Pub Crawl

Night out in Belltown - One of the best things about having visitors in town is that you get to go explore new places closer to their hotel. Although Paul had to work, I got to have a swanky two bar mini crawl in Belltown. First, I have to say, I was amazed at how few people were out at 5:30 in Belltown on a sunny Saturday. Apparently, upscale urban hipsters don't do happy hour. Our first stop was Umi Sake House, touted by citysearch as the best happy hour in town. They do not lie. The sushi, while maybe not super authentic, is fresh and tasty, and you can stuff yourself with it until 8pm in the front "porch" section of the restaurant for a mere $3-$7 a roll. We got more varieties than I can remember, along with complimentary edamame, $3 Sapporos, $5 cold sake, and a completely gratuitous plate of grilled garlic short ribs. But, being the gluttons that we are, we decided to press on to Black Bottle for "a glass of wine" that turned into a bottle of Rutherford sauvignon blanc and a french country flat bread, oozing creamy cheese and olive oil, and later, inexplicably, a bottle of Abel Clement Vacqueras Cotes-du-Rhone and an order of ceviche. It was decadent but very reasonably priced for the quality and atmosphere. I can't wait to take Paul.

Pub Crawl

Bal Mar sucks. Perhaps that's being a bit harsh. It has some good aspects. The atmosphere is swanky, velvet, and dark, more NY than Ballard. The soundtrack is jazz. And the happy hour menu (5-7pm) is cheap. But the food isn't worth even the $5-$8 you're paying for it. We went there for my birthday and were extremely disappointed. The satay came with a disgusting, thick, and frighteningly un-nutty "peanut" sauce. The calamari was rubbery, under-seasoned, and came with a sauce that was barely distinguishable from its "peanut" cousin and equally unpalatable. Even the fries were bad. First of all, they were billed as "shoestring," but were actually quite thick, more commonly referred to as steak fries (pictured at right). If the lack of adjectival accuracy wasn't enough, the fries were unsalted. That's right. We are not convinced that there was any salt on these fries. There was, however, a shocking amount of paprika dumped on them. Paprika has no flavor. It gave the fries a red color and floury texture. Not good. Luckily, our next stop was Sunset Bowl, where the food has plenty of salt and fat to accompany their bowling pin shaped beer bottles. So, if you're looking to dress up for happy hour, you can get a swanky cocktail at the Bal Mar for $6 or a beer for $3. But steer clear of the food, unless you're on flavor-free diet.

Pub Crawl

On Old Ballard Ave, happy hour lasts 4 hours. That's right, just one more reason living in Ballard kicks ass. We started our night early at the Matador (happy hour 4-6) and, as far we're concerned, that's the only time to go. Technically the place has an early and a late happy hour, but there's nothing happy about jostling for position with a bunch of drunken hispsters to get a table late night. At 5:30 on a Saturday night, you can walk right up to the bar, order a couple of drinks and tuck into their $4 appetizers (another not so happy fact about this bar: no drink specials). We had the wings and the southwest eggrolls (better than they sound, but nothing to write home about). The real reason to hit the Matador is the atmosphere. On a chilly Ballard night, nothing beats getting a seat by their blazing fire . . . except maybe a hot buttered rum at Hattie's Hat - the next stop on our 4 hour tour (happy hour 'till 7pm) - this bar makes some mean winter cocktails. We watched as the bar tender expertly made the afore mentioned little bit of heaven and hot toddies, guaranteed to knock the chill right out of your bones. Then it was on to King's Hardware, where, to our surprise and delight, we discovered that happy hour was from 6-8, and involved both drink and food specials. Never ones to pass up cheap food and booze, we ordered the discounted beers and the sliders ($4.50 for 3 perfect little hamburgers with all the fixins, garnished with American flags - like 4th of July exploding greasily in your mouth). King's also distinguishes itself by having a jukebox (which we made us of) and skee ball (which we decided was best saved for a subsequent night). Bottom line: If you're looking to get full and buzzed for cheap, come to Ballard, where the snacks are cheap and the hot toddies flow like water.