Via the Stranger, a proposal to put nightlife licensing in the hands of the state.

Interesting to me: 1. bars could acquire a special license that would exempt them from being required to serve food—which could be a shame. I sort of love the bizarre concept spots that have emerged from the mustservefood rule. The little sushi station at Liberty bar, for instance. And 2. Neighborhood orgs would know what types of establishments were moving into their hoods before they opened.

The Seattle Times wrote up the happy hour at Ivar’s Acres of Clams, which runs from 3 to 7 Monday through Thursday and then 3 to close on Fridays. Ivar’s recently did a media blitz in which it sent out $25 happy hour gift certificates to local reporters. I guess it’s working.

I’ve given the happy hour at Ivar’s Salmon House four tries—I really want to like it, the prices are great. But I’ve found the food to be bad. Is it worth giving the Waterfront branch a go?

Finally, the March/April issue of Imbibe has a very cool article on rieslings, including a “Ten to Try” list that has a couple of Washington wines—among them the $12 2007 Chateau Ste Michelle Dry, which I neglected to mention in my recent riesling post. Here’s hoping the article is on their website by the time you read this.

Okay, time to go see my girl Penelope probably not be awarded a little gold man. Happy Oscar Day everyone.

UPDATE: She won! No more Oscar predictions for Sauced.