Ballard Smoke Shop

Stiff drinks. 'Nuff said.

Great dive bar. Please don't let some jerk turn this into some POS cocktail bar!!!

Oh man...this place is AMAZING!

I mean that half sincerely and half sarcastically.

Okay, so I ended up coming here on Thanksgiving with my friend for "brunch" before we went to our real dinner. (What can I say? I always have room for pancakes.) I would have never known that this establishment was half bar (on the left) and half restaurant/diner (on the right) if I hadn't read the reviews on Yelp. Interesting.  When I saw that it was located in downtown Ballard, I figured it was probably decent, seeing as most of the restaurants there seem fairly popular and respected. When we arrived, there were a bunch of drunk people smoking outside. Like the kind of people you imagine probably never left from the night before. You get my idea.

We headed inside to the right (only just peeking in the bar to the left - I quickly shut the door when I saw a large man in overalls at the counter) and were immediately seated in a booth. The décor...was like something out of the "Jaws" movie. Think sad, alcoholic Fisherman themes. I mean, my friend was really amused by it because we are both from a "fisherman town" in CA (San Pedro), but this was something else. I'd compare it to the R&R in Twin Peaks, but I think the R&R was 100% cleaner and less depressing than this place. Regardless, it was open on Thanksgiving, and I wanted coffee and pancakes.

My friend ordered an open-faced hot turkey sandwich, and I went with a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with a side of bacon. We split a butter horn (that we never actually touched). Believe it or not, this place's food is actually REALLY good considering what it looks like (and the clientele who frequent it). I think that turkey sandwich was probably just as tasty as any turkey we could have been having for Thanksgiving (we were heading to a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal). The sandwich was served with delicious mashed potatoes with gravy and really tasty green bean casserole. And I have to admit...the pancakes were fluffy and delicious. Tons of butter and syrup, bacon, what more could I ask for? The coffee was pretty terrible, but I really wasn't expecting all that much considering it's a diner.

Our server was super friendly...and I don't know why this surprised me. Maybe it was because she was working on Thanksgiving? In any case, I was pleased with her attitude and level of attention.

The clientele were just SAD. I mean, I had to laugh even at myself for being there on Thanksgiving. But some (older) people were actually there eating their Thanksgiving dinner (complete with pumpkin pie for dessert), and it was pretty depressing. Like you want to slit-your-wrists you feel so bad for them. I dunno, maybe they were perfectly happy being there...but I think I'd rather stay at home and drink a bunch of battery acid before end up at a place like this for my holiday meal. *sad*

I'm not sure I'll ever frequent the bar (scary people inside)...but if I do, at least I'll take comfort in knowing that I can get a hearty meal at the diner afterwards! LOL.