Potato Chips at Pop Kitchen + Bar

It’s amazing how one can live in a city like Seattle, WA (or Portland, OR or Vancouver, BC or even Victoria, BC) and not notice a very noticeable new eatery in town. It’s almost as if there’s a training that takes place. Or maybe it’s simply a matter of getting (stuck) in a given routine. Regardless, I suspect the susceptibility rate is high.

Just this past Monday your Hedonista attended a media event at one such establishment: Pop Kitchen + Bar. Located right in the EMP Museum and touted as its café, this lil’ spot – was taken over just this past August by the Wolfgang Puck Catering cohort. Promoting itself as “Fresh + Casual” and “Locally-Sourced” with “Seasonal Micro-brews + Full Bar,” Pop is open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., with Happy Hours taking place Wednesday through Friday, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., complete with $4 well liquor drinks, $5 call liquor drinks, and $6 specialty martinis. (In other words, up for lunch time, bar time, and can even squeeze in a dinner time.) In sum, it’s a real gem for those of us always heading over to Seattle Center for one event performance or another.

Although kid-friendly, Pop is loaded with a full bar – including a liqueur or two that I had never seen before – and a nice, basic menu (think sammies, sliders, salads, and stone oven pizzas). Their Purple Haze, made with VeeV Açai liqueur, lime juice, triple sec, sour and POM Blueberry, was lovely, and reminiscent to me less of blueberries and açai berries and more of lavender without the, well, lavender. (But that could be just me jonesin’ for July in Sequim.) Their Caribbean Kamikaze – made with Malibu Rum, and orange, pineapple, cherries and other citrus – is (not surprisingly) very “rum punchy.” I also took a sip of their Fiesta Cosmo, complete with tequila, triple sec, soda, and cranberry and lime juices; think fresh ‘n’ tart here, dear hedonists. Food-wise, they had some good offerings, like their vegan (yes, vegan) quinoa slider. But my all-time fav item that I tried while at this event: their house made Ranch Chips, served with a basil aioli dipping sauce. Now, I confess, that there are a few foodie items that, if you put them on anything – and I mean (practically) anything – I would eat it with gusto. These items, in no particular order, are: bacon, chocolate, truffle (in any form – oil, salt, etc.), and aioli. But, with this dish it’s more than just the aioli – the chips themselves are crisp, ranch-alicious, and – like all oiled-up spuds – best eaten hot and with an alcoholic beverage. And they are a mere $4 on their Happy Hour menu, too.

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.