It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere.
That saying was my rationale as I studied the speciality cocktail menu at 2 o’clock in the afternoon at a bar in Lynnwood.
Usually, when my husband Max and I are on those busy Saturday errand marathons we duck into a fast-food joint to grab something to eat.
While clogging along 44th Avenue West across from Fred Meyer I saw the sign for Sound Check Bar &Grill.
Why not go to a pub for some grub?
A Herald reader named Becky had suggested a dining review on the Sound Check, praising the food, the owners, the music, everything.
“I promise you won’t be disappointed that you went,” Becky wrote.
I love reader suggestions. Readers are the best eyes, ears and mouths for story ideas.
“Turn here,” I told Max, who looked at me warily as we rounded the corner of a shopping plaza with Grocery Outlet, Sports Authority, Old Country Buffet and the closed CompUSA. The bar is tucked on the side.
We’d planned to meet up with our daughter so I texted her to join us there.
Just walking in the door of the Sound Check already made me want to come back again — at night. The spacious concrete-floored bar has a big stage area for live music and dancing, with a side room with a pool table and dart machines.
It looked like a superfun place to come after dark. It was fun in the day, too, with flat screen TVs lit up all over and upbeat canned music.
At Max’s urging, we sat by a TV with a baseball game on. A few other diners were scattered in the vast table setup, which seemed like it could hold quite a crowd without feeling crowded.
The friendly waitress mentioned specials that included a meatball sub and ginger lemonade. Max went for both.
He always orders lemonade, so that was a no-brainer. Then he kept going on about how good it was and told me I had to taste it. I don’t really care for lemonade but he insisted I try it … and then he insisted I stop drinking it. He was right. It was delicious.
He didn’t know it had alcohol in it until I told him we were in a bar and a drink special meant it wasn’t kiddie pop. He didn’t believe me until the waitress confirmed it.
I ordered the Pomegranate Thigh High vodka cocktail ($8) from the specialty drink menu. It was a toss up between that and the Raspberry Panty Drop vodka drink and 6-String-A-Rita with auza hornitos reposado tequila.
About that time our daughter arrived and shook her head at her parents getting plastered early in the afternoon.
There were vegetarian choices for her, such as a black bean burger ($10) with homemade pickles and an apple pecan salad ($9) with baby spinach, granny smith apples, candied pecans and pickled red onion.
The menu has sandwiches such as French dip, Cuban and pulled pork. Pasta choices abound. Appetizers include soft pretzels with dipping sauces ($8); basket of fried Beecher’s cheese curds and jalapeno bottlecaps ($8); and baked portabellos ($7).
What spoke to me was the 5 Alarm Burger ($13) with black-pepper bacon, jalapenos, spicy fried onions, pepper jack cheese and sriracha aioli.
My burger arrived with a steak knife jabbed in it. It was a needed weapon to divide and conquer. The sandwich stood about 8-inches high. I’m not making that up. It had six strips of bacon on it.
Everything about the burger and toppings was fantastic. It was like a five-course meal packed between a bun.
The meatball sub and burger both came with pub fries that were hot and tasty, with little cups of ketchup for dipping.
Becky, you were so right about this place. I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
I just hope owners Mike and Soni Murray can keep it open. Earlier this week, they launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $78,000. By mid-week, they’d received more than $8,000 in pledges.
The couple, who live in Bothell, sunk much time and money into Sound Check, which opened last December.
“We are rookie bar and restaurant owners,” Mike told me. “We did a major remodel inside to build the stage for music. It took 9½ months to complete the transformation.”
Mike, whose background is in finance, lost his job in a corporate restructuring and used the severance package to open Sound Check.
“I never dreamed I’d be doing this,” he said.
But it made sense. He’s a guitarist in Platinum Spandex, a 1980s hair metal band. He’s known as “Mikey Spandex” on stage and off.
Guess that makes him a cool dad to his three teen daughters, one who works at Sound Check. It’s a family friendly place until later at night when the live music action starts, and the 30-to-60-year-old crowd takes over.
Lynnwood has a place in the couple’s heart.
“We met when we were working together in the Mr. Kleen Car Wash across the street 30 years ago,” Mike said. “Our lives have come full circle. We lived our lives elsewhere and we came back here to start a business.”
Sound Check Bar &Grill
19720 44th Ave. W, Lynnwood; 425-582-8808; www.facebook.com/SoundCheckBnG.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Alcohol: Craft cocktails drinks and full bar
Happy Hour: 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
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