Food & Culture
Food We Love: Bar Harbor
By Chelsea Lin March 20, 2017
This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Seattle Magazine.
When it comes to sandwiches, I’m usually all about the condiments, the pickles, the cured meats, the flavor. But then I met newcomer Bar Harbor’s Connecticut-style lobster roll ($20): knuckle-and-claw lobster meat tossed in warm clarified butter, perched in a split-top white roll custom made in an undisclosed (we tried) South Seattle bakery. Suddenly, I understood that simplicity can be a very powerful thing. Owner and Maine native Ben Hodgetts, a Matt’s in the Market vet who worked as its wine director, says the usual New England–style lobster roll, with mayo, celery and chives, has been the most popular item on his menu “inspired by the Atlantic Northeast” (look for shrimp cocktail, crab and kale Caesar, chowder, even whoopie pies!). But who needs all that when the marriage of sweet, subtle lobster meat and salty, warm butter is the most perfect union? It’s Hodgetts’ favorite, too. South Lake Union, 400 Fairview Ave. N; 206.922.3288; barharborbar.com
Join The Must List
Sign up and get Seattle's best events delivered to your inbox every week.
Follow Us
Decolonizing dining in Seattle
Hillel Echo-Hawk is at the forefront of Seattle’s Indigenous food movement
In 2022, an Indigenous-owned restaurant serving a precolonial menu — Owamni, in Minneapolis — earned a James Beard Award as the best restaurant in the country. Names like Sean Sherman and Crystal Wahpepah (respectively, a Beard award finalist for best emerging chef, and the first Native American chef to compete on the Food Network’s Chopped)…
Pastry: An Affair to Remember
Chef Ewald Notter of Dote Coffee Bar makes it easy to fall in love with pastry and chocolate
Most romances unfold in predictable ways. An invitation for lunch, where you share sandwiches in a loud café, silently wishing your bread was crisper, but never giving up on the idea that one day it might be. An awkward laugh as your fingers touch while you both reach across the table for sugar in that…
Mix It Up. Try old-school cocktails this holiday season
These 10 drinks may not be on the menu at your local bar, but all pack a punch as well as some colorful history
Editor’s note: A version of this story previously appeared in “Seattle” magazine. Impress your guests this holiday season with these 10 concoctions from a vintage bar guide from Glenn Shaw Creations – supposedly from the 1950s – found in an antique shop in Olympia a few years back. Keep in mind that these drinks may…
Sip, Slurp, Celebrate at Frank’s Oyster House
Let’s be Frank about Champagne
The best bubbles in Washington state may very well be found at an East Coast-style restaurant in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. That, at least, is the opinion of The Champagne Bureau, USA, which has named Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Parlor as one of the top 10 bars and restaurants in the nation for the quality…