Eat Your Way Down Jackson

This column highlights the many restaurants lining Jackson Street beginning in Leschi at Jackson and 31st Ave. S. and down to Rainier Ave. Jackson Street offers a wide selection of food choices from pizza, international, barbeque, sushi, pub food, soul food, before hitting the mecca of great Asian restaurants in the ID. Join me as we take a short drive, walk, bike or hop the 14 bus to check out nearby spots.

Standard Brewing

2504 S. Jackson, open every day 11 am to Midnight, Kitchen closes at 10:30pm.Happy Hour: Sunday to Thursday from 11am to 3pm and 9:00pm to Midnight. Children and pets by law are not allowed. You can order on-line.

Standard Brewing opened its doors in 2013 when few restaurants or bars existed along the eastern stretch of Jackson. With a few tables made of wine barrels set up in the space where the beer was being made, they began offering tastes and pours of the beers they were developing. A few years later when the space next door became vacant, they expanded to become a public house offering an extensive list of beer, standard and creative cocktails, and an innovative menu of small dishes, sandwiches, and specials of the week.

Standard has been one of my go-to places for lunch and one I recommend to friends and family who are visiting. Their motto says it all “No hype, just great beer and cocktails—and food.”

On a very cold, week night, neighbors joined my husband and me to have an early dinner at Standard to see how the same menu at lunch translates into a dinner.

We were received with the buzz of friends gathering and a friendly hello shout from the bar. We laughed at how we felt like we had entered the world of Cheers, the popular TV show of years past. It wasn’t long before we too were having a lively conservation at our table.

The beer list is overwhelming with many choices of lagers, IPAs, and stouts, etc. but thanks to the help from the bar we were steered to good choices. You don’t have to commit to a pint or a beer, instead for $3 you can have a 5 oz sample. Our friend chose a specialty cocktail called Forget-Me-Not which was a beautiful ruby color and delicious.

I was disappointed to see the Cod Roll the week’s Specials had sold out. However, the Fat Hen taco which is Indian-style Hariyali chicken with a mint yogurt sauce and cotija cheese ($5) and a veggie taco with a chickpea fritter ($5) took away the letdown. My husband enjoyed the hardy Italian slow-roasted beef sandwich served on a Chicago style crispy Turano roll ($17). He declared it to have the kind of kick in spiciness he likes. He shared with me a delicious fried potato wedge.

From the snack listings, we ordered the house tortilla chips with salsa roja ($5) to have a taste of a common bar snack. One friend had two fish tacos ($5 each). Although small each had a nice portion of masa fried catfish covered in a spicy sauce and cotija. Our other friend rounded out the variety of dishes by having a Quesadilla ($12) with house refried beans, cheese and other toppings. What made it special was the crispness of the tortilla. We also ordered the special Chickpea Salad ($14) to share which was red quinoa with an array of vegetables.

Standard’s indoor space is small and can get noisy. In nicer weather, there is more seating outdoors which is pleasant. They do not take reservations but if you are planning a special occasion, give them a call to see if they can accommodate.

~Mary Carter McCreech