Contour ****

I had the opportunity to visit Contour club on St. Patrick's Day. This was good for numerous reasons:
1. It was happy hour 3-8 (Perfect!!)
2. It was St. Patrick's Day (so many many people out and about)
3. They had open seating (which we hogged all night long)

This will be a biased posting because we didn't actually see the club/bar in it's real world environment. St. Patrick's Day brings out far more people then just a reg Wednesday night ever would. So..

The bar was cool to look at, if you don't mind the large silver space ship looking thing in the back, housing the DJ tables. The vibe was a mix between naked female body art, a space ship club and a chill Mediterranean scene. I think the owners couldn't decide which way to go so they decided they liked these 3 the best??

They have plenty of seating (for a regular night) which consisted of 2 large circle booths, standard tables, and a large "L" shaped bar. Plenty of dance space, if your into that type of thing.

The beer selection was almost nonexistent (only 4 kinds on tap of which are all light beers). They have plenty of fru-fru drinks. On St. Patrick's Day they offered $3 Green Beers which were basically shitty Pilsner, but I didn't mind, it was green and did the job.

The food was awesome! They sport a long Mediterranean menu which included: hummus, lamb skewers, Falafel Sliders, baked Brie, calamari, oyster stew, sea scallops, etc...All of which were very reasonably priced. Not to mention that happy hour lasts till 8.

Overall I give this place 4 stars ****: for it's food options and fru-fru drinks. Go here if you want a light tapas style dinner and some drinks with the girls.

www.clubcontour.com
M-Thurs 3-8
Friday 3-9 (Holy S batman, you can stay there for 6 hrs for super cheap)
S & S 2-8

The Hideout ****

What a place! It's dark, full of art on the wall, and has good beers on tap. What could be better.. The food, or should I say lack thereof.
This place was pretty neat though if your not hungry: all the artwork on the walls really helps you tap into your inner self; discusssing what you like, what you don't, what creeps you out and what you just had to have. Don't be looking for good food though, as thier food menu consists of 3 things: hummas plate, cheese plate and a bowl of nuts. So go after your dinner or grab a few brews before your dinner plans.
The location is great, just inside First Hill on Boren. I found it somewhat hard to find, as the windows are blacked out and there is one small sign with super curvy writing. Driving down the street it was hard to locate. None of the less, this place has adequate seating, a large bar and a huge couch along the wall. Chairs are strun about with small tables. Drinker beware: get there early or late or else seating for a large party might be hard to come by. I arrived at 4 and by 430 seating was hard to find. Not saying impossible but not optimal. I really felt like I was in a hideout. Perhaps hiding out from the craziness of Friday's.

All in all, I give this 4 thumbs up because of the atmoshpere, the art, and because it's just plan simple. No complicated menu, or hard to understand hours.

The Hideout: www.hideoutseattle.com
Happy Hour 4-7 M-F

Serious Pie ***

It was Serious..seriously delish!!! I visited the acclaimed Tom Douglas Restaurant, Serious Pie on Friday afternoon. A short one; it's only 3-5. I got there at 4 and they already had a waiting list for tables. This is a sign of one of 2 things: 1. It's amazing pizza and everyone in town wants it. or 2. They cant afford a larger venue to hold the demand so they are trying to create a certain image of it being a part of some elite club, perhaps just because it's TD place...I tend to believe the latter but the pizza was still good.

I was very impressed by their topping combinations. The pizza was a flat bread style with little to no red sauce. We had the clam & pancetta, egg & arugula, and the fennel sausage & peppers. All were tasty but my fav was the Penn Cove Clam pizza. Perhaps it was the taste or perhaps it's just that I am in love with Clams. My second choice was the sausage pizza because it had the red sauce. My partner took a liking to the egg arugula pizza, which was also very good. The pizzas for happy hour were personal size ( a little larger then both of your palms) but I thought they were plenty for one person. Between the 2 of us we ordered 4; when we could have done with 2 or 3, but we wanted to try the different flavors. The drinks were limited to wine and beer, of which you only had 2 options of each. Big surprise , I took to the red wine which was pretty standard. At $5 a glass, I was hoping it was a bit better. I enjoyed the convo looking at the large pizza oven, it seemed like they were operating like a well oiled machine. I do have to mention here that our service was sub-par for a place like this, but they were busy, I get it.


All in all great happy hour. You can really get your dinner complete and get a few drinks in a one stop shop. The dress was business Friday attire, I'd say a lot of jackets and nice jeans. I don't think I saw a T-shirt in the entire place. Come straight after your 3 o'clock meeting and you wont regret it.

**Helpful tip #1 -Get there early- @ latest 4:15 or you won't get a table in time to devour the deals.

** Helpful tip#2- they will only seat you if your party is in full at the time. So gather up the hens outside and order a table when everyone is present. It goes much quicker that way.

I would give Serious Pie a 3 star badge today. It didn't blow me away, but I would go back.

Heed my advice & go see for yourself.

Serious Pie Happy Hour M-F 3-5 PM
(on Virgina between 3rd and 4th)

www.tomdouglas.com