Where the Smoking Ban Stinks. Literally.

Back in the 90's, before Ballard Ave. really popped, the Smoke Shop was one of three bars on the northern tip of the strip that catered almost exclusively to Deadliest Catch, all-day drunk, pack-a-day types. One of the three, the Sunset, looked nothing like it does today. It was just a dingy tavern with ripped plastic chairs and cheap drafts. The other, the Vasa Grill, had a porthole window that allowed drinkers to gaze longingly at Ballard's industrial Puget Sound shoreline. Now the Vasa is the People's Pub, where my brother likes the french fries.

So today, the Smoke Shop is all that remains, the lone reminder of Ballard Ave's crusty past. The matronly evening bartender is sweet as rhubarb pie, the clientele is more diverse than you might imagine, and any bar that stays open from 6 a.m.-2 a.m. is a winner, period. But here's the one thing that annoys me about the Smoke Shop: you can't smoke cigarettes in the bar. Granted, you can no longer smoke cigarettes anywhere indoors in Seattle anymore, but at the Smoke Shop, where people once smoked more cigarettes per capita than in perhaps any other bar in the city (it's called the Smoke Shop, for crying out loud), the post-band, residual smell is that of a wet dog. I'd just as soon have two lit cigarettes shoved in my nostrils. At least that scent, while not exactly pleasant, is predictable, familiar and somewhat tolerable. Not so the wet dog odor, and there's nothing much anyone can do about it — except repeal the smoking ban on a site-specific basis.

I'm only half-kidding here. While I'll admit that, as a non-smoker, I'd much rather walk into a smoke-free establishment than one where people are lighting up with vigor, I always considered it part of the drinker's contract that walking into a bar meant walking into a place where people would be smoking. I didn't always like it, but I lived with it, because the pros typically outweighed the cons at most of the bars I'd go into. And now, walking into a place like the Smoke Shop, the County Line, the Nite Lite, the Rimrock, the Hurricane, or the 5-Point doesn't feel quite right without the waft of nicotine in the air, never mind the funk. Is there a way places like these can be granted some sort of special license, for legacy's sake? I doubt it, but it'd be a lot cooler if there were.

Topics: Libation

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Pomegranate Wine From Israel

Image: www.pomwonderful.com

Well, it seems we haven’t seen the end of the uber-trendy pomegranate, as reported yesterday in the Sunday Seattle Times.

Times writer Paul Gregutt also mentioned a more local dessert wine, “a rare Chenin Blanc ice wine”� recently released by Chateau Ste. Michelle.

Topics: Libation

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New Stumptown Location Opens

Dear Stumptown:

Your new location opened up at 616 E. Pine St., and it's just as appealing as location no. 1 at 12th Ave. and Madison (which opened a month ago). Though I'm not in the market for $30/pound coffee, like many of the Seattleites I've kibbitzed with about your new stores, I have a huge amount of respect for your coffee, ethics, aesthetics, friendly staff, etc.

But I have several questions about your master plan:

1. Why are you opening up in Seattle as opposed to San Francisco or Los Angeles, cities where you’re needed you could make a much more significant impact on the local coffee scene?

2. Why open so close to all the V’s (Vita, Vivace, Victrola) in Capitol Hill, the neighborhood that least needs “third-wave” coffee? Why not Belltown, Lower Queen Anne, West Seattle, or Ballard?

3. Why open your first two Seattle locations within 9 blocks and one month of each other?

Topics: Libation

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Point of Purchase: Latte, Malted

...wherein we test those products placed by the checkout to catch us at our weakest moment—when we are already buying something.

I go to the West Seattle Thriftway espresso bar often, and I've wanted to give it a nod for a while. They serve a mean latte (Caffe Vita—at low, low prices). Bar manager Lisa is dead serious about her coffee, and her staff is really sweet. They have some fancy vitamin mix-ins and signs for blended drinks that I always ignore in favor of my double short, but a few weeks ago they put a sign up advertising a Humzinger malt as "the only base you'll ever need. " Do I need a base? I asked. Hmmm... Malt powder comes from dried barley grain. It was a common fortifier (a la Ovaltine) before it became a soda fountain novelty.

Malt makes me think Whoppers, old timey chocolate shakes, and beer. So malt in my latte? Yes, please. I know many people are coffee purists. How nice for you. I don't even have a defining drink. In the afternoons I sometimes order something a little sweet. A malt latte at Thriftway is my new afternoon beverage, a treat without the cloying sweetness you get from flavored syrups. It smells like mocha stout and graham crackers, and the malt somehow makes the latte feel thicker. And did I mention the extra vitamins and minerals?

West Seattle Thriftway Espresso Bar
California Ave SW @ Fauntleroy
opens w/ the store, closes at 7:00pm
(Happy Hour M-F, 3:00 to 5:00pm, 50% off all espresso drinks)

Topics: Libation

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The Vodka Challenge

When my good friend, local public affairs consultant Karen "B.A." Besserman, announced that she'd taken on a new client in the liquor industry, I scratched my head for a moment. Then I stopped to consider the fine line between promoting progressive politicians and promoting booze, and it all started to make a ton of sense — even moreso when I learned that Ocean, the vodka brand Besserman is promoting, is organic. A-ha! Progressive vodka! Now we get it.

Ocean, which is made in Hawaii, has yet to be approved for sale in Washington State liquor stores — a formality that should pass muster in the near future. It purports to be the only USFDA-certified organic vodka in the country (although others claim to be organic, they lack the government seal of approval). Last night, Besserman staged a blind taste test, similar to the Pepsi Challenge and consisting of a three-person taster panel: me, SW photographer 'Lil Scoop, and my Aunt Gayle, who's been privy to enough liquor tastings to cast doubt on her amateur status.

Before we sipped, Besserman poured four brands — Ocean, Skyy, Grey Goose, and Smirnoff — into several small Solo cups. Ocean, I shit you not, was the unanimous runaway winner, a million times more clean and refreshing than its soon-to-be rivals. The worst? Skyy and Grey Goose. Talk about overrated. If you're going to drink bad vodka, save some coin and stick to the well.

At the end of the Vodka Challenge, the panel had but one request of Besserman: Appoint a separate panel to go on a night-long bender with each brand, spread over the course of a couple weeks, and then report back on which caused the least strenuous hangover. Common logic would dictate that Ocean, with its natural ingredients, should prevail on this count; but only time — and post-imbibery Excedrin tallies — will tell.

Topics: Libation

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