By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

SEATTLE - Just down the steps off First Avenue near Pike Place Market, the good times are rolling, and great food flowing at the Pike Brewing Co., an underground pub with the ambiance of an old-fashioned country store.

Lively music wafts up the steps from the popular downtown Seattle spot, which combines a pub and restaurant with the brewery itself. The sprawling, split-level establishment, its walls festooned memorabilia from brews of years gone by, was once a good time establishment of a different sort. It's the same building where the infamous madam Nellie Curtis opened the LaSalle Hotel in 1933, the year beer became legal in Seattle.

Today Pike Brewing Co. offers one of the area's largest selections of draft and premium bottled beers, spirits - including Pike's Naughty Nellie Ale - plus a fine selection of Northwest and Alaska seafood, homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts. The emphasis is on market fresh, local, seasonal and sustainable foods, prepared with or to accompany the many fine beers served there.

We wandered down the steps on a Friday evening and were quickly shown to a table with a great view of the sprawling restaurant and pub.

A waiter was quick to bring our drinks and take an order for North of the Border Nachos, a colorful and altogether tasty dish for two at $11.95. The nacho platter held crisp tortilla chips, nicely warned and topped with pepper jack and cheddar cheeses, house black bean corn salsa, tomatoes, organic green onion and jalapeno, mixed with the house Pike Old Bawdy barbecue sauce and topped with dollops of fresh guacamole and sour cream.

For an entrŽe, I opted for ale-battered Alaskan halibut, air-fried for a crispy crunch with no additional fat, at $13.95. The three generous pieces of halibut were served up in a basket with house-made tartar sauce, a small cup of coleslaw and very tasty steak cut fried potatoes. A splash of Spinnaker's Scottish Ale craft brewed malt vinegar, made in Victoria, British Columbia, further enhanced the flavor.

My dinner guest, a confirmed burger aficionado, chose a large cheddar bacon burger, served on a toasted sesame seed bun, with crispy, thick-sliced bacon, a tangy sauce, sliced tomato and organic lettuce. The burger, at $9.95, was accompanied by a large pile of steak fries.

Truth be told, we'd been there the night before for a late night bite to eat and found the atmosphere so friendly when the food was served up at the bar - the restaurant having just closed - that we couldn't resist returning. Although the music plays constantly in the background, the building's acoustic qualities make it easy to carry on a conversation.

Then too, having roamed several times through the famed Pike Place market, we knew that the pub had easy access to fresh seafood, fresh vegetables and other ingredients for their menu.

Other specialties of the house include Pike's Dungeness crab chowder, several fresh salads served up with spent grain beer rolls, roasted garlic jumbo prawns, and fusion seafood cakes - Dungeness crab and Oregon pink shrimp combined with organic bell peppers and Japanese panko-style bread crumbs, baked and served with a coconut Thai sweet chili sauce.

The sandwich menu runs from veggie to seafood sandwiches, and yes, a genuine Reuben, with lean pastrami piled high, with Swiss Emmenthaler, the chef's special sauerkraut and Bubbeh's Russian style dressing on toasted caraway rye bread, served with potato chips and a shtikel of pickle.

Pike's menu suggests a beer or ale to accompany each dish, should the diner be so inclined. Iced tea, soft drinks and milk are also available.

House specialties also include the meat-packed Carnivore, the chicken Canton and the crab and artichoke pizzas, or a build-your-own cheese pizza - with more than two-dozen ingredients to choose from.

Sandwich prices average less than $10, and come with a generous portion of steak fries. The most expensive entrees are under $20.

Desserts include deep dark chocolate house brownies, gelato floats made with wild raspberry beer imported from Belgium, a Northwest fruit cobbler, and scoops of Belgian chocolate, vanilla bean and raspberry gelato.

Charles Finkel, a true beer aficionado, founded Pike Brewing Co. in 1989, with his wife, Rose Ann Finkel. The Finkels sold Pike in 1997, but repurchased it in 2006. Their passion for all things brewery is obvious in the dŽcor, with dozens of small round old-fashioned beer serving trays and framed beer ads tastefully lining the walls, beneath a ceiling of pipeworks neatly painted in red and black.

The pub's micro-brewery museum illustrates 9,000 years of beer history, and Pike's also offers tours of its brewery. In addition, the museum and Naughty Nellie rooms are available for private parties.

The Pike Brewing Co.

1415 First Ave.

Seattle

(206) 622-6044

Bottom Line: Pike Brewing offers tasty food, a fine selection of hand crafted beers and ales, quick service and reasonable prices in an upbeat atmosphere that lends itself for business, family or social gatherings, and an easy walk from all downtown Seattle hotels.

Overall: 3333

Service: 3333

Atmosphere: 3333

Food: 3333

Price: 3333

(Out of a 4-check system.)

Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com">margie.bauman@alaskajournal.com.