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Bars where Pete has had a Drink (5,608 bars; 1,754 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:


Bars where Pete has had a drink

Friday, November 24, 2017

#2574 - Star Theater, Portland, OR - 7/11/2014

Originally opened as the Princess Theater in 1911, this venue soon became home to a number of mostly bawdy uses over the years, hosting burlesque acts and strippers from Tempest Storm to Courtney Love. For several years it was owned by director Gus Van Sant, and subsequently transformed into several different nightclubs. In 2011 the owners of Dante's took over, and it's now a concert venue and event space, with a nice outdoor courtyard area and a lot of character. (This visit was for the opening event of Portland's TikiKon 2014, which included a few acts much in the spirit of the history of the venue.)









13 NW 6th Ave, Portland, OR 97209                        
Est. 2011 (current venue), 1911 as Princess Theater
Previous bars at this location: Vivid, Level, Five Star Theater 
Web site: startheaterportland.comfacebook
Reviews: wikipediaportlandmercury - yelp - tripadvisor



#2573 - Ming Lounge, Republic Cafe, Portland, OR - 7/11/2014

Republic Cafe and Ming Lounge, Portland, OR
I do not know how long Portland's Republic Cafe has has a (licensed) bar, but the cafe  has been around since prohibition and in the 70s the bar extended to the entire current banquet room. (pdxmonthly) If you like lounges in Chinese restaurants this one is not to be missed.

The Republic Cafe, established in 1922, is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Portland, and the Ming Lounge, "the most beautiful seedy bar in Portland," (wweek) is the last remaining Chinese dive bar in this city's Chinatown. The romantic, scarlet glow of the cozy bar section is a perfect mood setter, the cafe serves classic American Chinese, and the lounge offers the cheap, heavy pours of a classic dive, but with a wider range of cocktails than the typical dive.

Ming Lounge, Portland, OR 





































222 NW 4th Ave, Portland, OR 97209 - (503) 226-4388                    b
Web site: republiccafeportland.comfacebook
Reviews: wweek - pdxmonthly - yelp - tripadvisor - barflymag

#2572 #S1268 - Cozy Nut Tavern, Seattle - 7/10/2014

With a small, dark space in my neighborhood featuring dioramas and taxidermy, I am immediately sold. To cement the deal, they have some nice and interesting cocktails, some good beers, and tasty small plates. The Cozy Nut was opened by four friends who have worked at places like Cha Cha and Bimbo's and at least some of home have some pretty nice craft skills. They poured the brass lamp frames, created the bar out of slices of telephone poles and covered the happily dark interior with wood from an old Duvall barn. One of them explained the organizing design theme as "Where would a a gnome hang out?" (seattletimes), and it looks like they nailed it.

The Cozy Nut Tavern, Seattle, WA














The Cozy Nut Tavern, Seattle, WA

























































































123 N 85th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 784-2240
Est. July 9, 2014 - Building constructed: 1949
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: facebook
Articles ranked: seattletimes - seattlemag - yelp - thrillist - king5 (video) - notfortourists - thestranger - eater - phinneywood - tripadvisor 

Sunday, November 19, 2017

#2571 - Red Dog Saloon, Maple Valley, WA - 7/5/2014

Red Dog Saloon, Maple Valley, WA
The Red Dog Saloon is less than 20 miles southeast of the Seattle city limits but it is plainly a rural bar. It is popular with bikers, which for my money is highly reliable indicator of good bars once you get outside the larger cities. It appears to be an old farm site, with a sizable back yard area between the Cedar River and the Maple Valley Rention Highway. The back area features large cedar trees, a moss covered shed, horseshoes, cable spool tables, and a stage for live bands.

I have very limited data on previous incarnations, but it appears to have been the Red Dog since around 2012, Vinnie's Pub and Grill for a few years before that, and the Cedar Inn Saloon during the 90s. The main building was constructed in 1933.

Red Dog Saloon, Maple Valley, WA
The people are mostly friendly (although at least one man was stabbed to death in a Saturday night bar fight after reportedly saying to a bar regular, "Oh you're going to stab me? Really?"), and the food is unusually good versions of burgers, hot wings and other standard pub fare. The bar sponsors and hosts many of the events you'd expect from a popular rural bar, including live music on Friday nights, jam nights, car shows, chili cookoffs, karaoke, taco Thursdays and pinochle -- and a few you might not (an "arts and carafes" painting night and being part of a "Biker Games" weekend that includes a "Weanie Bite."

And like most places in an older building, some people believe it has a ghost -- although our bartender heard about a saloon up north where the owner eventually found out that the employees that were getting objects thrown at them by ghosts the ones that were stealing from him. I'm not sure that lesson that leaves us to draw.

Red Dog Saloon, Maple Valley, WA
The Red Dog is a good choice when you're looking for a relaxing respite south of Lake Sammamish.


18606 Maple Valley Hwy SE, Renton, WA 98058 - (425) 413-8600
Est. 2012?  - Building constructed: 1933
Previous bars in this location: Cedar Inn, Vinnie's Pub and Grill
Web site: facebook
Reviews: bikerfriendlybar - yelp

#2570 #S1267 - Lantern Brewing Tasting Room, Seattle - 7/5/2014

Lantern Brewing, Seattle
Lantern Brewing is one of 60 or so craft breweries in the city of Seattle but the only one that is two blocks from my house. I am of no help at all in telling you which of these various tap rooms you should try first, as they virtually all have the same basic vibe for me, they pretty much all have some very fine beers, and my preferences vary much more from beer to beer than from brewery to brewery.

Chris Engdahl started producing beer as a business in Jan 2011, using 26-gallon tanks in a basement space on Greenwood Avenue. In 2013 he moved to larger equipment and a drab, concrete warehouse space just off Aurora Avenue. Like so many other microbreweries in town, he carved out a tasting room space inside the warehouse and extending to the asphalt parking lot outside, with a nice wood bar counter, picnic tables, games, a good truck schedule and a friendly, ex-computer guy making beer. If you are partial to Belgians or a lot of unusual ingredients like mulberries, pickled beets, and squash, then this brewpub may stand out for you. These are not particularly helpful for me to separate Lantern from the many other nice microbrews and taprooms in town, but the advantages of having it within two blocks of stumbling distance should go without saying.

Lantern Brewing, Seattle





















938 N 95th St, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 729-5350
Est. May 1, 2014 - Building constructed: 1985
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: lanternbrewing.com - facebook
Articles ranked: washingtonbeerblog - phinneywood - seattlegreenlaker -  seattletimes- yelpbeeradvocate - untappd - thrillist

Saturday, November 18, 2017

#2569 #S1266 - Parlor Escape Lounge and Grill, Seattle - 7/5/2014

The Parlor "Escape Lounge" bar and comedy club closed Oct 26, 2015 and you're unlikely to miss it.

It did actually have better than average drinks and better than average appetizers -- I had nachos with filet mgnon and spicy ketchup. Downstairs was a large space for comedy shows (ala its sister operation in Bellevue) and event rentals, and featuring a high tech lighed bar on which you could make ripples or play pong.

But for all that the place still seemed to have the soul of a hotel business convention, never seemed like the kind of place where you'd regularly hang out, nor did it attract the sort of acts that would pull you in. The Bellevue location carries on.

Escape Lounge, Parlor Seattle




1522 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 - 206.602.1441                
Est. June 2014 - Closed Oct 26, 2015 - Building constructed: 1929
Previous bars in this location: Fox Sports Grill, Edge Grill
Reviews: yelp - evadopr - spacefinder

Sunday, November 12, 2017

#2568 #S1265 - Intermezzo Carmine, Seattle - 7/3/2014

Intermezzo Carmine
In a bright white formality, Intermezzo Carmine rolls out a cocktail and small plate destination in an area more accustomed to sports bars and cowgirls dancing on the bar. That is Pioneer Square today, where beachheads of upscale dining pierce the territory long held by frat boys, the homeless, and sports fans. Intermezzo is owned by Maria Smeraldo, who has carried on her deceased husband's highly regarded Il Terrazzo Carmine, which has been serving fine, traditional Italian cuisine in an understated and elegant setting next door since October of 1984. I did not have anything to eat in this stop at Intermezzo, but there is little doubt that you can count on the food, and while I have lost my notes on the particular cocktails I ordered, I do remember enjoying both them and the service from bar manager Cody Robison.

409 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 - (206) 467-7797                   
Est. June 16, 2014 - Building constructed: 1913
Previous bars in this location: None known
Web site: ilterrazzocarmine.com - facebook
Articles ranked: seattletimes - seattlemag - seattlemet - thestranger - seattlemet - yelp - tripadvisor - zagat - thrillist