Come On Down to Kate's Pub and Meet Some Friends of Mine

My good friend Gloria has thrown together a little informal weekly shindig at my all-time favorite bar ever Kate's Pub (Lost in Seattle | Yelp) near where I currently live at the time of this writing in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood. We head over every Wednesday after South Park, arriving at about 11 to 11:30pm and staying until they close.

It started when, one Wednesday night a couple years back, we decided to go over to the nearest bar to our house for a drink. Little did we know that Wednesday is karaoke night at Kate's Pub, and for most of us going that night, once we managed to get a few stiff shots of Irish whiskey down had this new-found courage to sing in front of a small audience of people that we can fancy are at least as wasted on alcohol as we are.

After a few weeks of this Glo had gotten together a few colleagues from Seattle Hempfest and some other assorted friends sympathetic to the causes of ending the drug war specifically and the maintenance and advancement of our civil liberties in general. Glo's little group, now called 'Happy Hempy Hippies,' had started a new tradition.

Now normally I am not a bar person. I may be known have a drink or two on occasion but I cannot stand most bars or the so-called 'bar scene.' I hate the cheap rickety tables, the black pressed-board walls, and the spent pull tabs everywhere. I find the meat market, crystal meth-esque vibe of most drinking establishments extremely white trash-tacky and beyond depressing.

Kate's Pub is something else entirely. While not overbearing, both the interior and exterior are warmly lit and inviting. The real stained-wood tables and careful attention to detail regarding interior design give the place an authentic, original feel. The food is inexpensive and of high quality and the barkeep doesn't skimp on the drinks. If that isn't enough, Kate, the bar's namesake, is often there to add a genuine human face to her establishment, greeting her customers warmly and in the trenches with her employees. Kate's Pub's presence does a phenomenal job at complementing the atmosphere of the Wallingford neighborhood.

For about US$15-$20 you can have a complete night with a few drinks, a good meal, tips for the waitstaff and DJ's, and still buy a drink for that hottie sitting at the table over there.

Happy Hempy Hippies may not manage to make it happen every week, but if you're in the neighborhood you can drop in anytime for a good meal and a drink in a friendly, down-to-earth place. If you're not in Seattle but you ever have a chance to make it out this way for a visit, you would really be missing out on a lesser-known local treasure if you didn't put my favorite bar, Kate's Pub, on your itinerary.

Kate's Pub
309 Northeast 45th Street
Seattle, Washington 98105-6133
(206)547-6832