There are several things you should allow yourself to do during this cold and soggy holiday month. You should allow yourself a weight gain of three to five pounds. You should wear Bill Cosby-style sweaters and nothing else. (Okay, put on some socks. And pants. Jeez.) And above all, no matter how resolute a gin, bourbon or beer drinker you may be, you should put the hardcore stuff aside and have one of the sweet (and, in many cases, hot) holiday cocktails that are currently being mixed at some of your favorite local bars and restaurants.
By Geoff Carter | December 11, 2007
Located on a section of East Madison Street that most people simply pass through on their way to Madison Park or up to Capitol Hill, the Bottleneck Lounge is something of a rarity: It's a fancy-pants lounge that could hold its own against the spendy upscale lounges of downtown, while steadfastly maintaining a cozy neighborhood vibe. All the class goes into the glass -- where it belongs.
By Geoff Carter | October 19, 2007
I work within a few steps of the soon-to-debut South Lake Union Trolley ... er, Streetcar. Like so many who work in the Cascade ... oops, I mean South Lake Union area, I will soon be able to hop the streetcar at lunchtime and dine at the upper-crust establishments in Westlake Center: They have a McDonald's and a Sbarro.
By Geoff Carter | October 16, 2007
South Lake Union's new Venik Lounge has a wine list consisting of less than a dozen bottles. They have nine different kinds of beer -- with just three of them on tap -- and a handful of champagnes, sparkling waters and sodas. And that's fine, because if you come to Venik -- a place that makes some of the best vodka infusions you've had -- and order a bottle of Miller, you're completely missing the point of the place. It's akin to going to a steakhouse for the bread.
By Geoff Carter | September 24, 2007
The television network TBS used to air a series called "Movies for Guys Who Like Movies." In that same spirit, Queen Anne now has a Bar for Guys Who Like Bars.
By Cody Ellerd | September 17, 2007
The sporting life rises on Lower Queen Anne--> By Geoff Carter NWsource staff GEOFF CARTER Pictured are manager Topher Mesloh (walking); customers, from left: Brian Aytch, Mike Beebe; and bartender Carol Walker.--> At a recent First Thursday gallery opening,...
By Geoff Carter | September 17, 2007
Ice is nice. A strip of the cold stuff, 6 to 8 inches wide, runs the length of the bar top at Kurrent Restaurant + Bar. The bartenders set your drinks on top of it so they stay cold. Sometimes your drink gets even colder, which is nice. Like ice! Ice is nice, too, but I've already said that.
By Geoff Carter | August 17, 2007
Formerly located on the 500 block of Pine Street -- an address it occupied from Cinco de Mayo, 1998, until it was recently dislocated by gentrification -- the Cha Cha is a raucous, good-spirited dive bar, one of the city's best.
By Geoff Carter | August 16, 2007
Sadly, Moe Bar is not a "Simpsons"-themed establishment. Tempted though you may be to ring the place up and ask for an "I.P. Freely" or to inquire after the recipe for a Flaming Homer, you're thinking of the wrong Moe.
By Geoff Carter | August 9, 2007
Even if Bandits Bar served nothing but Shiner Bock and tamales, I'd tell you to go there. Because the new Lower Queen Anne bar's cornhusk-wrapped tamales, which are filled with your choice of chicken, pork or veggies, are a perfect match for the flagship beer of Shiner, Texas' Spoetzl Brewery. And if you show up during happy hour -- 4 to 7 p.m. daily -- this killer one-two punch of barley and cornmeal can be yours for six bucks: three bucks for the beer, three bucks for the grub. You spend more money every time you whip out your iPhone.
By Geoff Carter | July 19, 2007
