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It's official, Seattlest has a new love: The Georgetown Liquor Company. The draw? Well it's got the words "liquor company" right there in the name which should be enough, but we know that you, our dear readers, demand more substance to make a recommendation valid. Thankfully, when we showed up we found that it's got a well-tended, full bar, all the excellent food is vegetarian and it has old-school console video games like the Atari 2600 and the Nintendo NES hooked up to TVs (not to mention a big red octopus on the wall). Perfect.
At its heart, the GLC is a neighborhood bar (though it calls itself "A Retro-Gaming Bar"), and it's got the Georgetown atmosphere down pat. The Rock N Roll edge is amplified by the dark room which would be smoky if this were a different time or a different state. The decor is the kind of old school hodge-podge one would expect from a bar in a neighborhood trying to save its old-town character. The high-walled booths are ideal for knocking back enough drinks that one's head lolls backwards under its own weight. In short, it's as comfortable a place for a group drink fest as for a long night of drinks slowly nursed by the regulars (and us) who live in and around the neighborhood.
The fact that it's not first a restaurant doesn't mean the food is treated as an afterthought. The menu runs the gamut from fairly standard Chips and Salsa ($4) and a $10 hummus platter (called the Plato Platter) for $10 with a bunch of fresh veggies and some roasted tomato field roast (our favorite fake meat) to creative sandwiches with sci-fi based names.
Our favorite sandwiches include the Darth Reuben ($9) and the Picard (also $9). The Reuben is made with Roasted Tomato Field Roast, Ementhaler swiss melted to perfection and all the trimmings that a traditional Reuben requires. Biting into one, Seattlest was transported back to our New York City deli roots even if the sandwich wasn't quite as tall as the corned beef sandwiches at the once-late, now moved 2nd Avenue Deli (if a Reuben was kosher, theirs would be the gold standard).
But it's the Picard that takes our cake. Every once in awhile, we see an item on a menu that makes us long for some the taste of dead animals. Just the mention of au jus dipping sauce can send us into fits of meat cravings. Thankfully, the GLC delivers an appropriately dark, rich, slightly spicy and peppery hot vegan au jus. It perfectly complements the drippingly messy Lentil-Sage Field Roast sandwich that's coated with roasted red onions, fresh mozzarella, Tofutti cream cheese and roasted garlic spread. The whole delicious mess comes on a toasted ciabatta roll.
Neighborhood oriented as the GLC is, the owners host events from time to time. Last time we were there, they were pimping "Muppets Gone Mad" movie night: a showing of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. On Sundays, the bar opens early during NFL season.
As with all things Georgetown, the GLC has a few rough edges. It's never quite clear if there's table service and at night the music is generally too loud for intimate conversation. When we were there last, the wife's veggie gyro tasted mostly of the pita and lettuce and not enough of the spiced fake meat and tahini (some things just don't translate to a non-meat version apparently). But the staff is friendly, most of the food is great and there's a selection of good micros on tap. Overall, it's the kind of place that Seattlest would be happy to pass many an hour drinking, eating and chatting.
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