Whiskey Pete's

For a ski mountain bar, this place is great. Plenty of seating, the service is fantastic and the employees are very friendly and nice. There's no air of douchery about them. If you are at the Summit and you need a place to hang out, drink pitchers, have some mediocre mountain food (no offense to Whiskey Pete's, it's just what ski mountains do, charge you $9 for a frozen patty) this is the place!

I rate businesses in context. If you are a hole-in-the-wall taco joint, you don't get dinged for ambiance. If you are an airline, you don't get dinged for being a general pain in my ass. If you are a sports stadium in Seattle, you don't get dinged for not having a roof. (Oh, no, wait, that's really stupid. Nevermind that last one.)

So note that when I round Whiskey Pete's up to the 4th star, it's not because they don't get crazy busy and inattentive or that the drinks aren't a bit spendy or that the food couldn't stand some improvement. What they are, they are: the closest place to the central Snoqualmie slopes to get a drink that doesn't involve a hip flask. Now, that said, they don't just abuse the captive audience. The bartenders are great, if sometimes harried as the place packs out toward the afternoon. There are drink specials here and there, just never on stuff I enjoy. The atmosphere is fun and boisterous, buoyed along by a soundtrack that seems mostly comprised of classic rock and 80s new wave.

So yeah, if you cut and pasted this place into the U district, it wouldn't rate as high. But I have yet to go riding at Snoqualmie and not stop in at Whiskey Pete's afterward for a drink, so how can I not say I'm a fan?