| Boogie Days & Boogie Nights
By
Tara Nelson
The weather might be cold but bar and restaurant owners in the Mt. Baker foothills are gearing up for one of their busiest seasons.
The following is a list of foothill hotspots to hit after a day of playing in the snow for good music and beer or just to thaw those numb fingers and toes.
Graham’s Restaurant
Glacier
360/599-1964
The Glacier cultural epicenter that is Graham’s Restaurant has live music a couple of nights a week. Recent shows have included the Bellingham bluegrass band Feed & Seed. The Shiftless Rounders and Dig the Particulars, and Graham's house band Bent Grass, which plays every other Thursday. Bentgrass will soon be celebrating their 150th show. But the real reason to visit Graham’s is the great food (try the Phish Tacos or the organic salad greens with their house-made hemp dressing for starters), pool table and microbrews on tap, or just to warm up next to the raging inferno that is their blazing cast-iron wood stove.
The following shows are scheduled for December and January:
Thursday, Dec. 13: Glacier string band Bent Grass. Free.
Saturday, Dec. 22: Anacortes’ eclectic bluegrass band Spoonshine. $5.
Thursday, Dec. 27: Glacier-based house string band Bent Grass. Free.
Saturday, Dec. 29: Ween cover band Tender Situation. $5.
Saturday, Jan. 5: The Loyal Sinners (described as Bob Dylan meets Mark Knopfler). Admission is $5.
All shows are 21 years of age or older and start at 9 p.m. Graham’s is open for their winter dinner hours from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and for lunch on weekends from noon to 9 p.m. The bar is open until the last person leaves.
Check www.grahamsrestaurant.com for possible updates.
Holy Smoke Tavern
8794 Kendall Road
Sumas
360/ 988-8333
Once a Catholic church, now a nationally known bar popular with bikers, the Holy Smoke Tavern also offers live country and blues music during designated weekend nights. Owner Steve Hovander, owner of the famed Chandelier restaurant and lodge in Glacier, bought the tavern from Chuck Smith in February 2006, remodeling the 2,740-square foot building to install new furniture, kitchen equipment, interior paint and an improved dinner menu.
Call for music schedule updates.
The Holy Smoke Tavern is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Joowana
Maple Falls
360/599-9800
Formerly Casa 542, Casa Que Pasa’s satellite restaurant, this little restaurant in Maple Falls offers healthy fare for a more than fair price.
Owner and chef Kelly Jo Legaz is a life-long snowboarder and a legend in and of herself among the locals here. Try the chicken taco salad that comes piled with crunchy cabbage, sour cream, pico de gallo and a variety of fresh vegetables atop seasoned chicken and black beans.
On weekends, the restaurant and bar is a popular hangout for locals and visitors and has hosted such local bands as The All-Nighters, Captain Seahorse’s Revenge Upon Humanity, The Jeb, Bent Grass, and Old Man Winter.
Bartender Kris Ley said local bands will often stop by unexpectedly and play a show.
“Sometimes people just come in and set up,” he said. “We also have bon fires, weather permitting, of course.”
Joowana is open daily from 4 p.m. to closing and from 6 a.m. to closing on weekends. Call for music updates.
Frosty Inn
Maple Falls
360/599-2594
This long-time restaurant favorite came under new management October 1. New menu items include grilled chicken Caesar wraps, scallops and chicken cordon bleu. Also burgers, pizza, steak, prime rib and pasta dishes. By all accounts, the quality is excellent.
The Frosty Inn is located on Mt. Baker Highway (SR 543) in Maple Falls and can be reached by calling 360/599-2594. Call for event updates.
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