Sauced

New Bar Roundup

A cocktail lounge, a wine bar, a pinball pub that self-identifies as a dive, and another cocktail lounge.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 06, 2010 at 01:29PM 0 Comments

Wizard

We begin downtown with The Diller Room, the cocktail lounge inside Stella coffee house at the corner of First and University.

The Diller Room’s happy hour scores big points for lasting from 5 to 8pm and featuring $5 snacks (including two kinds of slider—monte cristo and BLT), and $3 wells and drafts. Billing yourself as a cocktail lounge and then brandishing a Bacardi logo on your web site is dubious practice, this fact does not escape me. But the Diller Room is actually quite cool and I’m happy enough with the happy hour that I can let it go.

Moving up towards the market there is ths new-ish wine bar 106 Pine, owned by the people who brought us the neighboring Chocolate Box and managed by the very knowledgeable Shannon Borg. 106 Pine has tasting events every Thursday. Next up on April 8 from 5-7pm, a rep from Woodinville’s Cru Selections will be pouring wines from Hestia, Guardian, and Cullin Hills.

Meanwhile, Wallingford’s 45th Street has welcomed a very techie-friendly new pinball bar called The Grizzled Wizard. Happy hour here starts at 4pm and also lasts until 8pm every day—I’m seeing a trend and I’m liking what I see. Right now the GW is doing ye olde frozen-dinner-as-food-menu trick, but promises bbq and tacos in the future.

Finally, Pour House, in the area of Greenlake some people call Tangletown, opened in Mid-March and has two sections—a cocktail lounge for adults only, and an all-ages dining room for families. Pour House has a $5 food menu offered from 4 to 6pm and again from 10 to close. This menu features no less than three types of slider: hamburger, portabello mushroom, and Jamaican jerk chicken.

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Tags: Downtown, Cocktails, Pike Place Market, Wallingford, Wine Bars, Dives, Greenlake

A Stupid Question for a Sommelier

New Oak, old oak, no oak: Campagne’s Cyril Frechier demystifies chardonnay.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Mar 24, 2010 at 02:52PM 6 Comments

Cyril says: do not give up on chardonnays before you’ve tried a good one.

From 1990 to 2007, Cyril Frechier, now wine and spirits director at Campagne and Cafe Campagne, was the wine director and GM of Rover’s restaurant in Madison Valley. Born and raised in France, he honed his skills attending wine master classes in London. “The exhilaration and inspiration received from these lectures,” says Cyril, have never left him.

Here, a stupid question for Cyril Frechier.

You hear a lot about chardonnays being oaky or not oaky. What does that mean exactly?
Since Roman times, sturdiness, watertight structure, and flavor-enhancing compounds have made oak the favorite wood type for shipping and storing wine the world over. The more relevant and obvious benefit to the consumer are oak’s organoleptic (I love that word) properties.

I’m glad you love that word, Cyril, but I should probably cut in and explain that “organoleptic” refers to the wine’s sensory properties—taste, color, odor, etc. Alright, carry on.
Oaky flavors are commonly described as vanilla, coconut, burnt toast, caramel, tobacco, spicy, cedar, and clove. Some white-grape varietals are natural partners for these flavors; chardonnay chief among them. Reds that can handle oak’s sometimes overbearing flavors include cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah/shiraz, tempranillo and, to a lesser extent, pinot noir.

How “oaky” a wine is depends on the provenance, brand, size, manufacturing requirements, and percentage of new barrels that are used. Old barrels can be neutral, while new barrels will impart 100-percent oakiness.

Okay, back to chardonnay. If I don’t like oaky chardonnays, does that mean I won’t like any chard?
As in most things in life, balance and harmony is key. Excessive oak flavors will obliterate chardonnay’s more delicate floral, herbal, and citrusy characteristics. But oak, when well handled, can add layers of flavors and complexity that unoaked chardonnays rarely display.

But how can I tell, looking at the label, if a chard is oaky?
Look on the bottle’s front and back label. Any mention of oak, vanilla, toasted flavors, etc is a dead giveaway. Words like Reserve, Special Cuvée, and Estate can point to a fancier, more expensive bottling in which new oak barrels may have been used.

Alright, homework time. Can you suggest two chards—one unoaked, one oaked—to compare side by side?
Here are two from the Willamette Valley in Oregon: Chehalem 2007 Inox Chardonnay takes its name from the abbreviation of the French word for stainless steel. This wine is 100 percent stainless-steel fermented. It’s light, crisp, fresh, and delicious. Ponzi Vineyards 2006 Chardonnay Reserve: A good example of how oak can enhance chardonnay fruit when in the hands of a deft winemaker.

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Tags: Wine, A Stupid Question for a Sommelier, Pike Place Market

Happy St Patty’s. The party begins in 19 minutes.

Green-beer wingdings will take place in Irish pubs all over town today, but the one to hit is Kell’s.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Mar 17, 2010 at 09:47AM 3 Comments

A very Irish band of the sort you can see all day at Kell’s.

It being St Patrick’s Day, you can pretty much stumble into any Irish bar around town and expect a party. But the one to hit is Kell’s, which opens at 10am (20 minutes from now).

There is a $20 cover—admission buys you a free t-shirt and the chance to hear no fewer than eight Irish bands. The party spills into an outdoor tent and nearby Post, which shares owners with Kell’s. Please don’t forget to eat—the food at Kell’s is relatively tasty, and will help absorb all the beer.

In other news, I just called Tom Douglas Restaurants and was informed that there are still about 10 tickets left for the beer blast tonight at Palace Ballroom. So if you want to get on that, call this number right now: 206-448-2001.

Finally, was anyone curious where the great Shane MacGowan himself might be playing tonight, as bands the world over cover his songs? I was, but there is no show date posted on his Myspace page. I’ll bet you two green beers he is doing a gig at Bill Gates’s private St Patty’s party on Mercer Island. Or perhaps in Mexico, playing for Carlos Slim, that Mexican telecom tycoon who is now richer than Bill Gates.

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Tags: Holiday Events, Pike Place Market, St Patrick's Day

For Your Consideration: Oscar Viewing Parties at Kell’s, Bottleneck

The Academy Awards air March 7. Where will you watch?

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 24, 2010 at 12:41PM 0 Comments

The Oscars aren’t just a shameless excuse to put a picture of George Clooney on your blog. They’re also a shameless excuse to drink at the bar.

Wondering where you’ll watch the Oscars this year? In the bars category, consider Kell’s in Pike Place Market and the Bottleneck Lounge on East Madison Street.

Kell’s, which organizes the event as a benefit to St. Joseph’s Baby Corner, asks guests to “dress to impress” and will be raffling off prizes. Doors open at 4pm, the awards show begins at 5pm. Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at the door and include appetizers, ballots, and prizes.

The Bottleneck Lounge will also be opening up at 4pm and will serve drink specials themed around the best actor nominees. It’s free and you can wear jeans or whatever.

Oh and if Oscar is not your buzz, opt instead to attend this absinthe soiree at the Sorrento Hotel with local cocktail historian extraordinaire, Robert Hess. To paraphrase something I heard a bartender say recently at that very hotel: “The green fairy is much more interesting than the red carpet.” Price of admission is $20.

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Tags: Oscars, Pike Place Market, Drinking Events

Happy Hour of the Week: Post Restaurant and Lounge

At this bunker of a Post Alley bar, order mini-burgers but not lamb sliders.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 17, 2010 at 12:35PM 0 Comments

• HOURS: Daily from 4 to 7pm
• PRICES: Food specials between $4 and $6; wines by the glass from $5 to $7 and by the bottle from $15-$28; $4 draft beers; $4 well cocktails.

I’ve always liked how Post Restaurant and Lounge reminded me of the Hatch on Lost. If you don’t know what I mean by that, go get your hands on the first two seasons of that show and I’ll see you in a few weeks.

A tiny bunker of a Post Alley bar that is flanked by Kell’s on one side and the shopping center that houses the White Horse Trading Co on the other, Post opened about a year ago. Then, a few months back, Patrick McAleese (whose family owns Kell’s) and his business partner took over. A tall Irishman with a flair for interior design, McAleese has added soft-edged bric-a-brac to contrast with the cementy lockdown feel, but all the table votives, silky harem pillows, and grape bunch-shaped chandeliers can’t stop this place from feeling like a spooky underground lair.

And why would you want them to? It’s awesome to drink in a cave under Pike Place Market. Especially on a weekday evening in winter when it is dark as evil outside. I go to happy hour at Post all the time. I think of it as my panic room.

You should come. I can tell you what to eat: the juicy mini-burgers, but not the dry lamb sliders, and maybe some artichoke jalapeno dip served with little toasties—one must eat the occasional vegetable, after all. I can share a bottle of Portuguese white wine ($15) with you, the kind of wine that goes down easy and you can drink a lot of and still feel fine. The kind of wine you can drink while having the sort of deep, meandering conversation you wish would never end.

There are seven wines on the happy hour menu, six of them available by the bottle. Remember this is not your last meal, this is your Tuesday night refuge. You will be charged accordingly.

Just after it opened last year, I went to Post and there was a wake at the next table. If you want to read about that, it’s here.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Pike Place Market

Chocolate, Meet Beer.

Now in its second year, Pike Brewing’s Chocofest plays matchmaker to local chocolates and their boozy counterparts.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 08, 2010 at 02:56PM 1 Comments

That’s going to make you thirsty, lady. Chocofest pairs artisan chocolates with local beverages.

Best Valentine’s-related event so far: Thursday, February 11 is Chocofest at Pike Brewing Company from 6-9pm. As such, there will be more than two dozen kinds of chocolate paired with over twenty beers, barley wines, meads, and spirits.

Vendors and products to get excited about include: Clear Creek Distillers from Oregon—they make grappas, eaux de vie, and wine brandies. Claudio Corallo, whose chocolates everyone is always freaking out over, Mount Baker Vineyards (I’m hoping they’ll be pouring some of their very food-friendly late-harvest viognier), absinthe from Pacific Distillery, and typically sold-only-at-farmers-markets Trevani Truffles.

RSVP with Michael St Clair at the brewery by calling 206-812-6613, tickets are $25 at the door.

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Tags: Local Spirits, Beer, Valentine's Day, Desserts, Pike Place Market

HAPPY PLACES: Pike and Western

Try something new from one of Seattle’s oldest wine shops.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Aug 13, 2009 at 03:00PM 2 Comments

A happy display case at a happy place.

The Place Pike and Western
The Deal A well-curated collection of bottles at all prices, specializes in wines form Washington, France, and Italy.
Owner’s Picks Nebbiolo Langhe 2007, $21.99; 2008 Beresan Cabernet Sauvigon, $29; 2007 Rôtie Cellars Northern Blend, $35.
Our Picks 2007 Chinook cabernet franc rosé, $14.99; 2006 Domaine de la Rouletiere Vouvray ($14.99)
The Scoop Wednesday afternoons, sample high-end wines for $5, on Fridays the staff pours complimentary sips of cheaper wines to sip while you shop.

The first time I walked into Pike and Western, I knew I’d found a friend. All around me were my favorite value wines: Here was a bottle of Poet’s Leap riesling, there was the cab franc rosé from Chinook, in the back I some stacked cases of Domaine de La Rouletiere, a favorite affordable vouvray from the Loire that I had discovered at Voila Bistro but had given up on finding in any of the local wine shops.

Owner Michael Teer says he is always fighting the perception that small wine stores are somehow high end only and have a huge mark up. He shows me bottle after bottle under $20, all of them, he says, selected and tasted by his staff—obsessive food and wine people who specialize in finding pairing wines for special meals. “And you don’t even have to tip us like you do the barista” says Teer.

Teer bought Pike and Western in 1991 after working there for 11 years, and is a great lover of the Italian wines from the Piemonte—he introduces novices by way of a reasonable priced nebbiolo or dolcetto. “People will drop $60 for a cab, but not a Barbaressco” he laments. For the initiated, there are a number of high-end piemontese in stock.

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Tags: Pike Place Market, Happy Places