Seattle Press on Line - Local Watering Hole Serves up Far-out Food

Well, let me tell you...

Local Watering Hole Serves up Far-out Food

By Unknown Writer #4

Feb 08, 2001 -- "Got a Pabst?"

"No, how about a Bud or Rainier?"

"No Pabst?"

"Nope, nobody drinks 'em anymore."

I ordered a Heineken and thought about microbrews. Must we define our hipness by the damn beer we drink? I didn't think long--why waste brain power when there's a perfectly fine Heineken in front of you?

One thing was true. I'd been in this place before. I'd been there in Honeoye, New York and Austin, Texas, been there in Fort Myers, Florida and Yachats, Oregon. This was the sort of neighborhood bar that coulda been anyplace; neon beer signs, nicotine-soaked walls, a coupla pool tables, mismatched tables and chairs, a game on the TV, and a few regulars sitting around the semi-horseshoe-shaped bar.

I started asking questions. Turns out the Kort Haus bartender was also the Kort Haus owner, Ed Warrington. Ed had some stories to tell. He grew up in Rat City (White Center) and has owned the Kort Haus for 20 years. Before that, he did 13 years in the Army. He'd been a drill sergeant, worked in computers, and finished up as a recruiter in Fresno. Got three medals and still wears his vintage 1968 combat boots because they're comfortable and, well, they're still in good shape. He's married, has six kids and five grandchildren, and is a hardball umpire all over the city during baseball season. This is a man you can't help but like, the kind of guy that makes a place like this endure. He told me the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce is about to give him an award, for what he's not sure....

Payne's picks:

Monday, February 12: Slaid Cleaves, The Burns Sisters, Jimmy LaFave - Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. NW, (206) 789-3599.

Friday, February 16: The Gourds, Evangeline, T. Griffen - Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. NW, (206) 789-3599.

Saturday, February 17: The Fossils - Valdi's Ballard Bistro, 5410 Ballard Ave. NW, (206) 783-2033.

Every Tuesday: Annieville Blues - Bad Albert's Tap & Grill, 5100 Ballard Avenue NW, (206) 782-9623.

Call venues for times and prices.

Clubs: Please e-mail schedules to cpollyc@aol.com or fax to: (206) 324-5336.

Ed offered me another Heineken and I couldn't refuse. I asked about the menu. He smiled and said, "Well, the only thing that's not on the board is black bear."

"Black bear?" I queried.

Seems a while back, Ed decided to offer exotic meat burgers as a joke. He thought it was funny, but it sorta backfired, because the customers loved it! The Kort Haus now offers (in addition to beef burgers) ostrich, buffalo, kangaroo, elk, venison, alligator and, of course, the infamous black bear. The rest of the menu is traditional pub stuff, sandwiches and a few entrees, including a nice steak, as well as fish and chips. Oh, and last summer, the Kort Haus became a cocktail lounge, so its "tavern" status is history.

The Kort Haus does music too, open mikes on every other Tuesday and Kimball Conant and the Fugitives every other Saturday. There's no cover charge, and Ed doesn't raise the drink prices. As my eyebrows lift, he smiles and says, "I do it as sort of a gift to my customers. Besides, I like it."

Well gee.

By then it was 6:30. The second Heineken was gone, the stories were told and Frank Sinatra was on the jukebox singing "My Way." I figured it was time to make my own--way, that is. Driving home, I decided the lack of Pabst was okay. A beer is a beer is a beer. It's the place that matters.

Kort Haus, 6732 Greenwood Avenue North (206) 782-3575.

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