Man, was the booze flowing in Seattle this year. This city exploded with new watering holes in 2007, and it sometimes seemed a new bar was opening every day. Many people ask me about my favorite places to hang out, and I always feel weird playing favorites. Not that I lack strong opinions, I just challenge and change them all the time. I don't have "a drink," and likewise, I don't have a single spot I like to hang at. One of my favorite parts about writing this column is the fly-on-the-wall aspect of witnessing the grooves of bars and restaurants around the city. Two newcomers I've found myself returning to the most this year:
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The Georgetown Liquor Company provides for all your needs.
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Georgetown Liquor Company (5501B Airport Way S.) makes vegetarian sandwiches—especially the Picard, a pseudo–French dip worthy of the captain—that accomplish more without meat than many carnivorous joints in town. The simple, dark space is comfortable in a DIY way, and always feels like I've been coming there for years. Their cocktails are simple and fun, and they always have a surprise or two on tap (plus Q*Bert on the console!). The bar crowd is a happy amalgam of what makes Seattle great, every shade of collar brought together by Field Roast.
Oliver's Twist (6822 Greenwood Ave. N.) is a small, modern space that doesn't feel overly designed. I like the use of space to the customer's benefit: for conversation and comfort. Their house cocktails introduce new combinations with flavors that are lively and playful, yet seriously strong. For example, who would have thunk the Tuaca and cassis in the Rose Maylie cocktail made a good couple? The food is a bit steep for the portions, but delectable. Tell me another place that has cheese-stuffed dates, potatoes cooked in duck fat, and a s'more sandwich.
Places to swirl and sip wine reached critical mass this year. For so many years, fledgling wine bars were unable to maintain a hold on the hearts and minds of Seattle wine lovers. But now there's a wine bar for practically everyone. Buttressed by the success of Portalis in Ballard, businesses like Verve in Columbia City and the Local Vine in Belltown have melded wine retail into their concepts to maximize revenue. This feature is a bonus for customers, who then don't have to hunt all around town for a favorite wine they've drunk by the glass. I'm interested to see how the clienteles of both places will shake out over the next year.
Cocktails grew up a lot this year, too. Fewer cocktails are playing hide-the-booze, and more and more feature complex libations with the spirit front and center and the sweet and fruity as accessories. This was one trend many bartenders and I were begging would catch on, and it has. Thoughtful concoctions from Zig Zag and Vessel have done more than just garner press. The drinks at these establishments inspire bars all around town. Gone are the days when we bartenders had to listen to customer debates on the merits of one luxury vodka versus another. Brown (liquor) is the hot topic of conversation. Applejack is no longer scarce, and bitters has come to mean more than Angostura. I am a very happy girl.
If I were a craft brewery, I'd start talking about my beer and food in the same sentence all the time. I went to no fewer than a dozen beer tastings this year that featured marvelous cheese pairings. Beer dinners are popping up all over Seattle, and the new magazine BEER Northwest aims to be the hoppy version of Northwest Palate. Psst, wine: That's beer knocking on your door, coming to getcha.
mdutton@seattleweekly.com
