Bandoleone

Published 7:00 am Monday, October 9, 2006

There’s no light on the sign over the door, so Bandoleone sort of disappears into the murk these winter evenings, across North 34th Street from the dazzle of neo-Fremont. That’s too bad, because if you miss Bandoleone, you miss one of the Seattle’s biggest happy-hour bargains. From 3 to 6 p.m. weekdays, the drinks are good and reasonably priced, but the bar menu (also served after 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday) is a standout: Variations on dishes from the restaurant’s dining room menu are all priced at $6, so two can dine amply for $24 and pig out for $36. The big, crispy buttermilk-battered chicken wings are sweet and spicy, the dry-seared broccoli dressed in chiles and garlic even spicier. Big, succulent oysters are fried in the same buttermilk batter; there’s a daily special quesadilla (ours was filled with fragrant black-bean puree); and soft fresh tacos overflow with shredded greens concealing strips of grilled flank steak. And that’s just half the offerings. For first-timers: (1) stand next to Waiting for the Interurban with Costa’s Opa behind you; (2) cross 34th Street toward the Fremont Bridge; (3) veer left and walk straight ahead into the darkness. 703 N. 34th St., 206-329-7559. FREMONT