#2410 #1216 - NW Peaks Brewery, Seattle - 2/9/2014

NW Peaks is a nano-brewery in Ballard churning out less than a barrel per batch, but releasing two new beers per month, which they serve up in this tasting room, as well as the Bergschrund, in the former 2-Bit Saloon location, and several other local bars.

4912 17th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 853-0525
Est. 2012 - Building constructed: 1951
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: nwpeaksbrewery.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - beeradvocate - ratebeer - thestranger - ballardbeerblog

#2409 #1215 - Miyabi, Seattle - 2/8/2014

Miyabi, Seattle (Wallingford)

Miyabi describe themselves as a Japanese gastropub and claim to be the only restaurant on the west coast specializing in handmade soba noodles. This Wallingford Miyabi is a sister to restaurants to the south of Seattle in Tukwila and Tacoma, which have more of an emphasis on sushi. In addition to executive chef Masaaki Ishikura and his wife Hisako, the ownership group includes major league pitcher Masao Kida, who had a brief stint with the Mariners. For this location the ownership team added artisan soba chef Mutsuko Soma (Chez Shea, Saito's).

In addition to sake and shochu, they have a nice selection of infusions and well crafted, fruit based variations on classic cocktails. I did not try the soba this time, but much enjoyed a "Bad Date" (date-infused bourbon, black walnut liqueur, xococatl mole bitters), an infusion sampler and a cheese plate. (You can get an idea of the range of tempting food offerings from the over 500 photos with their yelp reviews.)

2208 N 45th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 632-4545             
Est. 2013 - Building constructed: 1946
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: miyabi45th.com - facebook
Articles ranked: seattlemet - seattlemag - seattletimes - eater - thestranger - yelp - tripadvisor

#2408 #1214 - Octopus Bar, Seattle - 1/26/2014

Update: The Octopus bar at this location closed November 18, 2019, and is relocating a bit east at 2121 N 45th, i.e. the old Iron Bull and Goldies location.

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Octopus Bar, I'm not going to try and deny that you had me at the sign. In fact, you had me mostly hooked as soon as I heard about a nautically themed bar from the people behind A-Pizza Mart and Royal Booze and Burritos -- those people know how to have fun and light up an otherwise mostly humdrum University District bar scene. Your flatbreads and margaritas are surely satisfactory, and your staff are fun and friendly, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I loved you for your looks.

2109 N 45th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 547-3663
Est. Jan 25, 2014 - Building constructed: 1915
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: theoctopusbar.com - facebook
Articles ranked: seattlemet - seattletimes -  yelp - wallyhood - komonews - sosh - thestranger

#2407 #1213 - El Borracho del Norte, Seattle - 1/25/2014

Not that I don't enjoy the yummy tacos at Kittie Davidovich's El Borracho establishments in Pike Place Market and Ballard, but we were sadly disappointed when she also converted the cajun and creole cuisine of Le Bon Ton Roule into yet another Borracho. The food, the drinks, and the breezy New Orleans roadhouse feel were unique in the Seattle area. It was even more sad when this version of Borracho closed shop a year later. C'est la vie.

4332 Leary Way NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 297-8888
Est. Dec 7, 2013 - Building constructed: 1900 or earlier
Previous bars in this location: Le Bon Ton Roule, Treehouse, Claudio's
Web site: elborrachoseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: seattlemet - foursquare - myballard

#2406 #1212 - Bad Jimmy's, Seattle - 1/25/2014

I have to confess that there are so many of these microbreweries, and so many with virtually identical tasting rooms spilling out on to the patio from the warehouse -- and all serving good beers, all run and populated by nice people, all offering a chill environment to drink in -- that I really wouldn't know how to contrast them. (As long as we're talking about microbrews, my tasting experience ranges much more from beer to beer than it does from brewery to brewery.) Anyway, I'd recommend this one, just like I'd recommend every one of the ten microbreweries in the surrounding five square miles. Here's to beer and here's to Ballard.

4358 Leary Way NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 789-1548
Est. Dec 27, 2013 - Building constructed: 1928
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: badjimmysbrewingco.com
Articles ranked: fremontuniverse - beeradvocate - seattleweekly - twobrewreview - ratebeer - washingtonbeerblog - craftbeermonger - brewerydb - myballard - yelp - tripadvisor - ballardnewstribune - thestranger - eatballard

#2405 #1211 - Bourbon and Bones, Seattle - 1/25/2014

Update: Bourbon & Bones closed in Jan 2017.

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“I noticed there is nothing here that stands up to barbecue in North Carolina or the south, and I’m hoping to bring that here and make it in a very rustic way,” says co-owner Michael Law. Law left that state to work in New Orleans for 10 years, then northern Italy, France and Spain, before coming to Seattle for stints at El Gaucho, Flying Fish, and Wandering Goose. [ballardnewstribune]  Then at the beginning of 2014 he started serving up Lexington style barbecue in his own place (co-owned with Michael McConnell of Via Tribulani), after smoking it with apple and cherry wood in a custom made smoker, with a whiskey themed cocktail program from Nate Quiroga (Liberty).

In September of 2015 came word that Law was leaving B&B, while two new local chefs with high reputations -- William Belickis of Mistral Kitchen and Scott Carsberg of Lampriea/Bisato -- were coming in, an interesting shuffle of star chefs in the tiny, faux rustic space. While I have not been there since these changes, I'm sure you can continue to count on this being one of the better BBQs out of the explosion of barbecue joints in the Ballard area, or in the rest of the city for that matter. And while it's clearly about the meat (purchased by weight from a deli sort of display), and it's not always easy to find a seat in the limited bar area, it's not a bad choice to just grab a drink or two, as they have a good if not huge selection of spirits and make a nice Sazerac.

4350 Leary Way NW, Seattle, WA 98107 - (206) 582-2241
Est. Jan 20, 2014 - Building constructed: 1928 - Closed Jan 2017
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: bourbonandbones.com - facebook
Articles ranked: ballardnewstribune - seattlemet - chowhounds - seattlemag - yelp - thestranger - zomato

#2404 #1210 - Retro Restaurant and Lounge, Seattle - 1/22/2014

Retro seems like a small town bar that somehow plopped down into downtown Seattle. Owner Jeff is friendly and serves the unpretentious food you might imagine his mother making for you at the house, and in a setting that seems like it could have been decorated with spare items from his bedroom. The sparse and random items include a group of Lou Gehrig clippings that look like a treasured personal collection, along with the garden-variety family-restaurant James Dean and Marilyn Monroe stuff. Beside and beyond the bar room, there is a spare area with a stage and a back room that feels like a den, making the joint seem more like an after hours club. And yet the whole thing seems so unaffected that you can't help but root for the place.

216 Stewart St, Seattle, WA 98101 - (206) 441-7374
Est. June 17, 2013 - Building constructed: 1916
Previous bars in this location: Entres Nous, Night Kitchen
Web site: theretroseattle.com - facebook
Reviews: yelp - tripadvisor - zomato