We walk into a beer garden

Beer Garden, Chinatown/International District Night Market, Seattle, Washington
“Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.”

That’s what Jack Nicholson is advised at the end of the film of that name. (Sorry. Spoiler!) We're not about to forget Chinatown. The Chinatown in Chinatown was in Los Angeles. We were going to Seattle’s Chinatown, and we can’t forget it, because, well, one of our daughters lives there.

When we heard about the night market in the International District (which includes Chinatown), we wanted to go. And when we saw there was going to be a beer garden (with cider, too), we knew we’d write about it.

We took the bus because finding parking in Seattle isn’t always pleasant. We got to the International District and walked by all the food trucks looking for dinner. But we were distracted by a busker, Jules the Juggler, a talented guy with good patter. Juggling a rubber chicken is, of course, a skill to be respected.

The mainstage offered musical acts from rock to folk to breakdancing. McDonalds was one of the event’s sponsors, and they were selling food from a truck in the mainstage area (usually a parking lot). We suspected it was cheaper than the other options, but the line was long. Instead, we noticed free McNuggets being distributed from a second truck. So we did get free McNuggets but went to another truck for KFC (Korean Fried Chicken).

The repurposed parking lot also held the Night Market’s beer garden, which was made by blocking off part of the paved lot. Security guards (bouncers?) checked our IDs at the entrance.

The others in the beer garden seemed to be enjoying themselves and the evening. Some were playing bean bag toss (the other common name for the game is not one I care to use.) There were a couple of other games, but nobody was playing those while we were there. Beer was available, but if you’ve read this blog even a little, you know we’d choose cider over beer any night. They had Woodchuck Cider from Middlebury, Vermont; I had Granny Smith. Mindy had Wyder's pear cider.

We wanted to ask our two questions, “What makes for a good bar?” and “What makes for a good church?” but there wasn’t really a bar where we could sit and talk to people. All the tables seemed to be groups of friends having a good time together, and we didn’t want to bother them. The servers were busy, but we decided to see if they could talk to us when they had a moment. All the tables were taken, so we found a place to sit on the pavement while we waited for them.

We ate our KFC and drank our ciders; when we were done, it looked like a good time to talk to the servers. They hesitated,“We’re just volunteers.”

We tried to assure them that plenty of amateurs have been able to answer our questions, and that we realized their time was limited. So we said, “Can you give us a one-word answer?”

Two of the volunteers agreed to answer.

Rick was especially good at the short answer. He used one word, “ambience” to describe both a good bar and a good church.

Lindsay said “ambience” would be her word for a good bar, too. (For a bit I thought we were only going to get one word for the whole night, and I wasn’t even sure how to spell it. Online dictionaries allow for “ambience” or “ambiance”.)

Thankfully, Lindsey added another word for a good bar or church, “music.” She added one more word for a church, “community.”

“Community” may be the best word to describe the evening’s event -- making Chinatown a good place to be.

We walk into a family-friendly taproom

Ounces Taproom and Beer Garden, Seattle, Washington
“West Seattle has great beer bars, but not a lot with a great that list that’s family friendly. Why not create our own thing that checks all the boxes?”

Laurel, who owns Ounces Taproom and Beer Garden with her husband Andrew, was expanding on her answer to my question about what makes a good bar. She’d already told me that for her, the overall experience “from the time you walk in,” is important for a good bar. They were working in the corporate world, and to relieve stress, they visited a lot of local breweries trying to find just the right place.

They decided to make a place that had what they were looking for: friendly staff, lots of options on tap, an overall well-rounded experience. And for National IPA Day this past Thursday, they substituted free hot dogs for the usual food trucks (there was still a truck presence, though. Amazon’s Treasure Truck made an appearance just before the hot dogs were ready, and people who’d come for the day’s special buy stayed for a drink and a dog.)

While Andrew grilled the dogs, Laurel filled the buns and chatted with customers. When one man asked how much, she told him the hot dogs were free. He wondered if tipping was possible, and she pointed him toward the tip jar inside the taproom. During a lull, I asked Laurel what she thought would make a good church.

“I would imagine it’s the same kind of community,” she said. “The conversation’s a little different, maybe.”

More people came to get hot dogs, so I thanked her and told Dean I was going inside to talk to the woman who’d taken our drink orders. I’d been looking forward to asking her our questions since I saw her praising a small child for being so polite while ordering milk. (Milk seemed to be a popular choice for pairing with hot dogs. I’d heard at least one other kid order it while I waited).

Sarah only had a moment between customers, but she told me that a good bar was “totally wherever you feel comfortable.” She said she didn’t go to church, “so I don’t know on that.”

Dean had ordered lemonade; I had rose, and Bret had The Brute, a hard apple cider from Alter Ego in Portland. Sarah let us taste P51 Peanut Butter Cup porter from Wingman Brewers in Tacoma, too, and I had to admit it was better with hot dogs than rose.

Families with little kids weren’t the only customers. I recognized a few people who’d gotten off the bus from downtown Seattle with me. Bike riders and dog walkers stopped by, and some people seem to have come through the handy gate leading to a neighborhood just downhill from the taproom.

Laurel said they do a lot of one-off events, like the customer appreciation hot dogs we enjoyed, as well as providing space for a rotation of food trucks, various bike rides, weekly trivia nights, and other community based events. As one guy said as he tried to decide what to order, “So many choices!”

It was impressive to visit a bar that truly had something for everyone.

We walk into a wall

Round Table Clubhouse, Fresno, California
We are living in the future.

Sure, we don’t have flying cars, and that’s a big disappointment, but there are so many things we didn’t see coming. Computers in our home seemed amazing enough, but we didn’t see the internet coming or the ability to carry access to it in our pockets. Another thing we didn’t see coming was serve-yourself wine and beer taps. Though Round Table Pizza’s Clubhouse is a restaurant rather than a bar, we decided we really needed to write about its bar wall, so we asked a couple of friends to meet us there on a recent Friday night.

It makes sense that such a thing would exist -- all-you-can-drink soft drink machines in pizza parlors and fast food restaurants have been a thing for quite a while now. On the other hand, alcohol can’t be served in the same lackadaisical fashion that Pepsi and Pibb are dispensed. After ordering our pizza, we went to a different register to leave a credit card and driver’s licenses as ransom. The cashier gave us bracelets in exchange.

She pointed out the room temperature and refrigerated beer glasses (and the room temperature wine glasses) and explained how the taps work. At the wall, you hold your bracelet to a sensor under the beer or wine you want to drink. It’s easy to taste a variety of beers before committing to one. It’s also easy to run up your tab, but the wall bartender will not allow you to be overserved.

We’ve seen a cocktail-mixing machine, so I suppose a wall could also serve liquor. I assume Round Table doesn’t have the licensing or inclination. Since cider wasn’t an option, I, like Mindy, went with wine.

We’d actually visited this Round Table once before, during their grand opening on Saint Patrick’s Day. The Clubhouse is a large, open-feeling place with the usual plethora of TVs and a nice game room. We were fascinated with the artificial fire -- you could put your hand in the flames. There were many more rectangular tables than the circular ones promised in the company’s name.

On this visit, we’d asked friends from our Sunday School class at The Bridge. We had a great time together, and as we ate our pizzas and breadsticks, we asked our bar questions.

Mindy asked them whether they wanted to use their real names or aliases. Mindy gets rather enthusiastic about pseudonyms. Our friends decided to call themselves Kayla and Jethro (as in Tull).

When we asked what made for a good bar, Kayla said, “It’s the friends you go with.” Neither Kayla nor Jethro expect to meet new people at a bar but prefer a place where friends can eat, drink, and talk comfortably.

Jethro said, “If I were to own a bar and it had a vibe like Cheers did, that would be what I’d want.” Jethro also said that a trendy place can be fun.

A good church, Kayla said, should have “good teaching and the warmth of the people around you.”

They told a bit about their story. Kayla grew up going to church on occasion, and she liked it. Jethro lived in the same community, and his family never went to church. They were already a couple when someone shared the Gospel with them. Soon after, they decided to follow Jesus, and they assumed the thing to do was to go to church. They visited The Bridge (which was then called Fresno Evangelical Free Church), and the preaching of Rick Yohn, the pastor back in the day, “impacted” them. Jethro said, “He really made us think of things I’d never thought about.”

They also began attending a Sunday School class with other young couples at a stage in life when there was time to do things together. They built close friendships that carry on today. Many of the same people have been in an adult Sunday School class for over thirty years now, and Jethro said, “I never even knew I needed community.”

They said that if any one thing has kept them at The Bridge, that is it.

We attended that same Sunday School class when we lived in Fresno nearly thirty years ago, and when we moved back to the area last year, Jethro and Kayla remembered us. It has been wonderful to spend time with them again.

We went to Round Table to report on that beer and wine wall for this blog, and we always enjoy the pizza. But easily the best thing about the night was time with old friends.