QUEEN ANNE
Adam Weintraub
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Liquid Lounge
Experience Music Project, 325 Fifth N, 770-2777
Fri-Sat 11am-2am, Sun-Thu 11am-midnight
Bar snacks only (lunch/dinner menu available from EMP's Turntable restaurant)
$$
If you've come to the Seattle Center for some event, or for EMP itself, here's a place worth visiting. (If you haven't already parked in a pay lot, forget it.) Paul Allen's money and architects have created an undeniably cool space, with blue light bathing the insulation-covered beams and ceiling far, far overhead. Sure, the result is bad acoustics for the small live acts that perform here, but the good PA system compensates, and people actually listened appreciatively (a rarity in this town) to the Django-influenced Catwalk Trio on a recent visit. Prices are modest—subsidized?—and the menu small, in keeping with the nicely uncluttered vibe. The nostalgia-free Liquid Lounge seems like a minimalist diner updated with plywood and red Formica. Among snacks, the popcorn was both free (!) and fresh. "Real butter?" we asked. "I think so; it comes in a pouch," wavered the bartender.
upshot: Skip the gift shop below, forgive the cutesy drink names (e.g., Blue Suede Booze).—B.R.M.
Ozzie's Roadhouse
105 W Mercer, 284-4618
Mon-Fri 11am-midnight, Sat-Sun 7am-midnight; lounge open daily 7am-midnight
Breakfast Sat-Sun; Lunch and dinner all seven
$$
When the line gets too long outside Peso's, a crowded singles bar nearby on Queen Anne Ave, the lonely hearts join the locals at this humble neighborhood hangout. Cool doesn't count here, with its TGIF-meets-Farrell's decor and numerous, blaring TV sets. The truly depressed can try the pull tabs and other games of chance. Pool tables in back offer some consolation; after enough beer, the lovelorn can express their heartache through a suitable '80s ballad in the popular karaoke lounge—where the off-key caterwauling can often be heard over the traffic on Mercer. Comfortable mediocrity best describes the food here (it's a burger joint to its core). Incredibly, Ozzie's has a URL (www.ozziesroadhouse.com), although dot-com hipsters are more likely to stagger in than log on.
upshot: A step up from Sorry Charlie's, a step down from Duke's.—B.R.M.
Paragon
2125 Queen Anne N, 283-4548
Daily 5pm-2am (Lunch, 11:30-3)
Dinner, lunch, snacks, weekend brunch
$$
Exactly two things recommend the Paragon: cheap martinis and yuppie tail. And that's "yuppie" and "tail" in the most base sense of both words. Most nights, the Paragon is the quintessential yupster pickup joint—women in skirt-suits and guys in tasseled loafers with their neckties conspicuously removed—so you may as well know what you're getting into. That said, this veteran bar has one of the best martini specials around ($3, every weekday from 4 to 8), lots of warm wood, gentle lighting, strong drinks, an honest-to-God hearth, and all-pro service. The guys call each other "gentlemen" here, with those knowing, joshing head-bobs; if that doesn't make you choke on your olives, get yourself on over. Think of it as an anthropological survey. And who knows, you just might score.
upshot: An upper Queen Anne institution with strong, speedy drinks, the perfect place to meet your cute new broker.—P.H.
Sorry Charlie's
529 Queen Anne N, 283-3245
Daily 6am to 2am
Dinner, lunch, snacks, breakfast
$
Hipsters mix with old timers in the piano bar at Sorry Charlie's, where singers of widely varying experience and ability line up to sing a song with pianist Howard Bulson (playing every night but Monday). Singers from various productions at the Seattle Center have been known to show up, as have various up-and-coming jazz vocalists. No microbrews here, but the mixed drinks are strong, there are some good surprises on the jukebox, and the ambiance is the closest thing to a time machine Seattle offers. "You can imagine Humphrey Bogart sitting next to you, just watching the scene," says one longtime visitor of the dark, smoky piano bar. There's a restaurant, too, and a bar in front with pull tabs and sports on the television.
upshot: A gritty survivor of yesteryear in yuppie Seattle.—J.B.
EASTLAKE
Pazzo's
2307 Eastlake E, 329-6558
Mon-Fri 11:30am-1am, Sat-Sun 3pm-1am
Dinner, lunch, snacks
$-$$
"Eastlake's living room" is a truly comfortable hangout with big wooden chairs, a good selection of microbrews, and the ultimate comfort food, pizza and calzone. It's a great space in a historic neighborhood building, featuring brick walls, big wooden beams, and huge windows that let you watch the world go by on Eastlake Avenue. Pazzo's is hardly a sports bar, although the obligatory televisions are always tuned to the game of choice. And the regulars are a good group to watch a Mariners game with (they like the Sonics, too). Although beer and pizza are a tempting combination, many folks have figured out that mixed drinks are also poured here and have reacted accordingly. As most visitors arrive in search of a meal, the crowd comes (and goes) in waves, but don't be afraid to stay until last call.
upshot: A neighborhood meeting place. —J.B.
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT/NORTHEAST
Luau
2253 N 56th, 633-5828
Daily 3pm-2am (kitchen closes 10pm weekdays, 11pm Fri-Sat)
Dinner, lunch, snacks
$$-$$$
