keith waldbauer behind the bar at union

Rule #37 from the Modern Drunkard 86 rules of boozing [#] is, “Try one new drink each week.”

One of the beauties of living in Seattle is the sheer proliferation of bars/lounges/restaurants that allow you to easily follow that rule. Seattle Metropolitan magazine [#] in fact just released its Best Bars issue to help guide you through all of the possibilities.

While their list is fairly extensive, I feel that they’ve missed the mark only just slightly. Sure, a well-stocked bar and a delicious drink menu are important. However, these are merely the effects not the causes. Where a bar will be made or broken resides in the soul of its bartender. Without his or her knowledge, personality, and curiosity a bar is just a wooden plank to rest your drink upon. With these things, a bar can be outstanding; a place where you will return many a time and get giddy knowing your favorite is captaining the boat. Okay maybe that’s just me, but I think you know what I mean.

What I’m leading up to is this: if you want to know more about a bar you have to know about its tender and how better to know a bar’s tender than to go right to the source? We here at Seattle Metroblogging have taken the ultimate sacrifice and begun a series wherein we talk to Seattle’s good bartenders and let you get to know them a little before you take the plunge and enter their establishments.

First up? Keith Waldbauer from Union Restaurant (1400 First Avenue):
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I don’t know if I’m noticing this more now because my baby sister just started college there, but it seems that WSU is popping up everywhere in the news lately … in very negative ways:

Police: Porn actor wanted in WSU assault turns self in
Porn star sought for WSU sorority sex assault
Drunken man injured in Pullman balcony jump
WSU student injured in fall at sorority

Now, I’m not even a parent, but these articles make me cringe. I scan them for the name of my sister’s sorority and send them along to her in an email peppered with, “Be safe!” “Don’t go here!” “Don’t do this!”

God, I feel like I’m 86 years old and lecturing her on the lessons of life.

I imagine Washington State University’s public relations department is working two-fold right now for concerned parents, or to tell the world, “Really! We’re not one of the biggest party schools in the nation! We’re an established and reputable university!” An argument they seem to have been trying to counterbalance for years now. (In 2000, The Princeton Review named WSU as one of the top 10 party schools in the nation.)

Now, I’ve always heard that WSU is known for partying, and I rolled my eyes at it because every college student I have known, and know, parties. However, I don’t see these types of articles popping up everywhere about Western or the UW…

Metblog WSU Alumni Readers: What’s your take on this stereotype? Some truth to it? Or do you think the school just gets more press for their students’ mishaps? Parents: How do you feel about your son or daughter attending WSU?

ra ra riot (the rest of the photoset [flickr])

Ra Ra Riot played last night and I’ve never seen Chop Suey’s stage looking so crowded (and I’ve seen Architecture in Helsinki there, too). It wasn’t simply the size of the band — six members — it was their nonstop movement and close-knit energy that found them bouncing off and leaning into each other, switching places and instruments, and generally having a lot of fun after acclimating to the cold outdoor weather and the challenges of performing in sweaters. They definitely lived up to expectations, sounding even more assured than the last time I saw them.

I’ll try to put together a little more about the show later, but for now, some pictures from the rest of the night:

biffy clyro (the rest of the photoset [flickr])

editors (the rest of the photoset [flickr])

One of the original celebrity chefs, Mario Batali has never made too big of a deal of his Seattle heritage, so its always nice to read an anecdote of his local ties. I laughed last week at the picture of him hanging in Green Leaf in the ID so it was neat to see another reminder of his Seattle roots as he reviews Pike Place’s Steelhead Diner for the Serious Eats blog [#].

Photo by sonyaseattle via [Flickr]

Each year the summer ends and the days get colder, which always depresses me. But, the Fremont Oktoberfest allows me to welcome fall with a beer-induced, weekend-long haze. What better way to transition?

Voted top 10 Oktoberfests in the world by USA Today, this weekend’s festival will be held Friday through Sunday and will include a 5K run, street scramble, dog contest, chainsaw pumpkin carving contest, performances by local bands (The Hands, The Saturday Nights, The Maldives), kids area and more than 70 beers in three beer gardens. It will be at a different location than last year. Look for the beer tents down on the canal waterfront–Canal Street between Phinney Ave. North and 1st Ave NW–instead of the usual location underneath the Aurora Bridge.

I know all of you are wondering why Oktoberfest is held in September … Historically, in old Germany, the brewing season began with the fall harvest of barley and hops, and any beer left at harvest time had to be consumed before the new beer arrived. Therefore, September was designated as the time to drink-up all of last season’s beer. It is officially celebrated each year in Munich, Germany during the last of September through first week in October. A few more Oktoberfest facts for you:

• In 1881, booths began selling bratwurst, and glass mugs were first used in 1892.
• In 1910, Oktoberfest celebrated its 100th birthday–120,000 liters of beer were poured
• The largest tent at the celebration in Munich is the Hofbrau-Festhalle, which holds 10,000 people.
• Since its beginning, Oktoberfest has been canceled 24 times due to war, disease and other emergencies.
• Thirty percent of the year’s production of beer by Munich breweries will be consumed in the two weeks of Oktoberfest.
• 12,000 people are employed at Oktoberfest. Of these, 1,600 are waitresses.
• The six Oktoberfest breweries, (Spaten, Augustiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrauhaus, Lowenbrau) sold 6 million mugs of beer in 2005 (5.5 million in 2004).
• Approximately 4,000 items have been lost at the festival, among them, 260 pairs of glasses, 200 mobile phones, a wedding ring and two crutch

And here are my personal tips I’ve learned in years past:

• Purchase advance tickets at a neighborhood location near you and beat the lines of people waiting to purchase their admission at the door.
• Buy the Twice the Tastes special–five more dollars and twice the tokens.
• Plan on grabbing dinner beforehand. The food offered in the beer gardens is limited. Think curly fries and hot dogs.
• Stand in the bathroom lines WAY before you actually have to go to the bathroom.
• Keep your eyes peeled for beer tokens dropped by unsuspecting people! Last year I collected at least five more tokens that were lying on the ground or near the tables of beer.
• If you’re only there to get hammered, get more bang for your buck. Find out which beer has the highest alcohol content, then keep going back!
• Make sure you don’t turn into a bierleichen underneath all those bierzelts!

photo by slippery joaquin [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• Rosalie Gale started a blog (bartersauce), tried the Red Paperclip Trick, and ended up with a collection of funny stories that she likes better than a house in Saskatchewan. [times]
• S.L.U.T., the logo that launched a thousand Diggs [flickr]
• Someone agrees that a couple block stretch of 12th needs a nickname. [broadwayseattle]
• MTV ♥ MtB. [tig]
• After arguing otherwise [#], Josh Feit now says “the Slog is the paper.” [seattlest]

Another new business opens its services to Queen Anne–Amazon Fresh recently announced they’re adding my Seattle neighborhood to their short list of delivery areas.

At the beginning of August, Amazon.com announced its foray into the grocery business with the launch of Amazon Fresh, a grocery delivery service. It began with a limited delivery to Mercer Island only, but now has expanded their delivery services to Bellevue, Kirkland, Capitol Hill and Queen Anne–the most recent addition.

Amazon Fresh offers fresh fruits and vegetables, approximately 14,000 nonperishable grocery store items [#] , and an assortment of organic and specialty (gluten-free, kosher) products. They claim that they’ll deliver these items to you for free with three options:

1. Schedule a delivery and choose a small, one-hour window for delivery.
2. Pick-up your order at one of the pick-up locations.
3. Place an order by 8 p.m., and it will be waiting on your doorstep when you wake up the next morning.

Sounds relatively simple. So, I did a comparison with Safeway online with a few items I buy regularly to see if a huge difference in price exists:

Orowheat Whole Grain Bread: $3.20 Amazon Fresh, $3.49 Safeway
Jenny O Turkey Bacon: $2.84 Amazon Fresh, $2.49 Safeway
Red bell peppers: $0.59 each Amazon Fresh, $2 each Safeway
Laughing Cow Cheese: $3.73 Amazon Fresh, $4.29 Safeway
Triscuit Specialty Crackers: $2.95 Amazon Fresh, $3.39 Safeway
Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt: $1 Amazon Fresh, $0.65 Safeway

For the selected items, Amazon Fresh was the better option–it was 9 percent cheaper than Safeway. Perhaps my list is skewed though? I did find it a lot easier to navigate through the products offered on Amazon Fresh than Safeway online, and the selection was larger. I do all my grocery shopping at Safeway, so it seems to be a better option to try out Amazon Fresh, but I’m still not totally convinced…

Metblog Readers: Have any of you used Amazon Fresh? If so, how does the quality of produce and price of items compare to that of your local grocer? What’s your take on online grocery shopping?

christopher frizzelle at the mcleod residence notables party (portraying himself) via mcleod residence photobooth [#]

Dan Savage is no longer the editor of the Stranger (he’s now the editorial director). Congratulations to Christopher Frizzelle, the new editor, who at age 27 may be the youngest editor the paper has had in a while (I’m not sure how old Jennifer Vogel was when she left in 2001 [aan]).

The Stranger’s online masthead [#] hasn’t changed. Regina Hackett has the scoop. [art to go]

ra ra riot @ sin-é // nyc, november 2006

• This is what I wrote when I saw Ra Ra Riot last year: “a friend caught the youngish Syracuse band at the Marie Antoinette party and he described them as being like the Arcade Fire, except not Canadian, less pretentious, death-obsessed, and arty. Throughout their performance, I couldn’t help but agree that it was just about a perfect summary. While those are among the characteristics that I admire most about the Arcade Fire, stripping them away still leaves a pretty great band. ” [mb] So, you can imagine how excited I was to hear that they’d continue to tour following the drowning of their drummer early this year [p'fork]. They join Editors (a less broody, more energetic, British version of Interpol — this is a good thing) and Biffy Clyro (who may be the ___ version of someone else, too). Listen to this Rac remix of Ra Ra Riot’s “Each Year” [mp3] and resolve to show up early. $15, doors at 8p [chopsuey]
• Naomi takes a turn hosting the weekly pub quiz at the Old Pequliar in Ballard. Test your knowledge against fellow trivia-addicts for the chance to win cash prizes, swag (for shooting the moon), or beer while feasting on cheap tacos. $5/team, 8p (arrive early for a table)

stumptown espresso // 1115 12th avenue

Stumptown opened yesterday on 12th Avenue, bringing a little bit of Portland coffee culture to Seattle. Situated on 12th Avenue, just south of Cafe Presse and right in the heart of urban renaissance alley (really, this micro-hood needs a name), the new cafe & store is upstairs with a roastery downstairs. The seating is primarily in the form of two facing white leather benches with small tables and stools, making it a better space for small drop-in conversations than for lengthy substitute-office campouts.

Made using a custom-built machine from Amsterdam, my cappuccino ran $3.00 (+ tax) — a little more expensive and a touch stronger in the bitterness department than my daily Vivace habit, but tasted good nonetheless. Although I didn’t try any of the baked goods, it’s hard to go wrong with Macrina pastries.

They’re out of my way by a few blocks too many to upset my happy polyamorous marriage of love and convenience with Vivace and Victrola, but with Presse getting fuller and fuller [seattlest] thanks to much-deserved media love, it’s just about perfect timing for a new cafe to open in the neighborhood.

a couple more pictures after the cut …

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