Bar Cinco
John C. Hughes
Aberdeen Daily World
Dear Reader: When I was in Montesano the other day, someone asked me if I knew that Lynne Glore had opened a topless bar in Yelm.
This is the sort of thing you can count on me to know about. I’m the Ace Ventura of rural nightlife.
Lynne, a former administrator at Grays Harbor College and a Montesano High School grad, Class of ’68, has been my friend for nearly 30 years.
What she’s doing is running a Spanish-American tapas bar in Yelm. The nearest topless bar is Boobsies lounge in South Tacoma.
Yelm is in the midst of a renaissance, suburban style. It’s nestled in the evergreens, with Mount Rainier looming majestically in its back yard, looking as big as Kilimanjaro on a clear day. Now a commuter-generation crossroads, Yelm is almost equidistant between Olympia, Tacoma and Centralia. The humongous new Red Wind Casino is nearby.
If you haven’t been there in a while, you’re not going to believe what Yelm looks like now. Every hillside and meadow is sprouting $300,000 ramblers. There’s a new movie theater downtown, shopping malls and restaurants, including a Casa Mia below the handsome new Timberland Library. Yelm, in fact, is a preview of what’s going to happen on the Harbor. It’s already happening.
But, as usual, I digress.
A topless tapas bar might also pack them in, but Lynne and her gifted chef, Genevieve McGowan, are doing well with titillating food and drink at a charming spot called “Bar Cinco.”
“Tapas” is Spanish for gourmet grazing — a cross between hors d’oeuvres and mini-entrees. In Spain, you grab some friends and head for a mellow neighborhood bar. There’s a guitarist in the corner, and now and then a sultry, swirling dancer. You sip a garnacha or a tempranillo or perhaps a frozen concoction or two, and nibble for hours on marinated olives, smoky almonds, pan-fried potatoes dusted with rosemary, dates stuffed with goat cheese, skewers of lamb, crispy bread slathered with sweet garlic, herb-marinated tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms.
Hungry yet? Pardon me while I dab this drop of drool from my mouse pad.
I wonder if you get tapas on Saturday afternoon at the Madrid Costco?
At Bar Cinco, you do have to pay, but the prices are reasonable — $7 for the Empanadas de Verduras, vegetable-filled puffed pastries served with a roasted sweet red pepper dipping sauce — and the atmosphere is deliciously congenial. The bar features a small but excellent wine list and a selection of cocktails that reminds me of the glory days of Trader Vic’s. I had a Margarita that would make Jimmy Buffet swoon, while Patsy had a whistle-wetting “Mojito” that featured light rum, orange liqueur, fresh mint, slices of lime and sparkling soda.
Lynne’s mother, the late Margaret Downey, once owned the fondly remembered Cornucopia restaurant in downtown Montesano. Lynne, a great cook and vivacious hostess, has always flirted with the idea of owning a restaurant. Her dad, Dan Downey, had a dog named “Cinco,” so her restaurant is in part a fond remembrance of him.
Adding to the Harbor connection is Kricket Callaghan, formerly of Aberdeen, who is a bartender for Lynne.
Bar Cinco (360-400-9000) is not hard to find. It’s in a lovely building, surrounded by lush plants, at 704 W. Yelm Ave., one of the main roads into town. It’s open from three to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; from three to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. John C. Hughes, editor & publisher of The Daily World, can be reached at 532-4000, ext. 145, or pub@thedailyworld.com
next review >>
John C. Hughes
Aberdeen Daily World
Dear Reader: When I was in Montesano the other day, someone asked me if I knew that Lynne Glore had opened a topless bar in Yelm.
This is the sort of thing you can count on me to know about. I’m the Ace Ventura of rural nightlife.
Lynne, a former administrator at Grays Harbor College and a Montesano High School grad, Class of ’68, has been my friend for nearly 30 years.
What she’s doing is running a Spanish-American tapas bar in Yelm. The nearest topless bar is Boobsies lounge in South Tacoma.
Yelm is in the midst of a renaissance, suburban style. It’s nestled in the evergreens, with Mount Rainier looming majestically in its back yard, looking as big as Kilimanjaro on a clear day. Now a commuter-generation crossroads, Yelm is almost equidistant between Olympia, Tacoma and Centralia. The humongous new Red Wind Casino is nearby.
If you haven’t been there in a while, you’re not going to believe what Yelm looks like now. Every hillside and meadow is sprouting $300,000 ramblers. There’s a new movie theater downtown, shopping malls and restaurants, including a Casa Mia below the handsome new Timberland Library. Yelm, in fact, is a preview of what’s going to happen on the Harbor. It’s already happening.
But, as usual, I digress.
A topless tapas bar might also pack them in, but Lynne and her gifted chef, Genevieve McGowan, are doing well with titillating food and drink at a charming spot called “Bar Cinco.”
“Tapas” is Spanish for gourmet grazing — a cross between hors d’oeuvres and mini-entrees. In Spain, you grab some friends and head for a mellow neighborhood bar. There’s a guitarist in the corner, and now and then a sultry, swirling dancer. You sip a garnacha or a tempranillo or perhaps a frozen concoction or two, and nibble for hours on marinated olives, smoky almonds, pan-fried potatoes dusted with rosemary, dates stuffed with goat cheese, skewers of lamb, crispy bread slathered with sweet garlic, herb-marinated tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms.
Hungry yet? Pardon me while I dab this drop of drool from my mouse pad.
I wonder if you get tapas on Saturday afternoon at the Madrid Costco?
At Bar Cinco, you do have to pay, but the prices are reasonable — $7 for the Empanadas de Verduras, vegetable-filled puffed pastries served with a roasted sweet red pepper dipping sauce — and the atmosphere is deliciously congenial. The bar features a small but excellent wine list and a selection of cocktails that reminds me of the glory days of Trader Vic’s. I had a Margarita that would make Jimmy Buffet swoon, while Patsy had a whistle-wetting “Mojito” that featured light rum, orange liqueur, fresh mint, slices of lime and sparkling soda.
Lynne’s mother, the late Margaret Downey, once owned the fondly remembered Cornucopia restaurant in downtown Montesano. Lynne, a great cook and vivacious hostess, has always flirted with the idea of owning a restaurant. Her dad, Dan Downey, had a dog named “Cinco,” so her restaurant is in part a fond remembrance of him.
Adding to the Harbor connection is Kricket Callaghan, formerly of Aberdeen, who is a bartender for Lynne.
Bar Cinco (360-400-9000) is not hard to find. It’s in a lovely building, surrounded by lush plants, at 704 W. Yelm Ave., one of the main roads into town. It’s open from three to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; from three to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. John C. Hughes, editor & publisher of The Daily World, can be reached at 532-4000, ext. 145, or pub@thedailyworld.com
next review >>