The smith, a mighty man is he,Ah, Longfellow. That shit's not bad, and it makes a cultured way to introduce our first-ever stop into Smith, the new bar from Linda Derschang on 15th Ave. Yes, there's a happy hour and we were there and now we can report that when Linda says she's gonna open a bar on Tuesday June 19 goddammit it's gonna open on Tuesday June 19 and it's gonna look pretty good inside.
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
At 5:30pm the place crowded and lively, but we got a burger and some sweet potato fries and beers without a wait. The usual list of beer suspects are on tap (including Guinness); the menu is a brief list of pub standards with twists (like sweet potato fries). There's a ton of taxidermy on the walls, but the main thing is how open the space is and the variety of seating options: you've got bar stools, small tables, long-bench tables, and booths -- seems like a great place for group meet-ups. There's a jukebox near the door, and a row of planters separates the bar from the street when the large roll-up door is open.
All in all, it was pub-love at first sight, a great new spot on 15th that feels like a great old spot on 15th where you've been meeting friends for years.

Weekly Around the -Ists


we'll see what happens...many a biz has gone down on that corner- taking much investment with it. 15th is one of the last areas in the city that hasn't fallen completely under Eastsider Occupation....
I knew we should have knocked out the bridges during WTO...since then we've lots Freemont and Ballard, now the eastside slime puts it's eyeson 15th....
Fight back with bricks!
Do they have Manny's. I won't go anywhere without Manny's.
Also, I hate question marks, apparently.
Jack: (Peering at a very blurry cellphone picture of the menu): Lessee, on tap we got PBR, Pyramid, Manny's, Maritime, Stella, Harp's, St. Bernardus & some more really blurry ones.
Gardener: Linda? Eastside? It's a little early to be that drunk, isn't it? Linda invented the '90s on Capitol Hill.
Yes, they have Manny's -- my order last night, before I saw that they have Boddington's.
Nice mini review, MvB. Sounds much better than your first dance with Cypress.
j: Yeah, I was surprised how smoothly it was running. Also, the thing is, with a Linda's joint, you pretty much already have community buy-in -- her places always fit the neighborhood.
So is the happy hour here later (5-7 pm)? If not, what are the times?
Were the deviled eggs and duck leg on the menu?
BR: I think happy hour is 5-7pm. Those are the numbers in my head, anyway. I don't know if they do a late-night happy hour. And yes, deviled eggs and duck legs were on the menu, so maybe "pub standards with a twist" is putting it mildly.
I went last night. The happy hour is 4-6. A buck off wells, $3 pints and $9 pitchers.
Also on tap that I remember: Maritime Pilsner, Rat City IPA & Mirror Pond.
I liked the deviled eggs and Sweet tato fries. The pickled veggies seemed expensive for the portion.
The green salad is possibly the largest rip-off in the city. I would think you might get a better deal (and salad) at Harvest Vine or Cascadia. It was $7 for a very small portion of lettuce mixed with dressing. Period. Not even a crouton thrown on there.
It was packed at 7 pm.
I cannot tell you how great it is to have a pub like this in the neighborhood. I was there last night too, and it was PACKED -- before, during and after happy hour. I think we may finally have a keeper in that spot...