Restaurant

Smith wastes no time getting down to business. Its beer list is enormous; you could order something different from it every day for a solid month -- and get well into the following month, too. The bottled and canned selection ranges from the obvious -- you’ve got your Rainiers, your Pacificos, your Newcastles -- to the frankly unexpected: I've rarely seen Golden Pheasant, Zloty Kur and Val-Dieu outside of Bottleworks. On tap is a star lineup of local and international talent that includes Maritime Pilsner, Rat City IPA, Fat Tire, Troubadour Blonde and many more. And it goes without saying that Seattle's lifeblood -- good old Pabst Blue Ribbon -- is available by the $7.50 pitcher.

The kitchen meets the challenge put forth by the bar with a variety of hearty, carnivore-friendly treats. I didn't have the heart to try the fried duck leg -- who'd want to eat Daffy? -- but the flank steak was buttery and tender. My vegetarian girlfriend liked the sweet-potato fries well enough, but later suspected they'd been cooked in the same fryer as the duck legs. Speaking of fries, Smith's take on the Canadian fast-food staple poutine -- fries topped with cheese curds and drizzled with brown gravy -- is worth crossing town for.

If you do cross town, you'll soon be able to bring your kids with you. Rumor has it that Smith will play host to the under-21 crowd, which should make the bar's singles scene a bit more wholesome, for better or for worse. It does fit nicely with 15th's reputation as a place on the Hill where family types and swinging singletons mix and mingle.