June 30: Easy Joe's American Pub [CLOSED]

[CLOSED LATE JULY 2018]

For some reason, I thought Easy Joe's* just opened, but I'm seeing mentions of it online from five years ago, and of its location on Capitol Hill from before that. Maybe it's the construction of Cherry Street Coffee's new digs next door that's made me overlook it.

On this sunny Seattle Friday before a four-day weekend, the place had maybe a dozen people in it. Some were obviously regulars; one of them switched bar seats back to "her spot" after another patron finished up. Service was friendly, happy, and helpful -- I might even say "perky" -- fast with beer suggestions, a menu, the wifi password, and refills. Despite the brickwork and dark woods, the pub wasn't nearly as dimly lit as I expected. The large windows facing First Avenue let in a lot of bright sunlight, and the early 90s pop (Red Hot Chili Peppers "Hey Oh") made it feel a bit brighter. And then "The Piña Colada Song" came on to add a little WTF flavor to my lunch.

The menu gave me some tough choices. I've been thinking about a big plate of nachos for a few weeks now, but don't really want to eat a whole pile by myself. I'm glad I found somewhere that has it, though. I considered the bacon cheeseburger, but I'm trying to cut back a bit more on my beef consumption. I almost settled on the BBQ pulled pork sandwich, readying myself for disappointment thinking it wouldn't live up to Hole in the Wall's flavor. I wanted something lighter, though, and prepared to order the chicken taco salad. At the last second, though, I turned the menu over, saw BBQ pork tacos, and knew that's what I'd be having.

The tacos arrived quickly, as described: a side of tortilla chips, and two flour tortillas with coleslaw, pico de gallo, and chili lime sour cream (not red, hot, nor very chili pepper-y). The bartender delivered it with a fork and stack of napkins, because she knew better. I messily dug in. Although I did my best, the first bite on one end of the taco sent a creamy blob of pico and pork glopping onto my plate and fingers. Yay, napkins!

It tasted wonderful. The BBQ pork was warm, the slaw was cold, and the sauce was mild. Together they blended into a perfect bite of contrasting temperatures and of sweet, spicy, and mildly bitter flavors. Before I knew it, the first taco was gone and I was about to start on the second. Several tasty globs of sauce/pork/pico were in my way on the plate, so I happily scooped them up with a couple of chips. Mmmm.

The tacos and nachos also appear on their 4 PM happy hour menu. I'm inclined to suggest to my co-workers that we stop by for future after-work socializing.

So good. Next time, maybe the chicken taco salad.

Easy Joe's American Pub
704 1st Ave.
BBQ pork tacos, diet Coke, $17.20

* Yes, I know that link points to an old page on archive.org. EasyJoes.com seems to have been pointing to their web hosting provider's placeholder page for several months now.