Las Vegas taught me how to drink. In my 11 years of trawling the city's bars, I moved from Coronas and Schlitz Darks to Bombay Sapphire Martinis and neat bourbons. In the course of my job (which I no longer remember, to be honest with you; I think I was originally a nightlife columnist), I visited hundreds of Vegas bars, each more exciting than the one before.
By Geoff Carter | November 8, 2005
Located inside the space once occupied by Ballard Hardware (the faded letters of the former occupant's sign are still visible) and between longtime Ballard Avenue magnets Hattie's Hat and the Tractor, King's Hardware is the rarest kind of new bar: From its hardwood fixtures to its wall festooned with tacked-up vintage photos, the place feels as old as the hills. If I were visiting this part of Ballard for the first time, I could easily take King's Hardware for Old Ballard – simply a no-nonsense bar with a pool table, a Skee-Ball machine (why not?), a giant outdoor seating area and a killer menu of burgers 'n' brews. Plus, it has an adjoining door with a new branch of Rudy's Barbershop - so not only can you get a snappy new haircut nearby, but you don't have to walk far for a celebratory, post-shearing cocktail.
By Geoff Carter | September 6, 2006
I remember the sun. It was big and brilliant, it produced warmth, and it would rise in Bellevue and set in Ballard. Seattle once had an entire season of sun -- "summer," I think it was called -- and the city nearly lost its damn mind over it. People sat on beaches, dined on patios and cut back visits to the tanning salon to every other day. I even wore short sleeves.
By Geoff Carter | January 10, 2007
Writer, bartender and bon vivant Paul Harrington -- whose book "Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century," now out of print, is a must-read for anyone who aspires to drink above one's station -- has over the years laid out what defines "a good bar."
By Geoff Carter | January 17, 2007
First thing you should know: Despite the name of this establishment and its menu of "Oliver Twist"-themed cocktails (and the phrase "WANT MORE" emblazoned on the coasters), there's really nothing Dickensian about this neighborhood bar. At the risk of disappointing those who want to drink with cockney pickpockets in an authentic 19th-century workhouse atmosphere, that's not such a bad thing. If this Phinney Ridge bar were anything like its namesake, it would be the book's happy ending -- in which we've been asked to consider ourselves at home and part of the family.
By Geoff Carter | January 30, 2007
Though it has a Pike Street address and windows that overlook 10th, the entrance to Havana Cocktail Club can prove elusive to the neophyte visitor -- especially if said visitor has already slung back a few drinks at other worthy Capitol Hill bars. The entrance is on the club's east side, off a darkened parking lot. I had to ask around to get this information, and the first three people I asked didn't know the answer either.
By Geoff Carter | January 30, 2007
I'd rather be enjoying a Jamjuree Roll right now. This glorious piece of sushi -- made with shrimp, spinach, cilantro, mint, red pepper, cucumber, cabbage and spicy peanut sauce -- is a specialty of Liberty, an easygoing Capitol Hill bar that, by a not-so-extraordinary coincidence, is also serving my favorite cocktail of the moment: The Dragon's Toe.
By Geoff Carter | February 1, 2007
While you and I sit here, contemplating the vagaries of fate, another upscale bar has opened in Belltown. This is not unusual: Such bars appear in Belltown at the rate of one every six seconds. By the time you've finished reading this piece, every last scrap of real estate in Belltown will have converted itself to an upscale bar. The fish-throwers will toss their wares into martini glasses and douse them with gin; the upscale boutiques will ask you if you'd like to accessorize that new gown with a necklace of olives, on the house.
By Geoff Carter | March 6, 2007
I’ve been to places like Buddha before. Nearly every aspect of the Thai restaurant and bar, located in a heavily-trafficked strip of Belltown bars and restaurants that includes Shorty’s Coney Island and Lava Lounge is familiar to me: the bamboo shafts separating the dining room from the bar, the 1980s dance pop soundtrack, even the adjective-laden menu. (At Buddha, your standard Thai dishes are “cuddly,” “pleasurable” and “pulsating.” The restaurant is lucky that its menu hasn’t induced a police raid.)
By Geoff Carter | April 3, 2007
Now, let's contrast my preconception of Copper Gate with my most recent visit to the revamped establishment, now owned by the local concern that runs Thaiku and La Carta de Oaxaca , two of Ballard's most popular (and least Ballard-like) establishments. The place didn't look too much different on approach – the new owners thankfully kept the bar's beautifully-maintained vintage neon sign – but I couldn't have imagined Copper Gate's new interior in my wildest dreams.
By Geoff Carter | April 3, 2007
