Doyles Public House (Tacoma, WA)

Tacoma or Seattle?  Tacoma or Seattle?  Most would definitely pick Seattle, especially if we're talking about culinary delights or beer selection, but in this case you'd be wrong.  We found ourselves lost in Tacoma one day, tired, hungry and very very thirsty...  Luckily for us, we came upon Doyles Public House!  We saw a huge Guinness mural painted on a wall to a building adjacent to a small parking lot and our eyes lit up with glee.  The outside of the building is everything you'd expect of a classic east coast Irish pub, and the inside is unique with high ceilings and rafters, exposed brick, lots of wood and great windows you can throw open beside narrow pub tables with high stools.  They have a private back room you can use called The Snug and lots of really "snug" booth tables that make you feel at home.  Their building is about as old and quaint as you can get on the west coast for an Irish pub with great atmosphere and friendly, knowledgeable staff.  TK always seems to be working and she is a wealth of knowledge, not to mention good with names and people.  She always keeps the drafts coming!  They have a sort of cult following (in a good way!) probably due to the fact that they are very into soccer (football) and soundly support the Seattle Sounders, sponsoring local trips for Tacoma fans to personally cheer them to victory.  Their following is very loyal and friendly- I've had the pleasure of meeting many of the local Doyles-goers.  The music they play in house is a little strange at times for an Irish bar to play, but they offer great live, local music every weekend.

Their draft selection is wonderful, with your traditional Irish pub handles like Guinness, Harp, Bass, Newcastle, Tetleys Cream Ale, Smithwicks (they have an Irish Red that is rich, full, and fantastic!), Fullers London Porter (always a good choice if you're in the mood for tall, dark and yummy), and a Belhaven handle (from Scotland, currently the Twisted Thistle IPA- floral hops, not as bitey as American hops, but just as effective and perhaps even tastier!).  They are one of the last providers of Beamish on draft in America (they bought out the last 100 kegs for your beer swigging enjoyment) and if you've never tried it on draft, just know it's definitely worth the drive down there!  Not to have just a normal, average hefeweitzen, they import Franziskaner.  They have a huge wonderful selection of bottled imports as well.  They serve their beers in the proper glassware and have customer incentives like the Guinness 100 pint club, or the Jameson's kick the bottle contest.  Prizes range from t-shirts to trips to Dublin!  Also $1 from every Guinness bought goes to local public radio, what more incentive do you need for a pint?

Their happy hour is Monday to Friday, 4-6 and they have a $4 food menu.  The regular menu is wonderful, and they have daily and monthly specials that are spectacular!  We wonder how such a small kitchen can produce such amazing culinary delights- who says Irish food has to taste bland!  Their food is made from very high quality ingredients such as Boars Head meats sliced in house for their sandwiches, desserts and soda bread made with caraway and currants from great local bakeries such as Corina's Bakery.  The soda bread is superb!  Most everything is cooked in their oven, so it may take a little longer to get your food than you are used to, but it is SO worth it!  Everything tastes heavenly, flavorful and so well rounded and the price point is just right.  Some dishes that really stood out were the Cubano sandwich (delicious), Bangers and Mash, Guinness Stew (needs a little Tabasco but really hearty), and their Po Boy sandwich.  Frankly I've never seen a Po Boy out in these parts, so it was really tempting but I went with the Doyles Dip.  The Guinness au jus made up my mind and not only was I not disappointed, I've come back specifically for the Doyles Dip three times more!  I've tried bites here and there from a few other things on their menu, but just keep coming back to the Dip.  It's pretty simple, made with Boars Head roast beef, Guinness au jus- which puts all other au jus to shame, and a homemade horseradish cream sauce with a medium white cheese all baked together in the oven till the cheese is a nice golden brown.  I've had it with their rotating soup, the Guinness Stew, and a pub salad- all good choices depending on your mood.

Joe was quite taken with their "pie of the month" for April, the Brer Rabbit.  I know some of you may be taken back now- bunnies are so cute- but I assure you these rabbits are no bugs bunny.  Rabbits used for this shepherd's pie are quite large and mean and taste oh so good!  It was cooked with root vegetables (ha, ha) like turnip, carrot, onion, with fresh rosemary and red mashed potatoes on top garnished with thyme and baked.  Simple but quite delicious.  May's shepherd's pie was a Chili Pie.  Next time perhaps I'll try their lamb shepherd's pie- that sounds phenomenal...

After just a simple dinner and a few beers we were super stuffed, so we came back later to try their house dessert.  At the time it was a Guinness cake and Bailey ball (like a big ball of chocolate and Baileys).  The Guinness cake was wonderful, very moist and not too sweet but had quite a bit of frosting for my tastes.  You could definitely taste the Guinness though!

Overall, Doyles is one of the best Irish pubs in the great northwest.  Their food may not be quite as authentic as some, but it tastes incredible and they definitely are the most experimental Irish bar I've seen out here!  (See Brer Rabbit above)  I believe Irish food can and should taste good.  I would call them a new twist to classic Irish tradition.  If you're the generous type, please be sure to ring the bell at the end of the bar, and if you're the stingy type, be sure your cell phone doesn't ring if you are belly up at the bar (unless of course I'm there too...).  We've actually driven from Seattle to Tacoma specifically to visit this bar, so it gets a good solid 9.  See you there sometime!

*(I kept forgetting my camera, so photos are courtesy of the Doyles Public House website archive as I've borrowed them from there.  Those guys sure do take beautiful pictures!)*

Umi's Sake House (Belltown, Seattle,WA)

Umi's is by far one of our favorite places to go in Seattle. Tucked away on 1st Ave, almost hidden by other shops and restaurants they have an unassuming small red sign above the window with a door nestled in a few steps. Don't let the percieved size decieve you from outside or in their waiting area- they have 4 different rooms available for their guests as well as a bar area and sushi bar. The music is always chill and relaxed, and the atmosphere is much of the same, very zen and asian inspired with very clean lines and designs. One room mimicks an outdoor Japanese garden even equipped with skylights, the front is similar to a Japonese front porch, they have a few platforms for larger parties, and a tatami room for intimate parties of 8 or more. It's also a lot of fun to sit at the sushi bar and watch the chefs work!

We especially love the 3 happy hours Umi's has per day, accept on Friday and Saturday. Happy hour in the restaurant is from 4-6 and 11-close and in the bar area is from 4-8. They have beer, sake, sushi rolls, sashimi, cooked food like chicken, ribs and tempura, and more on their happy hour menu.  As soon as you sit down you are greeted with some hot edamame.  Their service is fast, efficient, and good. Our favorites are Joanie and Trevor. They are super nice, super fast, super knowledgeable, and even entertaining. They really make the dining experience one you can look forward to.

The food at Umi's is best described as Japonese fusion, and isn't bound by the chains of traditional sushi dogma. Their rolls often have a slight Mexican influence with lime, cilantro or jalepeno and even their sauces like the habenero ponzu give a really nice kick you would expect from a hot Mexican salsa. I personally am a huge fan of the habenero ponzu. I'ts not too spicy so you don't taste the sushi, but it gives a nice kick to really accentuate the rolls. If fire isn't really your thing, they also have many many many other sauces like a strawberry ponzu, mango shiso sauce, blueberry sauce, sweet chili soy glaze, garlic ponzu, creamy lemon orange sauce, different aiolis, and many more that I'm not quite sure how to describe.  Their sushi is delightful and the fish just melts in your mouth, truly some of the best sushi we've had in Seattle!  They have rolls of all kinds and natures with eel, shrimp, scallop, tuna, salmon, pickled Japonese veggies, crab, peppers, etc. Our favorites usually revolve around tunas, crabs, some eel, and salmon (and of course various peppers). Their fresh sheet contains some of our favorites like Samurai Spirit, Body of Sin, 009, Naughty Roll, Spicy Cassidy, any of the James Bond themed rolls, and also some great rotating sashimi and sushi like white salmon, copper river salmon, and many other great local and seasonal favorites.

For happy hour we love the various sakes, their teas are really nice as well (but I don't think they're on happy hour) and they have a curious Japonese "Scotch" style Whiskey (not on happy hour either). We haven't tried it yet, but it looks really interesting and has 2 different aged varieties. We adore the Bad Boy Roll, Cali Crunch and Seattle Crunch Rolls, as well as their Sashimi Sets on the happy hour menu. The presentations for their dishes are often changing and always look very nice and clean and colorful. For dessert we highly recommend- compliments of Joanie- the Black Sesame ice cream. Dessert is something that is hard to get to here, especially if you love rolls, and Black Sesame ice cream was something that just didn't sound too appeasing to me. Fortunately for us, Joe adores ice cream and insisted upon Joanie's recommendation that we try it. Although I'm not really much of a sesame fan, this ice cream was a complete knock out! It's served in a martini glass with caramel sauce and cut strawberries. Absolutely worth foregoing the last roll to save room!

This place is one of our Seattle Staple Restaurants, so I have to give it a 10- we are never dissappointed!