Liberty

Basics: $3 wells; $3 draft beers; rotating menu of $3 sushi rolls. Daily specials run 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.


At first glance, Liberty might appear to have lost some of its initial luster: the tables are a little battered and worn, the unfinished hardwood floors are beaten and covered in scuffs, and the two wall-mounted planters near the front cradle dangling remnants of dehydrated ferns.

Fittingly, of course, both containers are black.

Careful, though. After a few well drinks and a couple of here-and-there chats with the easy-going waitstaff, Liberty's pummeled interior can have a brainwashing effect, morphing its surroundings from those of neglect to those of comfort. Think of your favorite pair of wrecked-up, broken-in jeans you've owned for years. Sure, they've seen better days, but you slip them on time and again because they feel so goddamn good. That two yards of denim is pretty much Liberty, which I dare say is the most Seattle-esque bar I've ever seen: at once being a high end/dive hybrid that avoids the ironic or pretentious quagmires that similar bars fall victim to.

True, while Liberty's bartenders pour a cheap rail drink here, it's truly a cocktailer's bar. Set beneath minimal track lighting in a room painted in darkened, bourbon-soaked ketchup and mustard tones, the skeletal bar is nothing much to drink in visually. Boy, though, is it deep: at places it goes back four or five bottles. With nothing fancy to detract the eye, the booze is forced to take center stage, ready to be drank in, literally.

Of the few specialty cocktails we sampled (there were numerous pages to choose from), the Bramble ($8) emerged the clear favorite: gin, blackberry and lemon that cloaks the booze enough that it goes down smooth with just a murmur of juniper aftertaste. Well drinks were hearty, but not particularly overpowering.

It's Liberty's food offerings that, by some accounts, are the bar's biggest failing. Much to the APIC's disgust and horror (he may have screamed like a 6-year-old girl, come to think of it), nothing served here is deep-fried: it's just sushi.

Don't misunderstand: the food is delicious. The menu traipses through rolls, nigiri, sashimi and vegetarian fare, crossing a wide range of made-to-order bites that, at $4-12 each, satisfy both palettes and wallets. Taylor's choice, the Sonic Boom scallops ($6/4 pieces) was remarkable, balancing out the juiced-up shellfish with smooth mayo and crunchy sprouts. Also, there's a selection of $3 happy hour rolls that rotate on a daily basis: this day's was the Sonic Boom tuna, which wasn't near as exciting as its scallop counterpart.

In general, though, sushi makes a less-than-ideal bar snack. As far as sponging up booze, a few pieces of fish and clumps of rice, however delicious they may be (and they are at Liberty), just aren't up to the task.

That'd be about the only complaint I have. Well, that and the depressing background music: it's supposed to be a "happy" hour, not a "wrist-slashing" one.

Liberty. 517 15th Ave E (15th between Republican and Mercer), Seattle's Capitol Hill. Daily 3:00-7:00 p.m.