In a neighborhood hyper-concentrated with all that is slim, rustic and meticulously manicured, Bill's Off Broadway is the real deal: an unpretentious sports bar with little sign of a deep clean or an interior decorator. Regular patrons, more of the tatted-and-grungy variety, hang around the pool table and the bar and seem not to mind that Taylor Swift pops up on the radio. The drink specials alone in their Happy Hour, from 4 to 7 PM every day, are enough to sell you: in addition to well cocktails being only $3.25, they have a whole host of Washington State microbrews available for $2.75. The best thing on the happy hour food menu is the Spinach Dip: fresh and overwhelmingly cheesy. I wish I had drank at least two more beers before reveling in its thickness, but for $3 and seemingly bottomless crostinis, I'd call it the best appetizer deal on the Hill. The Mushroom Boat and Seasonal Mixed Green salad are $2 a pop, and the Sirloin Bruchetta—with melted blue cheese and a strong basil and tomato tapenade—was an impressive hors d'oeuvre for $5. The very nice, very inked server informed me that Bill's will be changing its happy hour menu for the summer to bring in lighter flavors, but that "we're definitely keeping the Spinach Dip." HOLLIS WONG-WEAR
