Not too proud for solid tavern fare

Jolly Roger Taproom

1514 NW Leary Way

Monday -Thursday 11 a.m. -11 p.m.

Friday - Saturday 11 a.m. - Midnight

Closed Sunday

Phone: 782-6181

By Patricia Devine and Jim Anderson

Northwest Leary Way is the aorta of Ballard, bringing cars and humans at an increasing pace into our exploding community. Leary apparently has a special and mysterious draw to us, as we again found ourselves dining along the asphalt canal, this time at the intimate and friendly Jolly Roger Taproom, part of the Maritime Pacific Brewing Company. Already 17 years old, the family-owned outfit has created a pleasant and adventurous dining experience, where beer matters, but does not dominate or obscure the interesting and well-prepared food.

With a low ceiling, square shape, and combination of pirate and nautical kitsch such as skull and crossbones, wooden mermaids and highly polished wooden surfaces, the taproom is evocative of a nautical-ized and pirate-themed 1950's "rec room." In our book, eating and drinking certainly count as recreation, in fact we count them as exercise, so the rec room feel is a great fit.

The cement floor is decorated with made-up nautical charts and invented names of inlets and locations. Our favorite was "Steve's Head." located just next to the Straight of Leary. We wondered if the floor creators may have been imbibing in the products at the taproom upon creation of the floor.

The clientele at the Jolly Roger could not have been more diverse, and brought together a wonderful mix of old and young, area workers and professional-looking types, hippies and short-hairs, with a smattering of piercing as well as polyester. We can only hope this is the demographic of the new Ballard, as the ambience was friendly, even celebratory, without feeling oppressive.

There are two ways to go with the food when ordering at the Jolly Roger. An interesting grouping of nicely-priced and un-fancy "small plates" and appetizers can be combined to create a splendid and distinctive meal. The other route is to select one of the mid-priced entrees, in the more traditionally plated dinner format.

The Smoked Jalapeno Caesar ($5.50) almost knocked us off our bar stools. The day was hot, the room was warm, and the big salad was served spectacularly chilled, with a bold and spicy kick rarely found in a salad. "Whoa, Nellie!" we hollered, pausing momentarily to let the steam escape our ears before diving back in for more of this unusual and pleasing greenery.

"Po' Lil' Oysters" (three for $6.95) do a surprisingly nice job tipping the Jolly Roger hat to the southern favorite Oyster Po' Boys, last seen in these parts when Burkes was on Ballard Avenue. These little spheres showed off an unusual rosemary-kissed breading married to little oyster jewels, and each of the three small sandwiches was loaded with two oysters, nice tartar, and some crunch shredded white cabbage.

The King Salmon entr/e ($17.95), served with a tangy and fragrant rhubarb chutney, was a presentation-heavy dish with taste to match the gorgeous arrangement of the colorful plate. Cooked to perfection, the salmon was almost an iridescent orange, and carried a nice smoky flavor, as though it had been grilled over wood.

A side of onion rings ($4.95) stirred great promise with their mouth-watering description on the menu. Unusual for their smoked flavor, these thick and golden rings were stacked high enough to catch the eye of our fellow diners, and plenty of heads turned as they were set in front of us. We didn't even come near polishing them off, and this appetizer is perfect for the volume-conscious patron.

The Jolly Roger taproom does many things well, and one of them is their ability to bridge the gap between simple yet satisfying pub grub and more ambitious destination dishes like the salmon. This kind of culinary diversity is all too rare, as eateries battle to create a special niche for themselves. The Jolly Roger taproom's approach evidences a confident and unpretentious chef, not afraid to reach high, while not too proud to deliver solid tavern fare as well.

The obvious choice of beverage in a brew pub is beer, so of course we ordered white wine. With the hot weather, our chilled white wilted quickly in the heat, steering us back to where we should have been in the first place here, with a frosty, foamy pint of cask-conditioned IPA in one hand, and a fried oyster sandwich in the other.

Patricia Devine and Jim Anderson may be reached at bnteditor@robinsonnews.com