I resumed my Super Seattle Tiki Crawl the following day. It was Sunday, February 25th. After a long morning of getting my geek on and visiting "Twin Peaks" (or, at least, many of the real places used to create the fictional TV town. You can read all about it HERE.), I hit the tiki trail once again. This was my first stop:
NEWPORT YACHT CLUB:
This is first stop o' the day is another non-bar tiki spot, courtesy of Critiki. The Newport Yacht Club is a "members only" place in a la-deh-dah affluent neighborhood. Jinkies! I felt like a criminal just walking onto the grounds to get some pictures of the large tiki standing near the tennis courts. Really! At any moment, I thought the Poor Police were going to swoop down and haul me away.
But there's really nothing to see, just a large carved tiki, a plaque from the family that donated it and a hard-to-read inscription from the carver (?) at the base of the tiki. That's it.
NO BONES BEACH CLUB:
After seeing the unusual sights of Fremont and battling the craziest torrential hail storm I've encountered (which you can read about HERE), I finally made it to No Bones Beach Club.
This is more of a restaurant than a tiki bar....but it has a lot of the usual tiki trappings, so... I had to go. (This is a place I had also found via Critiki.) The place lives up to its name. The "No Bones" in its moniker refers to the fact it is a vegan restaurant with all dishes --from the "crab cakes" to the "fish and chips" and "buffalo wings"-- are all vegan, made with tofu and other vegetarian substitutes. Drink-wise, I did have a coconut mojito. I also opted to try the "Coastal Chowder", which cleverly used oyster mushrooms instead of clams.
It was an interesting experience...but, as I said, more of a restaurant than a tiki bar. Oh well, I tried it. (And both the drink and chowder were good.) As an added bonus, there was a cool little waiting area just outside and down from the eatery. It was shaped like a boat. Ha! Loved it.
THE OCTOPUS BAR:
This isn't a tiki bar. I just happened to spot it driving down Wallingford Avenue (just down a bit and across from Archie McPhee's). It's name and nautical-looking theme had me wondering if it could possibly be an undiscovered tiki in disguise? Hmm. After the NO BONES BEACH CLUB, I decided one last night cap wouldn't be such a bad idea and I could walk to my hotel afterwards (which was NOT such a good idea. UGH!)
It was a dark and stormy night. It had already been a long day. I was pooped when I climbed the steps to the poop deck of the ship-like building. Ahoy, inside. I need a drink!
I didn't really need a drink. I just realized that my second (of three) days in the Seattle area was winding down and I wanted to experience all that I could and my dance card the next day was already booked! I didn't want to chance missing a potentially new tiki joint... So in I went.
I am pretty sure The Octopus Bar is fairly new, but it had already become a comfortable neighborhood dive bar. I took a seat at the end of the bar and placed an order.
Because I had no idea what to get on the menu (there was nothing tiki drink-ish in sight), I chose The Octopus Bubbly, which was a concoction of vodka, black raspberry liqueur, champagne and a Swedish fish. Ha. It was interesting, but it didn't really work for me. Oh well. At least I tried some place new. I did dig the nautical atmosphere though. With just a little work, this place could go tiki in no time.
But that was all the time I had for tiki that night. I had a long (partially uphill) walk back to my hotel. It gave me plenty of time to reflect on the tiki wonders I had experienced so far...and wonder what I'd have in store the next day.
Stay tuned for the third and final day of my Super Seattle Tiki Crawl. The link to Day 3 is HERE if you are sober enough to head there already.
CHEERS!
NEWPORT YACHT CLUB:
NORTH SHORE LAGOON & TIKI BAR:
It may say North Shore Lagoon & Pub on the awning, but don't be fooled. It is definitely a tiki bar inside. The "lagoon" (a large indoor pool) is on the ground floor. It's upstairs where you need to trudge to get your tiki on in this Bothell, Washington (a suburb north of Seattle). It's a clever idea and use of space. While the ground floor has its snack bar, changing rooms, etc., the upper floor boasts a restaurant with a central bar with windows overlooking the pool below.
A friendly server welcomed me and gave me a menu to peruse. I opted for a Zombie (as there was a blurb on the menu about being able to buy a mug with it). The mug was generic (nothing about it said "North Shore Lagoon"), but I'm a sucker. Gotta have my tiki mugs!
The place was okay. It had a nice ambiance, but there was a missing ingredient. It was tiki, but seemed to be on the surface only. The drink was nothing special. Maybe I just hit it on an off night (Sunday)? With kids in the pool and in the dining rooms (on either side of the bar), maybe it was more family night than tiki time. I'd give it another spin sometime in the future, perhaps but on this trip, it was just the one drink and done---as I had to get back to town and hit a few more places before my day was done.
NO BONES BEACH CLUB:
This is more of a restaurant than a tiki bar....but it has a lot of the usual tiki trappings, so... I had to go. (This is a place I had also found via Critiki.) The place lives up to its name. The "No Bones" in its moniker refers to the fact it is a vegan restaurant with all dishes --from the "crab cakes" to the "fish and chips" and "buffalo wings"-- are all vegan, made with tofu and other vegetarian substitutes. Drink-wise, I did have a coconut mojito. I also opted to try the "Coastal Chowder", which cleverly used oyster mushrooms instead of clams.
THE OCTOPUS BAR:
It was a dark and stormy night. It had already been a long day. I was pooped when I climbed the steps to the poop deck of the ship-like building. Ahoy, inside. I need a drink!
I didn't really need a drink. I just realized that my second (of three) days in the Seattle area was winding down and I wanted to experience all that I could and my dance card the next day was already booked! I didn't want to chance missing a potentially new tiki joint... So in I went.
I am pretty sure The Octopus Bar is fairly new, but it had already become a comfortable neighborhood dive bar. I took a seat at the end of the bar and placed an order.
Because I had no idea what to get on the menu (there was nothing tiki drink-ish in sight), I chose The Octopus Bubbly, which was a concoction of vodka, black raspberry liqueur, champagne and a Swedish fish. Ha. It was interesting, but it didn't really work for me. Oh well. At least I tried some place new. I did dig the nautical atmosphere though. With just a little work, this place could go tiki in no time.
But that was all the time I had for tiki that night. I had a long (partially uphill) walk back to my hotel. It gave me plenty of time to reflect on the tiki wonders I had experienced so far...and wonder what I'd have in store the next day.
Stay tuned for the third and final day of my Super Seattle Tiki Crawl. The link to Day 3 is HERE if you are sober enough to head there already.
CHEERS!
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