Tag Archives: Happy Hour

A Meatarian Adventure in Vegan Land

24 Jul

Check out Seattle’s first vegan bistro, Plum, during happy hour on Sunday 4PM-close

Rating | Cool
Revealed | A meat-eaters refuge in a vegan restaurant
Reminds me of | LL Cool J’s Hey Lover

First Things First

No, I wasn’t forced. Nah, didn’t lose a bet. And nope, it wasn’t a requirement for work. YES, I actually wanted to check out a place that for some crazy reason didn’t serve meat. In case you didn’t pickup on it, I’d rather rip out my finger nails with pliers than eliminate things like bacon cheeseburgers from my diet.  That said, eating healthy and being aware of what I’m putting in my body (meat included) is definitely important to me. I’ve even recently been whining passionately discussing the need for an organic drive-thru in Seattle. Sidebar — I’m always on the go and grocery-shopping-when-hungry gets the best of my bank account, sometimes I just want to drive up and order something without getting distracted and WITHOUT getting out of my car.  Anyways, I digress. Some “health food” taste like cardboard or even better, the dirt it was grown in, so I’ve actually avoided vegeterian (especially vegan) joints. Until now.

Well, look who finally decided to grace us with their presence

Before Sunday, I had heard about Plum Bistro many times. Consistently, I was told emphatically that it’s great “even if you’re not a vegetarian”. Everyone said really positive things, I’m just notorius for being incredibly dramatic trying to avoid neighborhoods with crappy parking. So how did I end up there? Well, the last time Plum came up in conversation, a friend slipped me a solid nugget of wisdom, “If you’re checking it out for the first time, you should go on a Sunday. They have a great happy hour and you’ll get to try a few different things without spending too much.” DING DING DING, tell her what she’s won Bob. I’m not sayin happy hour is the magic phrase or anything, but since I’m a commitmentphobe it sure brings down the barrier to entry. There are fewer things worse than ordering food I don’t like and suffering through it — I damn sure won’t waste it, I won’t be rude and return it, but I’ll be mad as hell while I finish it (internally of course). So not cute. Anyways, I was driving around Sunday running errands and the light bulb went off! It’s Sunday. I’m hungry. Go to Plum.

The meat-eater dilemma, what to order?

Onion rings made fresh while you wait, yum!

The happy hour menu has quite the selection, from hummus and sliders to tacos and pizza, I had plenty to choose from. Even moreso, I was wise enough to sit directly across from the open kitchen. It was great to see how the food was prepped, and even better, to see how good it looked just before carried off to its rightful owner. I’m not a food critic, so I won’t get into the annoying details of “savory this” and “ingredients that” but I will say, my food was pretty damn tasty. Tasty enough, that I’d try anything else on the menu (despite the fact that I secretly hate the idea of tofu). I should also mention, the house red was a nice Temperanillo (Tempranillo’s are so under-rated IHMO) and it went well with my Carribean Jerk slider.  Watching the dude in the kitchen slice giant onions inspired me to order what turned out to be some of the best onion rings I’ve ever had – yes, they even beat the ones you get from the greasy hole in the wall,  drive-up burger joint. Also near the top of my list EVERYTHING WAS MADE FROM ORGANIC INGREDIENTS, it was a very pleasant surprise to see that on the menu. If all that isn’t enough to get you in there…your loss…more for me 🙂

What you should know

  • The staff is FANTASTIC, I sat at the bar and had a lovely chat with the bartender Alex. She was great, and didn’t roll her eyes at my annoying “what’s in this?” questions. And believe me, if I was her, I’da rolled my eyes – at least secretly.
  • If you’re an onion ring enthusiast, you’d be a fool not to order them
  • There are 10-15 tables total in this place so if you’ve got a big party, call ahead.
  • Parking on Sunday evenings isn’t terrible, think I only had to go around the block once (huge win in my book)
  • The 90’s R&B music playing in the background is freakin awesome, but clearly, I love 90’s music

Bon Appetit!

If you check it out, we’d love to know what you think.

‘Tis a Happy Hour Indeed…

10 Dec

Holiday shopping got you overwhelmed?

 

Swollen feet? Sore back? Pounding headache? No, I’m not getting ready to tell you about the latest and greatest super drug but rather exactly how you are going to feel after a full day of Christmas shopping and event hopping. For that, I do actually have a cure…Happy Hour! What better way to validate the mounds of money you’re spending by saving a little cash at some of Downtown Seattle’s best eateries.

When you’re ready to relax, refuel, or whatever, check out the restaurants below that feature weekend Happy Hours:

Boka

  • Address: 1010 1st Avenue
  • HH: Daily 2:30pm-6pm & 10pm-Close

Cutters Bayhouse

  • Address: 2001 Western Avenue
  • HH: Daily 4pm-6pm & 9pm-close

Gordon Biersch

  • Address: 600 Pine Street, #401
  • HH: Fri 4pm-6:30pm, No Sat, Sun 9pm-close

Lechoso

  • Address: 85 University Street
  • HH: Daily 3pm-6pm & 10pm-1am

Mistral Kitchen

  • Address: 2020 Westlake Avenue
  • HH: Daily 5pm-6:30pm

Palomino

  • Address: 1420 5th Avenue
  • HH: Daily 3pm-close

Sazerac

  • Address: 1101 4th Avenue
  • HH: Mon-Sat 4pm-8pm

Seatown Seabar

  • Address: 2010 Western Avenue
  • HH: Daily 3pm-6pm

Tap House Grill

  • Address: 1506 6th Avenue
  • HH: Fri 3:30pm-6:30pm & 11pm-close , Sat 11pm-close, Sun 3:30-close

Taste @ SAM

  • Address: 1300 1st Avenue
  • HH: Tues-Sun, 3pm-6pm

The Triple Door

  • Address; 216 Union Street
  • HH: Daily 4pm-6pm

Thoa’s

  • Address: 96 Union Street
  • HH: Daily 4pm-7pm

Twist

  • Address: 2313 1st Avenue
  • HH: Fri & Sat 4pm-8pm, Sun 4pm-12am

Where are YOUR favorite happy hour spots? Let us know in the comments!

Southlake Grill: Another Take On SLU

3 Sep

Last week I met up with a friend at Southlake Grill in the South Lake Union area to take advantage of the sunny weather before the clouds started rolling in. Since the SG is located away from the water, there’s a ton of parking compared to what you may (or may not) find down near the waterfront establishments. That brings me to another point – there are no water views here. That’s not to say the place isn’t great but just don’t expect to see Lake Union from your table. SG is located on the corner of Thomas St. and Pontius Ave. N. and has an outdoor patio facing this intersection so you can catch all of the action. Since the sun was still out by the time I arrived, I snagged a table outside and people watched for a bit. The patio is super cute and “naturey” feeling despite being basically downtown. Half of the area has greenery lining the walls/fencing which makes it less “concrete jungle” and more like a serene garden. Unfortunately, patio time was cut a bit short as the sun started setting  behind the tall downtown buildings and it got cold fast!

Southlake Grill's Patio

Since it got a little chilly outside, we moved inside and grabbed one of the available booths. The interior of SG is what I would consider small to medium in size but it feels quite large because of the two story ceiling. The Cascade Loft area takes up the second story of this space and can be used for private events or other special occasions. On the main floor there’s a bar area with flat screen TVs as well as booth seating and tables in the middle of the restaurant. The cuisine is pretty much typical pub/bar food (think burgers, salads, and pasta). I had the fish and chips which was very good. I’m no food critic but I liked the fact that the beer batter wasn’t too thick, the cod was firm but not dried out and the fries were pipping hot.

Southlake Grill is part of a “Neighborhood Grill” network of sorts with locations in and around the Seattle Metro area (check them out here). Have you been to any of these restaurants? What did you think? Let us know in the comments!

Rated: Cool

Great for: Happy Hour | Deck/Patio

Reminds me of: The “Cheers” theme song