They said the world had moved on. They said it would never come back. They said it was best left as a fading memory. Actually no one said any of these things because no one really talks that much about Drink the Link. It's not some big cultural institution; I just want to ride trains with my friends.
It's back, baby! Drink the Link celebrates the truely great joys in life: day drinking and public transportation. For every stop on Sound Transit's Link Light Rail, the participants visit a nearby bar or restaurant and enjoy a drink. And it's a lot. The Link has gotten longer and we haven't gotten any younger. Remember when I described the Link as 'dinky' during Drink the Link 1? Of course you don't, unless you're Patrick, because I'm pretty sure he was the only other one there. The Link is now 19 stops long. It's longer the original bar crawl that inspired it, on the Red Line in Boston. So now Drink the Link is two days.
Increasingly, it's healthy to think of Drink the Link as one of those hop-on hop-off tour buses. Join in when you want, and leave whenever. Drink what you like, alcoholic or not. Last time around, I got to Capitol Hill and decided NO MORE and ran across Broadway to catch a 49. I made Drink the Link, so if I can do it, it's ok for everyone.
This will be a pretty intense day. Things start early (but not as early as they used to!) and go fairly late (but definitely not as late as they used to). It's actually one stop less than Drink the Link phase one, but, that said, we never managed to accomplish that.
| Arrival Time | Station | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Angle Lake | Silver Dollar Casino |
| I love that this stupid place exists. I love the stupid, pedestrian-hostile walk over to it. | ||
| 11:00 | SeaTac Airport | Sourced Market |
| Looks like there's a new place with tap beer before security. No idea if it's the same location as the old wine bar. Anyway, we're going to go to the airport and not fly anywhere. | ||
| 12:00 | Tukwila International Boulevard | Star Coffee |
| I remember it being nice. | ||
| 13:00 | Rainier Beach | Fidel Ethiopian Bar N Restaurant |
| This stop is the Drink the Link wildcard. I'm pretty sure every year the restaurant has had a different name. Last time it was open during its posted hours; two times ago, not so much. Let's hope for the best. | ||
| 14:00 | Othello | Taco Street |
| Not really a bar, but at this point it's probably not a bad idea to eat some food and have a bottle of something light. | ||
| 15:00 | Columbia City | Billiard Hoang |
| Flawless. | ||
| 16:00 | Mt. Baker | Cafe Ibex |
| A stalwart. Perhaps a good place to split a combo. | ||
| 17:00 | Beacon Hill | Perihelion Brewery |
| I can picture sitting in one of those adirondack chairs right now. | ||
| 18:00 | SODO | Orient Express |
| Duh. | ||
| 19:00 | Stadium | Hatback |
| So this place is where Pyramid Alehouse used to be, and I think is largely the same idea. And by that I mean very loud and spacious, which is kind of what you need at this point in the journey. | ||
| 20:00 | International District/Chinatown | Fort St. George |
| What, for me, saves Drink the Link from going off the rails is my personal the beer/cider only rule. Drink something too hard, and it will hit you too fast. I break the rule here because I'm a sucker for plum wine. | ||
| 21:00 | Pioneer Square | Collins Pub |
| Hey, it's Collins Pub. Ok, time to sleep it off. | ||
With only 7 spots on the schedule, things will be a little more casual today. Also, all of these spots are making their Drink the Link debut, which is pretty wild.
| 11:00 | University Street | Von's 1000 Spirits |
| They might have 1000 spirits, but I will be drinking one beer. Diller Room, the usual standby, is not open at this hour. | ||
| 12:00 | Westlake | Habitant (in Nordstrom) |
| This is a bit of a departure. We're going to drink in a department store I guess? | ||
| 13:00 | Capitol Hill | Post Pike |
| Does anyone remember what this was before? It's this narrow, but super long little bar with sandwiches. I'm kinda fascinated by it. | ||
| 14:00 | University of Washington | Ague Verde |
| Haven't been here in awhile. | ||
| 15:00 | U District | Finn MacCools |
| If you've wandered by here in the evening, you'd be surprised how dead this place is mid-day. | ||
| 16:00 | Roosevelt | Teddy's Tavern |
| The only president-themed location on Drink the Link. | ||
| 17:00 | Northgate | Watershed Tavern |
| After a short trip down the stairs, and through the old transit center, and we've reached out final destination. Yay! | ||