comforting that it was not replaced by a Starbucks, but a unique contribution to the food and drink scene. There are some intriguing cocktails -- less weird sounding than the food -- and I was fond of the Doctor Boggs (pecan infused bourbon, chicory syrup, bitters). Lewis's chef (since departed) Michael Robertshaw was said to be combining Creole recipes with his classical French background and Northwest influence. All I can tell you is that the stuff sounds crazy, but tastes crazy good.


4201 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 547-5420
Est. Nov 19, 2013 - Building constructed: 1908
Previous bars in this location: Buckaroo Tavern
Web site: restaurantroux.com - facebook
Articles ranked: seattletimes - seattlemag - gastrolust - foodhipster - eater - yelp - urbanspoon - thestranger

#2341 #S1186 - Le Petit Cochon, Seattle - 11/19/2013

I admire the ethics of "nose-to-tail" chefs like Le Petit Cochon's Derek Ronspies -- though less than I admire the ethics of vegetarians. But as a culinary moral reprobate myself, I'm just more likely to reach for dishes with terms like "pork belly" than I am for ones with "feet" or "face," let alone "legumes." Ronspies, who previously worked with his brother at fancy Art of the Table, actually revised the Cochon theme in 2014, shifting away from "fine dining" and more toward a "gastro pub." Whatever the case, I would be quite happy eating the rotating dishes here as well as some really nice cocktails.

I had a nice conversation with Bonnie, and older customer who loves Art of the Table and knows her restaurants, as well as with Derek and bartender Kate. I enjoyed an "Ole Smokey" (house made cedar infused bourbon, bitters, sugar, orange peel), and sampled the "Kurtwood Farms Loghouse Tomme (aged Tomme style cheese, with "D’s Nuts," pluot jam, and peppered honey) and the Duck Quacklins. And while it is less bar than restaurant, the quality and creativity of the drinks plus the fairly intimate and offbeat space make it a nice choice whether you're hungry or not.

701 N 36th St #200, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 829-8943
Est. Oct 2, 2013 - Building constructed: 2001
Previous bars in this location: Showa
Web site: gettinpiggy.com - facebook
Articles ranked: thehungrydogblog - gastrolust - seattleweekly - seattlemet - seattletimes - thestranger - eater - yelp - urbanspoon

#2340 #S1185 - Cafe Con Leche, Seattle - 11/18/2013

Cuban sandwich at Cafe Con Leche, Seattle

Okay, you know a place is not focused on the bar when they are closed by 7pm every night and all day Saturday. But there is a fairly handsome bar here, with a small number of spirits, ready to serve lunch time visitors or patrons of events at the Sur space from which they carved out Cafe Con Leche. For the Cuban sandwiches and meals, I am tempted to redirect you all the way across town to Paseo, but the food is pretty good here.

2905 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134 - (206) 682-7557
Est. May 1, 2012 - Building constructed: 1927
Previous bars in this location: Sur Artino
Web site: cafeconlecheseattle.com - facebook - percuba2
Articles ranked: seattletimes - seattleite - yelp - seriouseats - thrillist - thestranger - seattlemag - seattlemag - urbanspoon - eater