Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Last year was amazing, to say the least. I want to thank everyone who came out and supported us. Thanks to everyone who was patient as we worked out some kinks and experienced a few growing pains. On that note, we still don't take reservations, but if we're completely full, there's no longer a wait to get drinks. Come in and we'll get you warmed up in no time...

We've had a bit of a staffing change w/John Star leaving. He's an immensely talented bartender and he will definitely be missed. We recommend everyone visit him at Paratii in Ballard. With the shuffle of covering different shifts, I will be taking over the Monday late night shift. Here's the Industry Menu we're rolling out this Monday:

In addition to Industry Night, we have a Wine Night on Tuesdays where all bottles of wine (including bubs!) are half priced.

And finally, Thursday night is Ladies Night, so all of the ladies can enjoy the happy hour all night long.

We are excited about the future on Hilltop. Keep an eye out for the Peterson Bros bar around the corner which is slated to open sometime early this year. Also, we have a few fun surprises lined up as well...Cheers!

-C

State of the Hilltop

Well, the last few months have been quite a ride. As many people know (and was noted here a couple of months ago), we were written up in the NY Times. It was a favorable write-up, many people saw it, and inspired a few local publications to do write-ups of their own. The result was that business essentially doubled over night. We did our best to accommodate the increased volume of business and for the most part our guests seemed to understand.

Naturally, there were a few changes. First, we've had to create waitlists on the weekends. We'd love to be able to serve everyone who comes in the door, but when we're out of seats we are at capacity and because of our size, we can't accommodate standing room. Most people seem to understand. Those that don't, well, sorry...

Now, here's the real point of this post: I've had a lot of regulars talk about how busy we are and most ask if business has slowed down yet or when is a good time to come to get a seat. Business has slowed done a lot, so much so that Sunday through Wednesday are more or less what they were before the new year. If people are out and looking for a well crafted drink on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, I'd recommend dropping by after 10pm. Most nights the bar is either empty or emptying out by 11pm. You can always call ahead and we'll let you know if we have seats available.

There you go. We're particularly excited to see so many new and enthusiastic faces and we're looking forward to seeing some of our old regulars again. Here are our specials during the week:

Monday: Industry Night – Service industry folks get happy hour all night.
Tuesday: Wine Night – All bottles of wine are ½ priced all night.
Thursday: Ladies Night! Ladies get happy hour all night.

Happy hour every day from 4 – 8

Shout Out to Our Peeps

I've been meaning for quite some time to do a post about the local businesses that we work with, procure product from, or who generally support us. I would like to extend a huge thanks to everyone and a sincere apology if I forget anyone. It would be very difficult to do what we do w/o these people. Without further ado...

Mad Hat Tea Company. Tobin and Maureen have been an indispensable source of product, knowledge, and inspiration. If and when you drop by, you'll likely see similar tea blends to the infusions that we feature in our apothecary section. This is no accident. They put together tasty combinations that are tonics for what ails you, will turn you on or tune you out. They work magic. Get in there. You can find there teas/botanicals showcased in the following cocktails: Winter Sidecar, Bleu, Endgame, and the Kokovoko.

Corina Bakery. All of those tasty cupcakes at our last 10/22 party? The ones made with Zacapa rum and Green Chartreuse? The amazing gluten free chocolate torte? The vegan(!) pumpkin pie? All made by the wonderful and talented people at Corina Bakery. Not only have they been very supportive by providing us with delicious desserts and the occasional baguettes, they also are very patient with my very last minute orders. A very special thanks to all of them, but especially to Stephanie for custom- making all of our desserts.

And speaking of the chocolate torte, the espresso in the crème is from none other than our favorite Valhalla Coffee Co. In addition to keeping me powered with a daily macchiato, they also supply the Ethiopian Harrar which we use in our cold-press coffee and is featured in the Journey to the End of the Night and the South of No North. These guys are sweethearts. Go see them, buy coffee and be happy.

Speaking of coffee, Caffe Dei. These guys also keep me powered with coffee, but more importantly, you know those vegan snacks you like? They help us get the ingredients. They make great vegan and vegetarian food in a town that needs more options. Plus, Amy's one of the sweetest people out there.

As far as the food goes, we use bread from The Essential Baking Co. and Macrina (holy smokes, do they ever make good bread!), and Field Roast, all of which are from Seattle.

Many of our regulars will notice two things: we actually do have beer and that we've been pouring Schooner Exact (which we were able to track down thanks to Barry, owner of Rosewood) for sometime. That's because they make really good beer. It helps that they are also good peeps. We are currently pouring their 3 Grid IPA and their Profanity Hill Porter. We also periodically feature a handle from the always reliable Maritime Pacific Brewing Co. (creators of the infamous Jolly Roger...). As of tonight we are pouring their Islander Pale Ale, but as soon as that's gone we will feature the Portage Bay Pilsner.

All of our design and artwork is done by the immensely talented Audra Laymon. She drew our menus and painted our chalkboard (which is displayed prominently in the photo here), and painted our outdoor sign. If you need any design work done, I cannot recommend her highly enough. Even if you don't need work done, commission her to make some art for you. It's worth it. And if you want to see her art, she's is one of the artists in the upcoming show Peanut Butter Space Jam, which will be amazing.


King's Books and Tacoma's resident kung-fu/graphic novel deciphering rock star sweet pea have been indispensable. A large portion of the 1022 lending library was donated by King's Books; sweet pea coordinates/facilitates our monthly Graphic Novel Book Club. sweet pea, thank you.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the ladies at Brilliant Cleaning that keep the bar sparkling. Jessica and Faith, thanks for cleaning up after us after the wild nights. They are still taking accounts, so if you need your house or business cleaned, give these ladies a shout.

Thanks again everyone.

The Little Bar that Could

A couple of months ago I tried to get in on the Pappy Van Winkle action and bring a few bottles to Tacoma. The liquor stores in Seattle that had been promising to hold one for me for months seemingly forgot and the stores that I found bottles in refused to sell to me as those bottles were being sent to Seattle. I was angry and jealous. We work in a small (very small...) market and we have enough struggles without the state refusing to sell us product. I fumed for a couple days, but eventually let it go. A couple of weeks ago I was reading Imbibe magazine's profile of Boston bars and I commented to a colleague of mine that nobody talks about Tacoma. At best we are Seattle's ugly sister; at worst, we are forgotten or ignored entirely.

Big thanks to Jordan for this piece and mucho, mucho thanks to everyone who has been coming out for the last year and a half. I can't really express how much I appreciate our regulars who sat in the bar when it was 20 degrees and sipped G&T's while playing cribbage or the patience everyone demonstrated as we dialed in recipes or ran out of different items. Much love to everyone who has supported us and helped spread the word. Finally, thanks to everyone who's worked at the bar and had to deal with a moody boss who's constantly adding new product and techniques.

Happy New Year everyone!

Nothing is sacred

There's not really any way to pretty this up, so I'll dispense with the lisptick and get straight to the pig. There are a few of us in this lonely outpost between Seattle and Portland (Tacoma) who like being bartenders and who consider it a respectable trade. We are not working our way through college or biding our time until something better comes along. We are not in touring bands (at least anymore) and in need of that temporary employment granted by the bulk of restaurant work. We consider ourselves professionals, craftsmen, or whatever. But, like someone else said elsewhere, don't call us mixologists.

We love serving great beers, wines, and carefully crafted cocktails. We love facilitating peoples experiences, being raconteurs and performance artists. All of this being said, for the most part we don't drink cocktails, we drink beers and shots. I spend enough time drinking cocktails as we R&D new menus, when I'm checking out new bars and watching colleagues work, that I don't tend to mix things up too much. I've covered this elsewhere when I've written about shifters, so I'll get to what I'm here to do: Let's talk about shots, baby.

Here is a not-comprehensive list of shots that we enjoy.
1. Bourbon w/float of Tuaca
2. Bourbon w/float of raw ginger syrup
3. Equal parts yellow Chartreuse and Nassau Royale
4. Equal parts Linie Aquavit and Liquore Strega
5. Equal parts pastis and earl-grey infusion
6. Equal parts Sriracha and vodka (or bourbon or whatever...)
7. Kokovoko - 2/3 kava kava infusion (1 cup kava kava root steeped in 750 ml NGA), 1/3 raw ginger syrup, top with cayenne
8. 1/3 el Jimador, 1/3 kava kava infusion, 1/3 Aperol
9. Equal parts Fernet Branca and Becherovka
10. Stroh

Some are sweet, some are bitter, some are just awful (but that doesn't stop us from doing them every camping trip...) More than likely, if you find us on your side of the rail with a bucket of beer or a tallboy of some domestic swill, then we are probably just sipping on whiskey, Zwack, or pastis/absinthe. Consider yourself warned if we buy you a birthday shot, however.


1022 South

1022 South's schedule

Ok, so I was shutting the down 1022 tonight when 4 different cars rolled up at 4 different times. It was a bit frustrating as I was so slow all day. I've heard the same story from other bartenders who work the early week shifts, so here is our schedule:
Sun - Mon. 4 -11
Tues - Wed. 4 - 12
Thurs - Sat. 4 - 2
If folks are hanging out Sun - Wed, then we'll stay open, otherwise we shut it down early.

There are specials every night, most of the time for $6. Happy hour is from 4 - 8 everyday and it includes $3 wells, $3 draft beers, and $4 glasses of wine (right now a pinot and a viognier).

Monday night is Industry night. If you do some sort of service all week, then come see Chris on Mondays for a bit of the apothecary. Tell your bartender where you work and ask him (or occasionally her) for the special. They'll take care of you. It might include absinthe or chartreuse, kava kava or damiana. Regardless, it will be fun.

Tuesday night are wine nights. 1/2 off all bottles, including the bubbly. We have fun, affordable wines and most Tuesdays Corey is working to explain each and every bottle to you.

Thursdays. Well, Thursdays are for the ladies. Our drink special is something pretty and Chris and Corey are there to facilitate your night. Plus, the ladies get happy hour all night. Sounds like a deal to me. Let's shake on it...

Those are 1022's hours, specials, and what we are up to. For those listening, we're going to have a rather impromptu party at some point debuting the fall/winter menu. Keep reading and we'll post the party info soon...