Trivia Wednesday

Wednesdays have become trivia days, as a group of us head to Kangaroo & Kiwi. I've played trivia a few times before, but last night was legendary as our team took second place!! I was super excited about it especially because I actually played a big part in the win. We were missing our two sports guys, but I managed to pull out some answers in spite of their absence. Also, they had a couple questions on South America where I came in handy. It was an awesome night and can't wait to go back next week and take first!!

Mona's

Ringing in the new year this year was pretty low key, but really fun. Since nothing too exciting seemed to be going on, with other friends out of town and such, my friend Sara invited me to Mona's, a bar by Greenlake. It was a great place, dark and very quaint, but still with life. The bar wasn't too crowded, but I can't stand crowded bars anyways so it was just the way I like it. And they even had a DJ and a dance floor so there was some good jiving and even Limbo, haha! We met some interesting people, one guy who came down by himself from another party and was having a good time alone, another guy in a fedora who seemed to have somewhat of an entourage (of one other guy). It was a funny night. The crowd was a bit older than what we would normally hang out with, but it was a very enjoyable evening and a great way to welcome 2010!

Neverland Sushi Bar

So last night I ended up in a pretty weird situation, but I got some free drinks and free sushi out of it! I went with this guy to Neverland Sushi Bar in El Centro of my city and it was a pretty cool place. I would have enjoyed it more under different circumstances, but I thought it was cute how they had theme nights. We happened to be there on Country Night and all the waiters and bartenders were dressed up in cowboy hats and scarfs and boots for the occasion. It was really quite cute. The sushi, of course, was not as good as what you can find in Washington. We ordered the Ebi Roll which was shrimp, cream cheese, rice and avocado, however it was mostly rice and not enough of the insides to stand out. Plus the rice was a bit mushy. Maybe that's just the way they make it here, but I would definitely stick to Seattle sushi! But it's definitely somewhere I might return, perhaps with different company.

Many Happy Hours

So last Friday, a friend and I decided to happy hour it right after work and we did it up real nice. Our first location was Owl & Thistle in Post Alley. We chose it for the $2 Bud Lights and it turned out to be a nice little joint. It's definitely pub-ish so if you want a fancy place, this one isn't quite right. They also had real good food deals, appetizers for $2.95, fish & chips for $3.95. We decided to go for the fries and spinach-artichoke dip. Both delicious, although my one complaint is that the dip did not come with enough pita bread. But it was for sure a place with good bargains and tasty food. Happy hour from 3-6.

We then decided to head up to Queen Anne and hit up Sully's (my new favorite bar). It's a small location so later in the evening it gets pretty crowded, but during happy hour it was very low key. We decided to keep our low budget evening going by ordering $2 PBR tall boys (classy!). They were listed on the happy hour menu, but the bartender/owner told us they're actually $2 all the time! Sweet deal. Although we didn't order any food that night, I have eaten there before and their specialty has got to be the sweet potato fries. But they also have other delicious things such as lamb sliders and salads. Mmm! Happy hour from 4-6.

Spokane

This weekend I decided to trek over to the other side of the state to see how my newly married friend now lives. Now, Spokane is no Seattle, but it still had some fun elements and it was nice to see a new city. Here are a couple places I recommend visiting if you're ever in the neighborhood.

Raw Sushi & Island Grill is the place I would recommend for dinner in downtown Spokane. They have amazing food, and I can say that because I am not the biggest fan of sushi and I thought it was fantastic. They have probably the best calamari I have ever tasted and so many selections of different sushi rolls that it was impossible to pick just one. I decided to go with the Mexi-Cali, an inside-out maki roll with crab mix, cream cheese and jalapeno. It had a dollop of spicy sauce on the top for the perfect amount of hot. If you love sushi, or even if you don't but are brave enough to try it, this place is definitely somewhere you'll want to visit.

The Marquee Lounge is a great bar located just blocks away from Raw Sushi right in the middle of downtown Spokane. It is a swanky bar with high ceilings and a towering bottle display. When we first walked in at around 8:00 there was close to no one in there, but we needed a place to watch the end of the game and the seating looked pleasing. Then we looked at the drink menu and were convinced to stay. They have pages of signature cocktails to pick from, all that looked delicious. We talked about just staying for a bit and then checking out some other places, but the cocktail waitress convinced us that the night would pick up. Boy did it! Within a couple hours, the bar was completely filled with people, the dance floor was packed and the bouncers had to move our table out of the way. We managed to get stamps to go up into the VIP section of the bar, which turned out was basically just a smaller bar upstairs, but it was a cool experience. To check out more pictures of the bar, visit their website. Or just visit the bar!

Chopstix

A friend of mine were out and about on lower Queen Anne last night and we decided to check out Chopstix, the dueling piano bar. We were interested in a bar atmosphere, but a place where we could find a place to sit and that is what we got. Our first impression of the bar was excellent, mostly because we got in for free (there was a $7 cover) and the security guys were hot. It is a small venue, but surprisingly we could still chat over the piano music and singing. I would say it is one of the better places to go if you wanted to people watch as there is usually a birthday or a bachelorette party going on and the pianists tend to ridicule the guest of honor. It is a really fun environment. The only thing I would say they could fix are their prices. $5.25 for a well drink (with Monarch!!) is a bit much.

Targy's

Last night a friend and I wanted to get a drink so we went to Targy's on Queen Anne. I had never been there before, but had heard about it from a few different people and I loved it! It was the perfect place to go hang out and talk. It is not a very big bar, but it was not crowded at all, it was quiet and has comfortable seating (leather couches!) and it has pool for those who want to play. The service was also great. We never had to wait for our drinks and they were reasonably cheap. House wells are only $4.00 and they use higher quality booze such as Stoli and Bacardi for their house liquors rather than Monarch that is frequently used at other bars (and definitely not as tasty). All in all, it is a great bar if you want a relaxed and laid back night that wont hurt your wallet too much!