Recent Stories with tag bar

The Columbia City Theater (Facebook) is a music club to fall in love with. It re-re-re-re-opened (the old vaudeville hall has been around since 1917, in various guises) in June of this year, and vaulted into the Seattle Weekly's "Best of Seattle" list less than two months later.

Before we go behind-the-scenes, here's the lowdown. You'll find the Theater at 4916 Rainier Avenue South, which is just beyond the Columbia City Cinema. (Take the #7 or #8 bus or light rail--the last light rail train leaves SeaTac for downtown at 12:10 a.m., Monday through Saturday.) It's adjacent to the award-winning pizzeria Tutta Bella, who serve up the eats in The Bourbon, Columbia City Theater's bar. The bar is open seven days a week, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The bourbon-heavy cocktail list ($8-$10) features pre-Prohibition favorites (Mint Julep, Derby, Commodore), as well as some rye (Red Hook; Fratelli Cocktail, with Fernet Branca; Diamondback). Bar entertainment ranges from djs to karaoke to live music, and on nights when there's a show in the theatre, you can watch the show projected live on a screen. Happy Hour most of the week is 4-7 p.m., and all day Monday, and brings you such wonders as $5 pitchers of High Life and $3 wells.

Past the bar, on your left, is the entrance to the theater, which has a bar of its own. It's an intimate shoebox space, though it holds over 200, and the acoustics require no over-amplification. The ambiance--the curtained stage and brass lighting fixtures and brick walls--makes this unlike any other music club you're likely to step into in town.... (more)

The bar at Gordon Biersch, Pacific Place

Even my schwarzbier looked three-dimensional. I was down at Gordon Biersch, on the fourth floor of the Pacific Place shopping center, following up on a story about the World Cup in 3D. How good could it be? Would it be annoying or jaw-dropping? Neither, it turns out. It's just better, more immersive. You look into the game, not at it.

Two HD 1080p 46-in. JVC flat panels (not sold on the consumer market yet) flanked each side of the bar, carrying a Direct TV transmission of ESPN's 3D World Cup coverage. RealD 3D glasses (the polarized "sunglasses" style you get at the movie theater) were handed out. If anything, the results were almost too crisp and defined, giving me the impression I was watching someone else play an EA FIFA 10 game.

ESPN's 3D cameras gave an enormous depth to the pitch, and the sheer size of the crowd was visceral. Early on, the 2D ESPN transmission was showing replays the 3D transmission was missing, but eventually the 3D crew seemed to catch up. There were the same multiple angles, and the back-of-the-net cam paid real dividends in 3D.

In general, the 3D is not obtrusive--it emphasizes depth-of-field rather than coming-right-at-you! I noticed it more the times it helped make sense of a previously flat view. For instance, corner kicks, with a multitude of players clustered in front of the goal, made much more visual sense. Even in a tight space, I could "place" the players in relation to the goal. It was also easier to tell when shots on goal were curving wide.

The weirdest moments came when a fan's flag intruded suddenly into the foreground--it's a little alarming when things poke suddenly into view "near" your eye. And when it began to rain in South Africa--yes, "I bless the rains down in Africa"--the drops resolving near the lens had the feel of special effects magic.... (more)

Gordon Biersch in Seattle's Pacific Place is adding a third dimension to sports bar offerings--something called RealD 3D TV. They believe they're the only restaurant in Seattle that's gone 3D--with two new 46" HD-3D TVs installed in the bar area. (They're supplying the 3D glasses, but if you have your own special pair, by all means.)

That means this weekend, it's time for a RealD 3D World Cup: They'll be showing both the Saturday, July 10th match at 11:30 a.m., between Uruguay and Germany for third place, and the final on Sunday, July 11th, again 11:30 a.m., between Netherlands and Spain. (That's gonna be a lot of 3D orange to take in.)

Realizing not everyone is into "football," Gordon Biersch is also showing the Mariners v. New York Yankees on Saturday at 7 p.m. and again on Sunday, at 1 p.m. You can catch the All-Star Game in 3D on Tuesday, July 13th, at 5 p.m.

They're hoping you'll try out their new SommerBrau beer and Caribbean-style summer menu: Shrimp & Lobster Spring Rolls, Island Steak Tacos, and a Montego Bay Banana Split. These are also in 3D, but no special eyewear is necessary.

Members of the South Warsaw Street Social Club arrived at the Swedish Cultural Center a few minutes early for the official beginning of the Friday Happy Hour. We were a little excited about the prospect of Swedish meatballs, and it was also our first trip inside the august doors of the Center, which sits at 1920 Dexter Avenue, above Lake Union.

Inside it's airy and spacious, bathed in light and kept warm with blond wood floors. Furniture is also blond, and so are most of the guests. Upstairs, a bar awaits and an outside walkway with amazing views. We weren't members, but I ask you, is it humanly possible to skip over a Happy Hour described thusly? 

Every Friday. Swedish Kafé & Happy Hour! Smörgås sandwiches, Swedish meatballs, and homemade Swedish pastries. Sandwiches by Svedala Bakery. Kafé from 12 noon on. Semlor from now till Easter. Evening food by Swedish chef Ann-Margret varies weekly. Food starts at 6 p.m. Always a fantastic view. 5-10:30 p.m.

Cultural clubs usually allow you one free sample visit (we're finding), and this was the case at the Swedish Cultural Center as well. Walking in for a drink proved no trouble at all, in fact--it was when we tried to get in on the Swedish meatballs that a volunteer became more concerned that we weren't members. As their site alerts you, though, this is easily remedied:... (more)

Over the weekend I stopped in at the Varsity for District 13: Ultimatum, which gave me the chance to eat at Ruby's, closed for renovation the last time I visited the Ave. Just across the street from the Post Office, Ruby's used to look like a dorm basement that had fallen on bad times, but after being turned on to the rice bowls, I learned to ignore the sketchiness (which makes me just like 78 percent of visitors, I guess).

A few months after renovation, I almost didn't dare walk in. Why would such an upscale-seeming spot be serving my delicious rice bowls? A full bar gleamed. The lights were low. I was seated (another first!) and ordered a Manny's while I perused the menu. The tables, happily, were still mismatched.

There was a red coconut curry rice bowl (with pineapple) that caught my eye at first, but eventually I settled on the yellow curry dahl. "We're out of spinach," the bartender/waiter told me. I fixed him with the van Baker stink-eye. "I guess we could use some of the fresh spinach for the salads," he said, displaying a sterling brand of adaptability. Ah, problem solved. In a few minutes, a bowl as big as my head, piled high with curried rice, potatoes, and spinach was plunked down. You can choose your carne (or tofu) and the price varies accordingly. My chicken version came to $9. Lamb I seem to recall being $11? There's also salmon, in between, price-wise.

Amy Vanderbeck, her sister Katy, and Daniel Perry, all graduates of the Vivace empire, built Watertown Coffee on the grave of Coffee Animals, on 12th Avenue just south of Seattle University.

They opened in early 2009, and look to have been squirreling away board and video games in the cavernous interior ever since. (After months of "meaning to stop in," I was challenged to a ping pong tournament on their new table. The less said about that, the better, although the bourbon and hot apple cider took some of the sting out of defeat.)

There's Vivace coffee, a real bar, and a sandwich/soup/salad food menu. The "rec room" atmosphere--seriously, besides board games, there's an Xbox--surprises people expecting a standard coffee shop, and people used to Starbucks' consistently genial service are clearly taken aback by the staff's "attitude" and the music volume that's at the whim of the barista. (For better photos of the interior than an iPhone can provide, click here.)

Yelpers and Urban Spooners are divided into love it/hate it, and it's-just-a-coffee-shop-relax camps. However, if you are sensitive flower and need quiet study time, you might want to try somewhere else. That is not the aim of Watertown, which has a clubhouse vibe, and where--if you consistently miss ping pong returns and have to chase the ball as it thwocks and pwocks across the room--the baristas won't glance at you twice.

Our sponsor Central Cinema is kicking things off with Serenity at 7 p.m. ($6), which will explain to Castle fans why Nathan Fillion was dressed as a "space cowboy" for the Halloween episode, and mentioned it'd been five years since he wore that particular costume. Then it's the Turn Back the Clock NYE celebration ($12), a sing-along featuring the music of Prince "at the stroke of midnight."

Down at the Canoe Social Club and Gallery at 9 p.m., there's the "You Clean Up Real Nice!" bash (you're instructed to "be fancy" and have a glamor shot taken). Your emcee is Mark Siano, the grand master of smooth, with jazz dj Matthew Counts and bands The Shanks, The Braxmatics, and Orkestar Zirkonium. Champagne toast and nosh provided ($30 general, $15 for Canoe members).

Also, the Seattle Times lists an assortment of big-ticket and low-budget options, from the Seattle Symphony's concert + dancing + dinner ($134 and up) to a pea soup and meatball dinner + champagne + pancake breakfast at the Swedish Cultural Center ($45).

For very-low-budget fun (i.e., no cover), CHS offers this list of Capitol Hill outings: Grey Gallery, Po Dog, Capitol Club, the Bottleneck, Jai Thai, Purr, Lobby Bar, Mad Pub, Martin's, and Pony (adding via Twitter: "Though at Pony u gotta wear outerspace outfit to get in for free. Go NASA.").

UPDATE: This just in from Dimitriou's Jazz Alley: There are still tickets for their first set ($15.50) and "Ring in the New Year" ($80.50) packages, which you can also purchase as a set. If you're in West Seattle, WSB has your events options covered.

Since getting introduced to it a couple weeks ago when a friend from out-of-town with a taste for elaborate cocktails dragged me to the Knee High Stocking Co. , Seattle's speakeasy-themed bar at Bellevue Ave. and Olive on Capitol Hill, it seems like Cynar (pronounced, apparently, with a ch sound at the beginning) is popping up everywhere. Either it's the hot new liqueur in town, or I've been operating with blinders on. It's on the  shelf at Cafe Presse and just got picked up at Solo Bar & Gallery in Lower Queen Anne, to name only two I can verify.

So the question is, what exactly is it and what do you do with it? The answer to the first is: it's an Italian liqueur in the same vein as Campari (which for many drinks it can be used as a substitute to different but functional effect) or St. Germain or any of a variety of other herbal liqueurs that have picked up a bit of cache of late. Cynar is made from 13 separate ingredients, but the one everyone always mentions is the artichoke. Fortunately, it does... (more)