Sauced

It’s National Punch Day!

Celebrating is not complicated.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 20, 2011 at 11:41AM 1 Comments

Preparing the Punch by Walter-Dendy Sadler

Image: Artchive.com

If it’s September 20, it must be National Punch Day.

David Wondrich—esteemed author of the book Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl—lamented the choice of dates rather hilariously on Twitter today, and you can see his point. But as long as it’s here, we better celebrate it properly, no?

One way to do that is to march on over to Canon, Jamie Boudreau’s new bar on Capitol Hill. Just a few weeks into business and the place is already a smashing success, so arrive early in the evening to claim a place where you can receive tableside punch service.

Another source of punches is the Local Vine, just up the street from Canon. (Bartender Alison Sever shared a sherry punch recipe with us last winter, for which were much obliged). Just a hop, skip, and a jump from LV is Tavern Law, a popular source of punches such as Fish House, a potent potion concocted of dark rum, cognac, and peach brandy.

Heading west (hmm…a punch crawl may be in order), you’ll encounter Knee High Stocking Co. a little bar that serves punch in dainty cups that become empty quite quickly. So quickly, in fact, you may just forget to follow the rules. Another complicating factor is the reservation system, fortunately Eater Seattle did a helpful interview with one of the speakeasy’s gatekeepers.

But if you’re crossing the lake tonight, I’d like to remind you of an Evan Martin-invented punch that lives on at Naga Lounge. It’s a favorite among nerdy cocktail writers for good reason.

Wherever you go, proceed with caution. Punch is an intoxicant in the most serious sense of the word. So imbibe jovially but cautiously, or you’ll soon see stars.

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Tags: Bellevue, Capitol Hill, National Something Days, Punch

Upcoming Drinking Events: Oktoberfests; Liquor Law Happy Hour with Steve Scher; Two Beers, Traffic, and a Pretzel for $10.

Lots of booze-enhanced events over the next seven days.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 16, 2011 at 01:54PM 0 Comments

Watch badass Benicio whilst drinking beer at Lot No 3 tonight, beginning at 10pm.

Hey Bellevue, how many beers can you drink in 122 minutes? That’s the running time of Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, the film on the docket this week at Lot No 3 in Bellevue. The whiskey-and-beer bar offers up a film along with a late-night snacking menu each Monday. Two beers and a soft pretzel will run you $10. One beer and a slider is $6.

Wednesday the 21st brings us a Think and Drink happy hour at Naked City in Greenwood. The topic is liquor laws—upon which we will once again be voting this November. His Abruptness Steve Scher, host of KUOW’s Weekday, moderates; William Rorabaugh, UW prof and author of The Alcoholic Republic will also be weighing in, as will bowtie-donning Pike Brewing founder Charles Finkel. This event is free.

Friday, October 23 through Sunday the 25th, catch a beer buzz in the center of the universe at Fremont’s always-sloshy Oktoberfest. Speaking of Ocktoberfest, Beveridge Place Pub. is making like Munich by serving Spaten, Paulaner, and Hofbrau in one liter mugs through October 3.

Also on the 23rd: the bar at Ponti Seafood Grill will be mixing up the hot-and-boozy variety of beverage at a $2 discount. The deal is available only in the lounge.

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Tags: Bellevue, West Seattle, Drinking Events, Drinking Events, Liquor Laws, Oktoberfest

Libertarians Convert Naga Lounge into a Faux Speakeasy

The State Policy Network has planned a blind pig extravaganza at the Bellevue bar next Tuesday.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 19, 2011 at 01:47PM 0 Comments

Two hundred libertarians will don speakeasy garb at Naga next Tuesday.

Photo: Buzzle.com

Bellevue: Don’t go looking for drinks at Naga Lounge next Tuesday, August 23—unless one of the libertarians slips you the password, that is.

The Arlington, Virginia-based State Policy Network, a consortium of right-leaning, big-government-hating state organizations, will be in Seattle next week for its annual meeting. And it has rented out Naga—and Chantanee, the Thai restaurant that encapsulates Naga—on Tuesday night, according to bar manager Jason Saura. Saura says SPN has tasked him with turning the entire space into a faux speakeasy for its private party, which will last from 8:30 until 11.

Since the front entrance of the restaurant will be closed, the 200 or so guests must enter via the garage, where they will be prompted to offer up a secret password. Saura says the SPNers have been instructed to dress up in 1920s garb for the occasion.

Portland’s Jacob Grier, who connected Naga with SPN’s Denise Chaykun to plan the event, will be in town to help Saura achieve the blind pig effect. Grier and Saura will mix up spiked punch and five or six old-timey cocktails for the occasion.

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Tags: Bellevue, Town Gossip, Private Parties

Bastille Day Celebrations Around Seattle

Oh, happy francophiles. Food and drink specials abound next Thursday, July 14.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 08, 2011 at 10:52AM 0 Comments

On Thursday, Seattle honors French Independence by eating lots of frites.

Photo: Bastille via Facebook

Can you picture a bunch of Parisians standing around the Weber on the fourth of July eating Oscar Mayers and potato salad, stars and stripes decorating their plastic cups of macro-brewed Colorado lager?

Me neither. Only in America do we so zealously celebrate other nations’ independence days as if they were our own. It’s kind of cute, when you think about it.

Here in Seattle, we are particularly fond of Bastille Day, or La Fete Nationale as it’s called in France. What we do is crowd into French cafes and restaurants, which then feed us discounted food and plenty of alcoholic beverage.

This Thursday, July 14 is Bastille Day 2011. Here are places to party like it was your people that overpowered the famous prison in 1789, closing the doors on Louis the 16th and the whole Ancien Regime thing.

Bastille in Ballard is opening up its beer garden starting at 4:30pm on Thursday. Pints of Kronenbourg are $3 and there will be oysters, charcuterie, and wine for $5. I’ve also heard tell of a bocce ball tournament.

Meanwhile, in Pike Place Market, there is Cafe Campagne and its famously festive Bastille Day party. Five dollar food specials include garlic sausage sandwiches, brie or ham en baguette, and the cafe’s always-amazing fries with aioli.

Le Pichet’s party runs from 6pm to midnight on Thursday and will include live music from Le Quartet (7-9pm) and Bastille-Day stalwarts The Djangomatics (10pm-midnight). Again, Parisian street food is on the menu. That menu isn’t quite finalized but owner Jim Drohman says there will be sandwiches—pork shoulder and roasted pepper with sheep’s milk cheese among them—a pissaladiere, and sweet crepes. Sister restaurant Cafe Presse on the hill will operate as usual on Bastille Day—if you want the party, go downtown.

Luc in Madison Park has drink specials on Thursday: Lillet, pastis, and rose are $5 and wines from Vacqueyras in the southern Rhone are $6. Food specials include a honey-roasted duck breast, a salad Nicoise, and a strawberry shortcake.

Michael Mina’s Downtown sensation RN74 is currently running a Twitter promotion to get people amped on its Bastille Day celebration. If you tweet the following: “#BastilleDay party @rn74seattle on July 14 with awesome food and drink specials” you are eligible to win a free wine dinner. If you just want to go to the party, well, I hear there are going to be “awesome food and drink specials.”

Finally, ViaVita Café and Wine Bar in Bellevue is celebrating with a five-course meal—pate de lapin, coq au vin, etc. That’s $55, a $20 wine pairing is also available. Call 425-449-8917 to reserve.

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Tags: Bellevue, Downtown, Wine, Pike Place Market, Street Food, Food Events and Festivals, Ballard, Bastille Day, Downtown Seattle Restaurants

Five Cinco de Mayo Suggestions

The day has come, let’s do this thing.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on May 05, 2011 at 08:04AM 0 Comments

Margaritas at the Saint. Always pretty fun.

Still no plans? Here are some options to consider, organized in the form of a countdown (though a rather meaningless one. It mostly depends what you’re looking to do.)

5. La Casa Azul
Way up Greenwood Avenue, this ever-underrated Mexican restaurant has excellent food—including moles made by the owner’s family in Mexico then Fed Exed here. It also sells very serviceable margaritas by the pitcher. I like the strawberry.
Best for Hungry people (servings are huge) and families.

4. The Saint
It’ll be busy, but it’s always fun in that bar.
Best for Party people.

3. Bottleneck
You know how couples have to choose whose family they’ll visit on holidays? Bottleneck is the bar equivalent of the low-key side of the family, the one that tells you to grab whatever you want from the kitchen and does a buffet at dinner that’s eaten in front of cable television and never asks if the sheets were too scratchy or whatever. (The sheets usually are a little scratchy, the price you pay for the privilege of watching an America’s Next Top Model marathon on Christmas Day and not getting judged for it).

It’s a neighborhood bar that likes to celebrate stuff like Cinco de Mayo—there will be a special taco bar tonight—but not, you know, get to crazy. Always a good option.
Best for People who want to wear sweatpants to the bar and not be judged for it, people who live in the neighborhood.

2. The Noble Fir noble fir/
It’s centrally located on Ballard Avenue, and as I mentioned yesterday it has tapped a special jalapeno-infused beer from Two Beers.
Best for Beer people and people who have the wreckless notion of going out to Carta de Oaxaca on Cinco de Mayo only to discover a long line of people who had the same notion hovered outside the door. I wish Carta would accept reservations.

1. Barrio (on Capitol Hill or Bellevue)
One time a friend of mine was going to dinner at Barrio and he couldn’t remember the name of it. “You know, that condo-people place,” he said. Cue rolling eyeballs. Capitol Hill people dismiss Barrio for being too corporate for the neighborhood but have you eaten there lately? The food is really very good. And the drinks are way more interesting than what’s on offer at your typical tequila bar. I say go, fight the crowd, and order some cocktail you’ve never had before.
Best for People who like cocktails that taste good and people who live in Bellevue.

And now, just because it’s Cinco de Mayo and because we can, let’s revisit David Granger’s description of drinking a Skinny Girl Margarita.

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Tags: Bellevue, Capitol Hill, Ballard, Cinco de Mayo

Seattle Bar News of the Week

They keep coming. New and kinda new bars that you should know about.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 26, 2011 at 09:21AM 0 Comments

The well-stocked situation at the Bourbon Bar in Columbia City.

The latest member of the insta-dive club is Harlow’s Saloon at 5200 Ballard Ave NW, brought to you by the owners of Moshi Moshi and Portalis. It’s your basic easy-going beer bar—micros and PBR, you know the drill—but gets extra points for Atari tables: Ms. Pac-Man and (be still my high-school heart) Galaga.

There’s been chatter aplenty about The Bourbon Bar, a well-stocked spot inside the newly revamped Columbia City Theater that features trivia on Tuesdays and karaoke Wednesdays. If you find it full, migrate over to the always underrated Lottie’s Lounge nearby—its divey looks belie the quality of the cocktails. I also enjoy the sandwiches.

The repurposed signage-boasting bar of the week is Company Bar (9608 16th Avenue SW) in White Center. Stop by this weekend for grand-opening festivities and to check out the gorgeous bar behind which hangs an antique yellow sign that reads, as if you couldn’t guess, Company.

In West Seattle, Locöl Barley and Vine is serving up wine-bar food (gruyere and arugula sandwiches, butternut squash soup, roasted chard) and hyperlocal microbrews from the likes of 2 Beers and Big Al Brewing.

Sonics alum Shawn Kemp has a new LQA restaurant Oskar’s Kitchen that specializes in martinis. Subject yourself to the Bubble Room lounge, where you can get a double Gordon’s martini for $5 during happy hour, 3 to 6pm daily. A double Gordon’s gin gimlet is also $5. Doubles at HH. Bold move, Kemp.

In Eastside openings news: A Seattle version of the Las Vegas lounge Munchbar is coming to Bellevue. I hear Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater) is attending the opening party. Bold move, Lopez. Or something.

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Tags: Bellevue, Columbia City, White Center, Ballard, Seattle Bar News

Five Questions for the Bartender: Michael Kostin

“It is never a good idea to throw anything at a bartender,” cautions the man behind the stick at Naga Lounge.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 13, 2011 at 02:26PM 0 Comments

Michael Kostin on the job.

Photo: Ari Shapiro of Dauber Art Photography

Michael Kostin’s first restaurant job—which he secured at age 16—was as a dishwasher at a Bellevue restaurant. The next year he joined the navy and became a nuclear chemist on a submarine stationed out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

“Even while I was in the Navy, I worked part time in restaurants and bars,” says Kostin. " I got out in 1995, and decided to stay in Hawaii."

Kostin became a fulltime bartender in 2000; in ’06 he moved back to Washington to be closer to family. He now lives in Bellevue and splits his shifts between Naga Lounge and Taste in the Seattle Art Museum.

Here are five questions for him.

What is the most underrated spirit?

Cachaca is a very misunderstood and underutilized spirit in most bars, if they have it at all. Brandies—brandy, cognac, Armagnac, and pisco —are underrated as well.

What’s your favorite Seattle bar (other than Naga and Taste)?

At the risk of being cliche, I have to say Zig Zag. Zig Zag is the reason I made the crossover from being a high-volume bartender to becoming a craft bartender.

I spent many nights sitting in front of Murray’s well watching him work and asking him questions about the drinks he was making and the spirits he was using to make them. The staff at Zig Zag is a big part of the reason I was able to earn a bartending position at Naga.

Other Seattle bars that I like: Little Red Bistro, Liberty, Rob Roy, Sambar, Moshi Moshi, Spur, Tavern Law/Needle and Thread, and Vessel (before it closed).

What drink do you order at that bar?

I tend to pick a base spirit and have the bartenders just make me something, or I go with a bartender’s choice.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen someone do in a bar?

The worst thing I have ever seen someone do in a bar is throw a beer bottle or a glass at a bartender “to get their attention”. It is never a good idea to throw anything at a bartender for any reason, and it is the quickest way to get cut off and thrown out of a bar.

Name three reasons you live in Seattle.

The cocktail and food scene. Although I loved living in Hawaii, I knew I had to leave to further my bartending career beyond the high-volume bartending I was doing. Seattle has a thriving and vibrant cocktail and food scene. Plus, being in Seattle puts me in close proximity to other great cocktail and food cities like Portland, Vancouver BC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

I am a city person. I lived in Olympia for four years when I moved to Washington, it was too small of a town for me.

The sense of community among the craft bartenders of Seattle. I can’t put into words how great it feels to be accepted into the bartending community of Seattle. It is something I have not experienced before among bartenders.

Visit Michael Kostin all day Saturday and Monday at Naga Cocktail Lounge, and during occasional fill-in shifts on Wednesdays. He works brunch at Taste in the Seattle Art Museum on Sundays, and is also there Tuesday for lunch.

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Tags: Bellevue, Downtown, Behind the bar, Five Questions for the Bartender, Seattle Bartenders, Cachaca, Brandy

Keg Wine For Bellevue

Black Bottle Postern will offer wine on tap.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Dec 22, 2010 at 11:44AM 1 Comments

Keg wine hits the Eastside in mid-February.

UPDATE: Just learned today that El Gaucho Portland is going to employ a bio-cask system from Willamette Valley Vineyards. They’re hoping to bring something similar to Seattle, according to a spokesperson.

Yesterday I wrote that Black Bottle Gastrotavern’s Bellevue outpost, Black Bottle Postern, will be opening in Mid-February.

And here’s the related booze news: The restaurant will be serving wine on tap. Now I can’t be 100% sure of this—and I know you’ll correct me if I’m wrong—but I believe it will be the first Bellevue establishment to serve keg wine.

Why do we care? Wines on tap are a great value because the producers and manufacturers cut out all the costs associated with glass bottles and corks and the transport of many fragile vessels. Waste is reduced since the keg wine lasts a long time, which means savings for the bar. And that, in turn, means savings for you and me.

In Seattle, the Local Vine on Capitol Hill and Bottlehouse in Madrona serve keg wines. Seatown Seabar has three wines on tap outfitted with a nitrogen replacement system to keep them fresh. Black Bottle GM Chris Linker says that if tap wines work out in Bellevue, he’ll likely bring them to the original Belltown location too.

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Tags: Bellevue, Seattle Restaurant Openings, Bar Openings, Keg Wine

Weekend Sipping: New Cocktails Around The Town

Fall menus debut at three superior Seattle drinks destinations.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Nov 05, 2010 at 10:31AM 1 Comments

Lots of bottles at Naga Lounge

Photo: Naga Lounge

Have you met the Japanese Gardener?

Ask to be introduced at Liberty Bar on Capitol Hill and your bartender will mix up Yamazaki 12-year—a Japanese whiskey—apricot liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and Peychaud’s bitters, then pour the resultant cocktail over a large ball of ice. The Japanese Gardener has been on the menu for a few weeks now; look out for new seasonal potions from co-owners Andrew Friedman and Keith Waldbauer in days to come.

But perhaps you’d prefer Paul’s Julep at MistralKitchen. My guess is that it is named for Paul Clarke, but I can’t say for sure. And I’m not about to check in with Mistral barman Andrew Bohrer because I’ve learned my lesson about calling bartenders before noon. Maybe stop by the bar this weekend and ask him yourself?

In any case, the drink is Novo Fogo cachaca, housemade falernum (an almond syrup common to tiki drinks), lemon, lemongrass, and cherry hibiscus bitters made by Evan Martin of Naga Lounge.

Speaking of Evan, he’s got a new cocktail menu over there in Bellevue. I like the sound of Autumn Leaves—rye whiskey, apple brandy, sweet vermouth, Strega (an herbal Italian liqueur), and cinnamon.

Hello fall.

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Tags: Bellevue, Cocktails, Capitol Hill

The Oldest Medicine

El Gaucho introduces $14 medicinal cocktails.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 30, 2010 at 02:06PM 0 Comments

El Gaucho Bellevue has introduced a menu of medicinally themed cocktails.

According to the press release, the steakhouse chain contracted “expert herbalists” to create special tinctures for its Bellevue branch, then developed cocktail recipes around those tinctures. The tinctures include ginkgo biloba (for memory), St John’s Wort (for depression), Asian ginseng (to enhance energy) and a sedative called skullcap—in case you had to much Asian ginseng, I guess.

The cocktail called Remember Me, for instance, mixes cachaça with honey syrup, lime, and ginkgo biloba; the Pain Killer is Hendrick’s gin, St. Germain, lemon, cucumber, and St. John’s Wort. The drinks are $14 each.

El Gaucho is of course not the first local drinkery to capitalize on the attraction we feel, as Seattleites, for any and all healthy remedies that are vaguely natural and Eastern in feel. Pulp Catering, which serves up very tasty fresh-fruit purees spiked with echinacea and organic vodka, is run by the homeopathy-degree holding Tim Ticehurst, who also has a herbal hangover cure called Nux. And then of course there is Fu Kun Wu in Ballard with its Chinese apothecary furnishings and its trippy kava cocktails.

Alcohol and medicine are the oldest of bed buddies, of course. At apothecaries of yore, bitters were prescribed for stomachaches, toddies for sore throats. But I have a feeling the effects of cachaça outweigh those of a few drops of ginkgo biloba. After a few Remember Mes, in other words, you may forget you’re drinking $14 cocktails.

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Tags: Bellevue, Cocktails

Happy Hour of the Week: Lot No 3

An HH for Eastsiders with homemade chips and good $3 pints.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 16, 2010 at 09:03AM 2 Comments

View of Lot No 3 from mezzanine.

• HOURS: Daily 4-6pm
• PRICES: Daily Draught $3, Select Cocktails $7; Food Specials $1-$3.50.

Lot No 3 in Bellevue is the new bar from the Heavy Restaurant Group, the people who brought you all those Purple Cafe and Wine Bars along with the two Barrios.

The decor at Lot No 3 is one I would describe as Pottery Bar Speakeasy. By this I mean that if Pottery Bar had a line of furniture and accessories called “Speakeasy-Style Bar,” this is the stuff it would sell. An old (or old-looking) music stand grasps the menu near the doors, there’s a big chalkboard with the bar offerings, the black stools seem modeled after those of an antique apothecary, and so on.

Another way I might describe it is Purple Cafe and Wine Bar for Boys, by which I mean it is the yang to its sister restaurant’s ying, with a black-and-brown, masculine palette (two caramel-colored leather couches would look lovely amidst the crystal sherry bottles and rare volumes in my fantasy home library), and an emphasis on whiskey, beer, and meaty comfort food.

Let’s talk about the food. The food is generally good. I am a fan of the sweet onion dip ($3.50) which comes with a heap of housemade kettle chips. The dip is white as a fresh snow; it looks like cottage cheese but don’t worry, it is not. As it turns out, it is on an entirely different and far fattier planet than cottage cheese. I like an onion dip that tastes almost frighteningly, ferally even, of that allium, and this one really delivers. The chips themselves are thin, wispy, and oblong. Some of them have curled into themselves, forming strange little blossomy-looking things. Seek these blossoms out amidst the flat chips, as they make for especially good scooping into the dip.

You can get a soft pretzel for $2.50; unfortunately this pretzel is accompanied by the housemade mustard, which is watery and yuck. There are three types of slider—duck confit, blt, and short rib. Each slider is $3. Other offerings include “devil’ish” eggs for $2.50—they’re stuffed with smoke salmon and chive—and a $2.50 bowl of popcorn.

A daily draught is $3.00. Last time I went it was Pike’s Dry Wit, which is a beer I rather enjoy. It’s what you might call a wine-drinker’s beer, in that it is, as its name indicates, dry on the palate. If dry is your thing, oh happy day. But if you like a wallop of sweetness in your wit, maybe opt for a cocktail instead.

A Manhattan with rye or bourbon is $7 during HH, as is a Jack Rose (Laird’s apple brandy, grenadine, and lime) and a seventh heaven (gin, maraschino, grapefruit). Helmed by tried-and-absolutely-true barman Casey Robison, Lot No 3’s booze program focuses on classic cocktails. “Drinks from before prohibition,” as one very nice young server explained to me. “We’re bringing them back!”

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Tags: Happy Hour, Bellevue, Cocktails, Seattle Bartenders, Slider Watch

Five Questions for the Bartender: Mark Sexauer

The man behind the bar at Barrio Bellevue likes Mezcal, hoppy beer, and Sun Liquor.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 12, 2010 at 03:31PM 0 Comments

Mark Sexauer: blogger, bartender, parent.

No, Mark Sexaueur’s favorite cocktail is not a Sexauer On the Beach. So don’t even try it, because there’s no way he hasn’t heard that joke before.

In between blogging about cocktails and parenting that adorable little person in this photo, Sexauer serves up stellar cocktails at Barrio Bellevue. He can also teach you a thing or two about tequila.

Here, five questions with Mark Sexauer.

What is the most underrated spirit?

It’s easily Mezcal. Mezcal is stereotyped as being of low quality, and bad marketing (like the “worm” in the bottom of the bottle—it’s not actually a worm, it’s a moth larva) has only polished its reputation as a spirit that your buddies dare you to order in shot form.

From heavily smoky barrel-aged Mezcals to unaged light, vegetal mezcals, it is one of my favorite spirits to mix with. Mezcal is quickly gaining interest on both sides of the bar; watch as many more arrive on the market in the coming years.

What is your favorite Seattle bar?

This is really, really hard, but I think my favorite bar—and the one that is closest to a bar I would want to own—is Sun Liquor on Capitol Hill.

What drink do you order at the bar?

I usually order a nice hoppy beer and/or tequila to sip.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen in a bar?

I’ve seen lots of stupid things, but the worst may have been when some guy passed out ON TOP OF the fence surrounding the smoking section of this bar where I worked. He was trying to climb it, I guess? We had a hard time pulling him down and eventually he woke up. It looked pretty painful….How do you fall asleep over a fence?

Name three reasons you live in Seattle.

People eat well and drink well here, and there are a ton of places in which to do both.

I’m all about driving west and seeing the Sound and then eventually the ocean, or driving east and hitting the Cascades.

The neighborhoods. I love the different offerings and vibes from all the little (and big) neighborhoods around the city.

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Tags: Bellevue, Five Questions for the Bartender, Seattle Bartenders, Mezcal