I am pleased to announce that the Pup Room inside the Poodle Dog in Fife has been granted Most Favored Bar status by the Weekly Volcano staff. “This is my new favorite bar!” Suzy Stump pronounced after showing up late with her designated-driver boyfriend in tow and rejuvenating a crowd that had whittled down to a handful before last call at 10 p.m. She based her “new favorite” designation solely on the size of her tab, which was minuscule in light of how many Crown and Cokes she had.

Beginning as a rail car in 1933 and set on a foundation in the ’50s, the Poodle Dog is where Fife conducts business — what business is none of your business.  The Poodle Dog’s current bar, the Pup Room, was added in the ’60s complete with fireplace, wooden gargoyle sconces, and a jukebox that Natasha controls when in the house. Louis Armstrong and Glen Miller have played in this lounge. Kathy, who has been tending bar there for 22 years, treats the Weekly Volcano well, keeping our drunks happy and the other drunks away, except last Friday when Natasha had to put a tipsy mountain of a man in his place as the two traded lyrics to Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One More Reason.”
Me?  I dig the retro vibe, generous pours and the fact that Kathy always reminds me to put my credit card back into my wallet and my wallet back into my pocket after signing the bill.  Nice.

[The Pup Room at the Poodle Dog, 1522 54th Ave. E., Fife, 253.922.6161]