A Seattle suburb that once housed the headquarters for both wholesale giant Costco and world champion Seattle Seahawks, Kirkland, Washington is now a vibrant beach community with a tourism draw of its own. From dog-friendly cafés on the waterfront to privately-owned local boutiques and a new pedestrian walkway, Kirkland is on the up-and-up.
As the first cocktail bar of its kind to open in the town, Bottle and Bull sets a standard for the city that borders Lake Washington. Although it is quickly reinventing its dining scene, the craft cocktails and “scratch kitchen” at Bottle and Bull are leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the eating locale in Kirkland, possibly because the duo behind has it has already been there, done that on renovating and reinventing a restaurant in a burgeoning dining destination. Husband and wife co-owners Chad Waldher and Jessi Pricco got their feet wet in the biz when they moved to Waldher’s hometown of Walla Walla, Washington five years prior to open and operate Marcy’s Bar & Lounge. The two now run their new Kirkland stopping grounds with tenured Northwest cuisinier Stephen Paulson as executive chef—together bringing the culinary travels of Hemingway (Cuba, Spain, Italy and North African) to the table. The name is derived from his love of drink (bottle) and his disputed run with the bulls in Pamplona (…bull).
Swearing never to have consumed while he wrote, Ernest Hemingway certainly was known for his drinking habits nearly as much as his literary achievements. Bottle and Bull takes both of his areas of expertise and makes it the focal point of their concept—to experience the worldly travels of the wordsmith through their food and drinks. The broad cocktail menu is divided into three distinct categories that feature Hemingway’s well-known favorites—the first two being Martini, Manhattan & Old Fashioned (the house makes all three your way), which features the sweet and spicy New Orleans staple Vieux Carre (rye, red vermouth, Benedictine, cognac, bitters), and Modern Classics that sports the notorious Hemingway Daiquiri (aged white rum, Luxardo Maraschino, lime, grapefruit juice).
The bar’s greatest assets are the Signature Cocktails, the house-written recipes shaped and scribed as individual love letters to Hemingway himself. These are the drinks he could have imbibed had he found himself in 21st Century Kirkland. Is the sun shining? Hemingway might have enjoyed the Strega Smash, a sipper of house fennel-infused vodka, Liquore Strega (which he usually took in his coffee), sugar, mint and muddled lemon. Feeling feisty after a meeting with his book editor? He could have chugged a couple A Farewell to Arms (after his 1929 book and comprised of tequila blanco, lustau amontillado sherry, Meletti, pinch of salt). Get reminiscent and order the Mary Welsh, a cocktail named for Hemingway’s fourth and final wife, made up of Clear Creek Kirschwasser (cherry brandy), cognac, Cocchi Rosa, Zucca, egg white, lemon juice and Peychaud’s bitters.
The kitchen is au fait with the latest in cookhouse design trends—white subway tile back-splash, shimmering stainless steel appliances and wood-fire oven—and puts out piping hot and haut plates for savvy locals to savor. Start with a dynamic plate of steak tartare, kitted out with pickled delicacies like capers, shallots and chilies, topped with a quail egg and herbs, side-saddled with Dijon and rye bread. The Roman gnocchi is a must with the flat semolina flour dumplings, roasted red pepper and a house-made mascarpone that could serve as its own dish. Juicy, gamey and uniquely served on challah, the lamb burger is laced with cumin yogurt, tomato jam and other miscellaneous veg for a bright and tangy counter to the meat. The flatbreads are tasty but lean toward the smoked pork chop for an entree, served with sugar-crusted pork belly, corn frituras (fritters), mango coulis and a citrus salsa.
New World and Northwestern in food, but specifically Hemingwayesque in drink (and social media interaction), Bottle and Bull is a poetic devotion to a man whose life might have been made a little more interesting with a drink at this bar.
“I drink to make other people more interesting.” ― Ernest Hemingway
