Sauced

Dollar Oysters at Pike Street Fish Fry

A new seasonal happy hour offers bivalves big and small.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 07, 2012 at 10:50AM 1 Comments

This giant hotel pan of oysters: yours for $12 during happy hour.

Pike Street Fish Fry ushered in the month of February by joining the new dollar oyster club. The discounted oyster action happens from 5 to 8pm Sunday through Thursday, and beers are $4. There are fancier dollar oyster experiences to be had around town: experiences that involve mignonette, tiny oyster forks, and actual platters. But I’m a sucker for this Pike-Pine hideaway, both for the rippingly good fried seafood and the diner-meets-pirate-fort ambiance, punctuated by warm-up bass thumps from nearby Neumos.

Last week I stopped in for a dozen, along with an Odin’s Gift, the Beer Formerly Known as Ruby. I wasn’t sure how an establishment specializing in battering and frying would treat happy hour oysters, but you can opt for raw or grilled bivalves. Thank goodness there wasn’t a crowd at 5:30, because the two-person kitchen team had to seriously wrestle with those oysters. Arriving at work one day and being told that your job duties now include speed-shucking for beer-swilling masses is probably an occupational downer, though these two were awesome. One even took cell phone shots of her handiwork before bringing out the newly shucked dozen.

Oysters arrived in a hotel pan filled with ice, and we used standard-issue plastic forks to wrest the meat out of the shells. Apparently ours was the first dozen-oyster order since Pike Street initiated the happy hour. The takeaway: There’s no shame in rolling in for two or three of these guys if you so desire.

What you won’t find at more upscale oyster happy hours: a bigger oyster for your buck. The selection varies by week, but right now Pike Street lets you choose between dainty Olympias and behemoth Pacific oysters, nearly the size of my splayed fingers. Unsure if my companion would dig the Olys’ coppery flavor, I opted for 12 Pacifics: six raw; six grilled. This might be the first time in my life I preferred a grilled oyster to a raw one, perhaps due to the addition of the same crunchy purple cabbage slaw that accompanies the Fish Fry’s pulled pork sandwich and fish tacos.

Pike Street plans to continue the oyster happy hour for the remainder of the season, though plans could certainly change. While there aren’t any other discounts besides the $4 beers, the drafts are solid. Wines are just a few bucks more, and a far nicer selection than you’d expect to find at a punky fried fish shack. And if dollar oysters don’t entice, there’s always free fry Friday.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Oysters, Happy Hour of the Week, Seattle Happy Hours, Pike Street Fish Fry

Anchovies and Olives Amps Up Its Power Hour

Stowell’s signature pasta dish joins forces with $1 oysters.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Feb 01, 2012 at 10:30AM 0 Comments

One of the Hill’s best happy hours just got more bountiful. Photo by Geoffrey Smith.

In the past seven months, Ethan Stowell’s Capitol Hill seafood restaurant Anchovies and Olives has seen the arrival of a new chef, a remodel, and now an expanded happy hour menu. The so-called power hour that runs from 5 to 6pm daily, and again from 10 till 11 now has a few more food and drink items to accompany those $1 oysters.

Now on the menu: the bigoli. Stowell has said before that this thick spaghetti-resembling noodle tossed with anchovies, chili, garlic and toasted breadcrumbs would be his choice as a last meal. Granted, he meant the final meal of a lifetime, but the $10 portion now offered up during happy hour means it can be your last meal of the night.

Power hour also means $5 wine and prosecco, and $2 Peronis. And now the entire selection of bottled beers is half off. On Friday and Saturdays, all this happy hour action goes down in the bar area only.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Ethan Stowell, Seattle Happy Hours, Seattle Happy Hours, Anchovies and Olives, Zach Chambers

Happy Hour of the Week: The Upstairs in Belltown

It’s like hanging out at your friend’s apartment. If that friend charged you for drinks.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 17, 2012 at 11:00AM 4 Comments

Basic drinks, served on the cheap and consumed on a big couch. Photo: The Upstairs via Facebook.

The Upstairs bills itself as a cocktail destination, but if you’re the sort that forms passionate allegiances to certain brands of bitters or likes to play spirit roulette, you might want to continue on Second Avenue until you hit Bathtub Gin, Rob Roy, Spur, or, on certain nights of the week, the Trophy Room at Shorty’s.

This new bar owned by, and located upstairs from, tapas bar Pintxo, can make a solid drink. Though it’s hard to ignore the fact that the menu contains a “classy version” of the Long Island iced tea, and a drink described as “a grown up Shirley Temple with vodka.”

But all is not lost. The bar has a dimly lit hideaway vibe that’s a nice contrast to Belltown’s usual high energy. The shotgun layout resembles my first apartment in Chicago, after an olive green paint job and the addition of some chandeliers, a heavy wooden bar, a bunch of art and, naturally, some ornate wallpaper. The furniture is a tasteful hodgepodge that carries on that whole apartment feel (these rooms were most recently art gallery/social club the McLeod Residence).

The Upstairs gets busier later at night, which means the 5-to-7 happy hour is an ideal window for a low-key drink. The front room has seats aplenty and you can converse without shouting over any sort of clamor or din. Come in for happy hour and you’ll be drinking the basics. Sierra Nevada and Ren-yay are $3 and $2, house wine will run you $6 and well drinks are $4. I’ve been a few times when there’s an additional happy hour special, so be sure to ask. You’ll likely cast a longing eye at some of the fancier offerings, but you’ll also drink very cheaply. Which is why you like happy hour in the first place, correct?

Despite the cocktail-centric menu, your best bet might be the beer list. Here you’ll find cheap stuff alongside regional standouts including beers from Odin, Two Beers and Schooner Exact, and some national micro-favorites from places like Stone, Russian River, and Colorado’s Avery Brewing. The bar also has a deep bench of locally produced spirits.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Happy Hour of the Week, Seattle Happy Hours, The Upstairs

Bastille Joins the $1 Oyster Crew

Hama Hamas and oyster-friendly beer and wine: Yours for a pittance Monday through Wednesday.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 05, 2012 at 11:50AM 0 Comments

Hama Hama oysters. Photo via Ballard Farmers Market.

Never forget how lucky you are to live in a region where dollar oyster happy hours are possible. And look—here’s another one. Ballard spot Bastille announced today that it’s joining the dollar oyster club as of Monday, January 9.

The offering: Local Hama Hama oysters for $1 apiece with ever-changing accompaniments from chef Jason Stoneburner. And to wash these down, $5 glasses of Cremant and Chuckanut Brewery’s excellent kolsch for just $3.

The oyster happy hour will run Monday through Wednesday, from 4:30 to 6pm (Bastille’s regular happy hour is still 4:30 to 6 daily and Sunday through Thursday from 10pm till midnight).

The restaurant’s Capitol Hill sibling Poquitos has been running a series of “meet the distiller” happy hours. Not to be outdone, Bastille is hosting Hama Hama head oyster farmer Adam James at the February 1 oyster hour of happiness. And by “hosting” I mean “putting him to work shucking.”

So, Ballard. Now you have a place to go when you’re desirous of discounted oysters and can’t deal with the wait at Walrus and the Carpenter.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Oysters, Bastille, Seattle Happy Hours

Mioposto Adds a Pocket Bar

Mt. Baker gets some much-needed cocktails. Also: happy hour.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Jan 03, 2012 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

Mioposto: now serving cocktails (with new signage to prove it). Photo via Ben Wyatt/Mioposto.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Mioposto: now serving cocktails (with new signage to prove it). Photo via Ben Wyatt/Mioposto.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

The newly added pocket bar, Cece. Photo via Ben Wyatt/Mioposto.

Mioposto has emerged from a brief remodel with a new bar. Because family friendly neighborhoods need cocktails just as much as, if not more than, Capitol Hill and Ballard.

The popular Mt. Baker pizza, Italian and breakfast spot has expanded beyond beer and wine, adding cocktails to its repertoire in the form of a “pocket bar” dubbed Cece. Pronounce it “che chi,” as in the Italian word for chickpea…a nod to the venue’s diminutive size.

Owner Jeremy Hardy says his own desire for a good drink helped inspire the project. “I live in the neighborhood, and there’s no place to get cocktails in the Mt. Baker area,” he says. "We’ve been working so hard on the food, but it felt a little too much like a playpen. We wanted to grow it up a little bit to highlight the food better."

With Cece’s arrival, Mioposto also stays open until 11pm. That news might seem quaint to those of you who make a habit of closing down rowdier drinking establishments, but Hardy says the cocktail offerings are designed to meet a major need in the neighborhood. People want a place to stop in for some low-key appetizers and drinks, but “you’re not going to have that if a three-year-old is having a tantrum at the next table.”

Cece is still building its list of cocktails, which Hardy says will focus on the classics. But meanwhile, he suggests sampling the house-made limoncello.

And along with the new bar comes a new happy hour. It’s known as “the 4-5-6,” meaning that house wine and draft beers are $4, premium well drinks run you $5 and six-inch pepperoni or marcherita pizzas are $6. Happy hour happens every day from 4 to 5pm and again from 9 to 11.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Bar Openings, Seattle Happy Hours, Mioposto

Chino’s Rolls Out Happy Hour

Bargains on tiki drinks and LA-style street food, Sunday through Thursday.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Dec 20, 2011 at 08:16AM 0 Comments

Furikake kettle corn is $1 during happy hour at Chino’s. Photo courtesy the establishment.

One good thing to come out of Monday: learning Chino’s is now offering happy hour.

The Pike/Pine newcomer is rolling out the discounts Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 6. What kind of deals are we talking? Two mai tais from Veronika Groth’s tiki-centric menu are marked down, as are draft beers. Glasses of house wines go for $5. As for food, snacks like furikake kettle corn (it’s “addictive,” according to my PIC Allecia Vermillion) and spiced peanuts will cost you a buck while char siu pork and spicy chicken wings are $5.

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Tags: Happy Hour

RN74 Rolls Out New Bar Menu

A welcome development for downtown imbibers.

Posted by: Christopher Werner on Nov 23, 2011 at 09:43AM 0 Comments

Photo: Lucas Anderson

The bar at RN74.

The bar at RN74 is a spirited place (and not just in the literal sense. Been here for happy hour? Then you know what I mean), and now, news it’s to become even more of a destination.

A rep for the restaurant says chef Michelle Retallack and sous Larkin Young are rolling out a new bill of barside nibbles. With just under 25 items it’s a pretty extensive menu punctuated with buzzword vittles like soft pretzels, foie gras sliders, bone marrow, pork belly, and corn dogs (but of the lobster variety).

The menu is split into six sections, labeled as such: poppers, sticks (i.e. the lobster dog), toasts, baskets (fries and other dippable things), oysters (on the half shell and done up), and buns. The offerings are available Monday through Saturday 11:30am–close and Sunday 10am–close.

Eight of the “finger snacks” will be served during happy hour for $6 or less (a majority of the items are under $10 otherwise) alongside drink specials that top out at $5. Happy hour happens Monday through Saturday 3 to 6 and 10:30 to close and Sunday all day.

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Tags: Happy Hour, RN74, Bar Bites

DIY Spirits, Spring Hill’s Updated Happy Hour, and Beaujolais

Here’s where you should be drinking (and learning about drinking) in and around Seattle.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Nov 15, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Take a seat at the upstairs bar at Madison Park Conservatory and you’ll notice the banks of bottles containing all manner of house-made elixirs. They’re the work of Maggie Savarino, MPC’s manager, all-around spirits maven and now author of her own season-by-season guide to DIY cocktail projects. The delightfully feisty Savarino is teaching a class of the holiday spirits persuasion at Book Larder December 5. Be advised: grab your tickets now. The class costs just $15, and given Savarino’s local following it’s likely to fill up fast.

In addition to bringing back its Monday night fried chicken dinners, Spring Hill has changed up its happy hour. The discounted beer, wine and food action happens Tuesday through Saturday, from 5 to 6:30 in both bar and dining room. Draft beers (the classics from Georgetown Brewing) are $3.50, some wines by the glass are $6 and a selection of “tumbler drinks” go for $4. A nine-item happy hour food menu runs a tasty gamut from a $5 plate of beets with apples and bacon to a grilled bavette steak with blue cheese for $8. Also of interest: chef Mark Fuller’s chicken-fried veal sweetbreads and chicken liver pate with a whole wheat waffle.

Lest you forget, Thursday November 17 is the Fete de Beaujolais Nouveau, though “Beaujolais Day” also has a nice, rhyming ring to it. Here are a few spots where you can partake in the celebrating. And over on Nosh Pit we’ve listed a host of other delightful events, many of them similarly awash in booze.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Wine, Drinking Events, Spring Hill, Maggie Savarino

Behold, Momiji’s New Seven-Day Happy Hour

Specially priced sushi, sake and beer in a serene setting.

Posted by: Allecia Vermillion on Nov 01, 2011 at 09:45AM 0 Comments

Photo: Lucas Anderson

Momiji, the gorgeously designed new Capitol Hill sibling to Umi Sake House and Kushibar, has waded into the happy hour fray. Manager Cody Burns says the food and drink discount action happens every day from 4 to 6pm throughout the many-chambered restaurant. Happy hour lives on until 7pm in the front bar.

The food offerings include some hot appetizers, sushi and sashimi sets, and some rolls, says Burns. The lineup is similar to the rabidly attended happy hour over at Umi. On the drinks front, look for reduced prices on draft beers and a few cold sakes.

Not technically a happy hour but still of note: a late night bar menu every day, from 10pm to 1am.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Momiji

Not Everyone Is Happy about the Happy Hour Trend

Apparently industry people despise it.

Posted by: Seattle Met Staff on Oct 20, 2011 at 09:45AM 1 Comments

Cheers to happy hour. Or not?

As part of Seattle Met ‘s Best Restaurants feature, we asked dozens of Seattle chefs and restaurateurs to give us their take on trends, customers, competition—pretty much everything under the restaurant sun. What we got was an earful of juicy insider insight. We’ll be posting some of the responses in the coming weeks.

Happy hour is a topic near and dear to this blog. It’s an occasion to get tips while sampling a plate of this and a swill of that. What’s not to love? If you’re on the industry end of things, a lot, apparently. When asked to name the worst recent bar and restaurant trend, right there at the top was happy hour. (So was bacon cocktails, but who can argue with that? Not us.) When pressed further on the topic, those polled responded with “You have to do it to survive,” “dumbed-down menus, " or "great if you’re single, twentysomething, or looking to get laid.”

What else topped their list? More choice responses below:

“The food truck thing.”
“Anything to do with foam.”
“Cheap at all costs: It limits how we can treat our employees.”
“Chefs who open so many restaurants they can’t focus on one in particular.”
“Deification of chefs.”
“‘I’m a foodie’ is one of the most annoying things I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“Pork belly is played out. I mean, I have it on my menu right now but I think it’s definitely past its prime.”
“Reconstituted olives that look like eyeballs.”

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Tags: Happy Hour

Tonight: Everything Half Off at Moe Bar HH to Celebrate Amanda Knox Acquittal

A native daughter goes free, a local bar celebrates.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Oct 03, 2011 at 01:29PM 0 Comments

Have a pint for Amanda tonight at Moe Bar.

A momentous news day for Seattle and the world.

Foxy Knoxy is coming home.

To celebrate, Moe Bar will be offering “EVERYTHING” for half its usual price during happy hour, according to this tweet.

Happy hour at Moe Bar lasts from 3 to 7pm daily.

I will update here if and when I hear of other celebrations around town tonight or later on in the week.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Seattle in the News

Happy Hour News: Combos at Samurai Noodle, Late Night Tequila Shots at Little Water Cantina

The latest in HHs around Seattle.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Sep 15, 2011 at 09:45AM 0 Comments

The bar at Little Water Cantina

Photo: Little Water Cantina via Facebook

First of all, there’s the happy hour at the upstairs bar at Madison Park Conservatory, which MP residents in particular should be tickled by.

But also, I wanted to call your attention to some other happy hour situations that may not be on your radar.

Joining Poppy and Panevino in the category of Best HHs on Broadway is Samurai Noodle. All three locations of the ramen restaurant offer HH from 3 to 6pm daily; on Capitol Hill the discount menu features three separate combos at three price points: $5, $8, and $12. Visit their site for details.

The Broadway noodlery also has a number of sake options and a menu of sake cocktails offered at the bargain price of $3.50. Sapporo, Manny’s, and Mac and Jack’s are on tap.

Meanwhile over in Eastlake, Little Water Cantina has added a weekend happy hour to compliment its 4–6pm deals Tuesday through Thursday. Saturdays and Sundays, it is serving the full menu until 10pm, then turning things over to an HH selection that includes—oh lordy—$2 El Jimador tequila shots. (At least you’ll be shooting the good stuff, since Casa Herradura, which makes El Jimador, went back to using 100-percent agave in 2007. Word to the wise: When a bar offers specials on shots of tequilas marked “mixto,” it’s basically trying to kill you by way of hangover. Still, even if it’s the pure stuff you’re shooting after 10pm on a Saturday, please take a cab home.)

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Tags: Happy Hour, Eastlake, Capitol Hill, Madison Park, Seattle Happy Hours