The Kickin Boot. Ballard’s newest Whiskey Bar & BBQ joint. Opening night was Thursday August 16th, 2012. Being a whiskey lover, food lover, and Ballard resident, I felt the need to try this place out today. The fiance and I walked less than 2 blocks from our place to check it out around 7pm. First thing we noticed was the awesome balcony that sits on the 2nd floor of the building - as does the bar and restaurant. Outside seating is great for those 4 1/2 Seattle summer days. But seriously, it was nice. If you are familiar with The Matador restaurants around the sound (if not you can stop reading and come back after you go eat at your nearest location) then you’ll be delighted to know Kickin Boot was created by the same owners. I was sold before I sat down. The atmosphere felt like a hole in the wall type bar with a mix of an upscale Tom Douglas spot and a little old western saloon. Lots of wood. Lots of metal. Cool decor. If you’ve ever been to Austin, Texas then I’m sure you’d agree it seems like something you’d find there. So we walked in and it was slam packed. They apparently take reservations, walk ins and have bar seating. We asked how long the wait was & were told about 30 minutes. Not worth it at first for two starving people with food for free less than 2 blocks away, but we grabbed a drink at the bar and waitied a few minutes. Two spots opened up right under the awesome display of all the whiskey. I’m happy. Two flatscreens with a NFL Thursday night football game were almost within reach of our seats. Huge plus. We grab what seemed like a menu made for a giant, aka me and my oversized hands, & looked over some specialty drinks. The fiance isn’t much of a whiskey drinker but ordered us both Southern Punches. Too sweet to have more than one but really great for a first drink. After pounding those we picked up an appitizer & went with the House Smoked Wings. I’m a picky wing eater and these were way above par. Easily a 8 out of 10. Plus they had 5 different sauces to choose from that were all excellent. The sweet sauce was my favorite. Now it was time for a real whiskey drink, neat. Our bartender and bar manager was really nice and accomadating throughout our dinner. I asked him for his choice of whiskeys on the huge wall & he complimented me a Few rye whiskey that he special ordered and hadn’t served to anyone. He opened a limited bottle just for me and poured me a shot. It was very flavorfull and had lots of kick. The alcohol percentage was %43 and it was 90 proof I believe. Good stuff. After polishing that we were excited for our main course. The lady had the buttermilk fried chicken cobb salad and I ordered the pulled pork which came with two sides - 4 cheese maccaroni and hand cut fries. The BBQ was soft, moist (sorry for that word) and cooked perfectly. The mac’n cheese had breadcrumbs and a light creamy texture & was devoured in about 4 bites. The fries cut not too big, not too small, were perfectly crispy and delicious. I darn near licked my plate clean. Needless to say we were pretty full & satisfied after that meal. Lastly I had to try one more whiskey from the wall. Niles, the bar manager and our bartender, spoke of a great french whiskey called Bastille that was aged in oak barrels that I had to try. Of course I did and it was great. Totally different than the rye whiskey but just as tasty. Not quite the kick of the 1st whiskey but a bit sweeter and very smooth. I was impressed. Time to close out. For 4 drinks (one of which was on the house), 1 app, and two main courses we paid $63. Not shabby at all to be full, tipsy and content with a new experience. Niles shook our hands and thanked us for coming in. We told him to remember us because we lived close and would definitely be back. He agreed.
Overall we were very pleased with the service, wow’d by the food and atmosphere, and stumbling from the drinks. Grade for this experience was an A. Hope to return again.
Now I wanted to praise Kickin Boot for its opening night success before I got to the cons of the evening. Ballard is a very eclectic place and that’s one of the reasons I live here. The variety of nightlife, bars and resturaunts attracts all sorts of folks young and old, hipster & well, not. I won’t judge it solely by tonight but Kickin Boot definitely has that ‘not too young but not too old’ vibe off the bat. Matador has always been my ‘speed’ because I can’t do some of the 21 year old spots and don’t like the uppity fancy places. I’m in the middle. What I noticed tonight was way too many people that looked out of place. Touristsy lookin’, suburb livin, park the wrong way in a loading zone 2 feet from the curb in their minivan type of people. There was a older man wearing burkenstocks with socks. Get the picture? Ok. There were also WAY too many people ordering beer (which is tolerable I suppose) and wine. Wine? At a whiskey bar? I don’t get it. As someone who doesn’t drink much wine, I feel like that’d be equivilent to me ordering a Jack & Coke at a winery (even if they didn’t serve it). Not acceptable. Those people should walk a block up and swirl their glasses at Bastille. Now I get that some people were in the same position as I was and heard about the opening and wanted to check it out. Being that it’s ‘summer’ and Ballard’s busier than normal, I can understand how some of the tourists stumbled accross this place by accident and thought it looked cool. Hopefully that doesn’t last. I’ll have to let the buzz cool out for a bit and check back to re-evaluate the crowd.
Finally, I didn’t know where this would fit in my review because I don’t see it as a pro or a con. Kickin Boot had valet parking. Two doorman with a key box and one red painted curb in front for cars to pull up in. Valet? In Ballard? And it’s not for a hipsters bike? Was confused by that but I guess its appealing. $8 for valet tho to me is a waste of a drink you could have inside. :)
Definitely reccommend this place if you end up checking it out, feel free to share your thoughts.
Tuesday July 3rd I left Kirkland & headed out to Crescent Bar on the east side of the mountains. The Seattle weather allowed me the rare opportunity to take the bike out. My Suzuki has been sitting in my garage waiting for a real ride outside of the city for months! So, I rode about 200 miles of highway & backroads to eastern Washington. Did some tricks with the Go Pro I’ve never done before. Definitely the most “Pro” video I’ve shot. My only goof on the filming was from Vantage to Crescent Bar my camera was angled down at the road while the sun was setting directly in front of me for 30 minutes. Literally rode into the sunset and missed all of it on the Go Pro. Great excuse to do it again soon. Enjoy.
Shot on a Go Pro Hero HD
Ride: 2007 Suzuki GSX-R 750
Road: Seattle, Washington to Quincy, Washington
Soundtrack: Knife Party - Internet Friends
I do not own the rights to the audio used in this film. It is intended for promotional use only.
Letter to Elected Officials @SonicsArena #SonicsGate
Below was my letter that I wrote in support of bringing the NBA/NHL to Seattle & the construction of a new arena. You can support this cause by following the link where your voice can and will be heard. Seattle’s and King County’s elected officials do and will read your letter. Mitch Leavy & the team at Sports Radio KJR-AM in Seattle have backed this cause 100% and have been sharing these letters with listeners on the air. This was mine.
Elected officials,
I am a 27 year old born-and-raised Washingtonian from Bothell. Today I am writing you to express my support for the construction of a new NBA/NHL arena. Simply put, basketball in Seattle was the focal point of my entire upbringing. The Seattle Supersonics were the sole reason for the love & passion I have for the game today. I attended games with my mother and father as a child. Back in the old Coliseum I got to see Michael Jordan come to town and take on my Sonics. I will never forget that memory. We even made trips to Tacoma just to see the team play during the transition of arenas. Once the Sonics were in the Key, I’d wait hours after the game with my mom to get autographs in the parking lot as the players left in their cars. Every time - every, single, time, I saw a new Payton or Kemp jersey hanging in the mall I begged to have it. I pleaded endlessly to have the same jersey, warm up shirt, shoes and shorts as Shawn and Gary did. I broke countless rims on my front yard basketball hoop swinging around after dunks like Kemp. ALLEY OOP! Shouting out Calabro’s signature phrases imitating every move of the players. I nearly collapsed as I tried to announce the team name in that breath defying way the announcer did. Deep breaths, then attempting “Seattle Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu - twenty seconds pass - per Sonics! When I grew up and went off to college, I’d drive home from Ellensburg just to catch games. I then graduated and moved into King County, where I currently reside. Before the Sonics were ripped by the roots from the city of Seattle, I was there. At the games. Cheering for my team. Watching the game I love. I am getting married in the early months of 2013 and starting to build a foundation for my family down the road. For me, this all comes down to one thing as I think about my future and that of the Sonics. I’m able to wipe the bitter taste out of my mouth and I can stomach the sick feelings, but that one thing I think about is my future child. When I think about my child, my future, my family, missing out on the opportunity to enjoy the things that I did growing up, it makes me sad. Sad for others like me & their children. Children who grew up after the Sonics left, not being exposed to the great game that is basketball. I’m also eager about the possibility for the NHL to make it to Seattle. If this arena deal goes through, I’ll not only be attending NBA games, but I will absolutely be willing to spend my money on NHL games, concerts & other activities at this arena. In closing, I’d like to reiterate that because of this team, I was able to make memories with my family that will last a lifetime. I can only hope that opportunity is there in the near future for the people of Seattle. That being said, memories don’t fund nor support arenas. Dollars do. Elected officials, you can count on mine.
Matt Lockmon
