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You know it’s a quintessential hometown Ballard bar when they neglect to have an official Web site domain. The MySpace page and blog postings are meager social stabs for The Tin Hat Bar and Grill on 65th Street and they are perfectly content with that.

The digs itself are a call to the locals – a reminder that an elderly man is allowed to stumble into the bar, order a tall can of Rainier and stare longingly at high school girls from “Grease” sing on the muted TV propped in the ceiling corner. He does so with serenity, not feeling sad and pathetic as if he were to have done the same at any Belltown hotspot. He is home.

And thus, a Ballard bar The Tin Hat does make.

Jim Morrison screams about an LA woman from the jukebox as a couple gropes each other across the rock-hard seats of the orange booths, likely induced by a sign reading: “HOT ASS” nailed to the ceiling. The abstract decor of the bar and grill give your eyes something to distract you from the grumbling of your stomach as you yearn for whatever smells so fatty-amazing from the tiny kitchen that sits next to the bar.

The Tin Hat welcomes all with its classic tavern aesthetic cross a modern spin – Marvel would be proud as the menus are lined with sci-fi comic novel sketches depicting their simple yet tasty menu in an engaging manner to the “Iron Man” generation that populate the dive bar.

There is no trendy vibe here and the bartender could care less whether you like his mustache or his cocktails but you’ll get your food fast, your beer cold and your bill cheap. Just how you like your women.

In the end it comes down to one thing – you can get fish n’chips and a couple pints of Manny’s without dumping out too much of your gas money. A high-ranking meal isn’t in the stars for you but with deep-fried nutrition and open-to-close Sunday Happy Hour, you can’t go wrong here.

The Tin Hat is what it is and isn’t trying to be anything it’s not. A standard Ballard attitude that fits just right yet stands very well on its own and isn’t in need of help from an oil can.