The rooftop Lamborghini’s gone, and so is the cheesy Club Lagoon. In its place: Highline, the new bar-that-happens-to-serve-vegan-food, brought to you by the owners of Georgetown’ slate Squid & Ink. There are many reasons to love Highline—here are a half dozen of them (along with one important caveat).
1. Highline knows what it is. First and foremost: “We’re a bar,” says bar manager Aaron Kempley. Not every vegan eatery serves secondhand smoke as an appetizer, but it’s perfect for Highline, where smokers perpetually gather on the staircase. The unspoken moral code of the bar’s core constituency of heavily tattooed-and-pierced vegan boozers and nicotine fiends: Do whatever the fuck you want to yourself, just leave animals out of it. This is a beautiful thing. So is the space, a humongous wide-open room with seating for dozens, a photo booth, and a free foosball table.
2. Killer location. Highline’s balcony has been Broadway’s best spot for people-watching since at least 1991, when it was attached to an artisan pizza joint. That this prime bit of voyeurs’ real estate is now the domain of vegan freaks is a triumph (and perhaps takes the sting out of the fact that the old Squid & Ink space is now a barbecue joint). But all this talk of what’s meat and what’s not does Highline-the-bar a disservice. You know what’s completely unaffected by the tenets of veganism? Booze—and on summer days, as afternoon turns into evening, there are few better places to sit and drink than the Highline patio (unless you get one of the tables directly above the smokers).
3. Some good food. The Highline menu is the product of a visionary vegan brain trust, made up of cooks with connections to some of Seattle’s most revered vegan eateries. (One Squid & Ink/Highline proprietor/chef also helped establish the Wayward Cafe; bar manager Kempley got his start making ginger beer and infused boozes at Cafe Flora.) Highline’s menu is packed with seitan, tempeh, and soy creations designed to replicate the greatest hits of pub grub. The Crazy Train sandwich ($8) features breaded soy chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, and ranch dressing on grilled bread; the TLT ($8) features tempeh bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo on grilled bread. Both are garishly delicious. Part of this is the quality of the vegetables (vegans care about things like good tomatoes and onions), but nothing can account for the hot, sloppy, comfort-foodiness other than vegan voodoo. The illusion-building of vegan food—placing this flavor next to that texture to create the desired meaty/creamy/cheesy effect—is a delicate art. (Excessive soy is as repugnant as undercooked pork.) But, as Kempley says, “We’ve all been doing it for a long time, and we’ve figured a lot of stuff out.” (One thing they haven’t figured out: the Chicken Mushroom à la King [$12], a heaping plate of goopy noodles, bland soy chunks, and beige gravy, inexplicably served with a side of toast.)
4. Stealth politics. Subconscious conversion is part of Highline’s master plan: Lure the masses in with fun and booze, then feed ’em food they’d never guess was vegan, in portions designed to obliterate the myth that vegan food can’t fill you up. “Mostly we just wanted a bar where vegans could order everything on the menu,” says Kempley. “But, yeah. Exposing people to vegan food is a big part of it.”
5. Cake-aroke. “It’s just what it sounds like,” says Kempley of Highline’s Tuesday-night event. “A karaoke night with vegan cake. We don’t normally have desserts—we’re a bar—but on Tuesday we have both vegan and gluten-free cake. Our karaoke selections lean towards metal—Megadeth, stuff like that.”
6. Live music. Highline has a good-sized stage and intends to use it. Kempley effuses: “A lot of us here are in bands, so we know a lot of bands, and we’ve got some big bands that are going to come play here—big enough that we’ve gotta wait till closer to the date to advertise.”
A Note About Grunginess: Highline is grungy and proud of it. Punk rock blasts continually, and depending on where you’re sitting, it’s either fun or punishing. The grunginess extends to the menu, both literally (lots of the menus have gunk on them) and figuratively (some menu items—the goopy à la King, the gritty seitan Philly Dip grinder—would be awesome if cooked on a VW engine at Burning Man, but don’t quite cut it in the real world). The aroma of your food may be overwhelmed by the scent of nearby diners, many of whom are clad entirely in black denim and likely consider a bit of reek a badge of honor. A glance into the kitchen revealed a worker with five-foot-long dreadlocks and no hairnet. Like it or leave: This is Highline, and it’s the best new bar that happens to serve vegan food in Seattle. 
I’ve been there twice. I forgot what I had the first time, but it was good enough to go back. The second time was a linguine dish which was excellent…except for the garlic bread which was excessively salty (Request to Highline: If you’re going to make garlic bread, use more actual garlic than garlic salt).
My roommate has gone back and said that the garlic bread was still salty. *wrinkles nose*
Otherwise, it’s a great space, though they need more street level advertising. It’s easy to forget that its there.
I went there because I heard the food was surprisingly good. I couldn’t find anything that didn’t contain soy and I have a soy allergy. So, I left hungry.
vegans suck
vegans suck better
“The unspoken moral code [is] … Do whatever the fuck you want to yourself, just leave animals out of it.”
By the way, why don’t you try our breaded soy chicken? Or maybe a BLT would better suit your fancy. No? How about the Chicken ala King? Not that either? Hmmmm, maybe the chef could fix you up a faux gras and tofu veal sandwich.
“The unspoken moral code [is] … Do whatever the fuck you want to yourself, just leave animals out of it.”
By the way, why don’t you try our breaded soy chicken? Or maybe a BLT would better suit your fancy. No? How about the Chicken ala King? Not that either? Hmmmm, maybe the chef could fix you up a faux gras and tofu veal sandwich.
Oh, for cryin’ out loud, kids. This place is fucking incredible! Send the stupid bread BACK to the kitchen and ask them to do it the way you WANT IT. Stop whining! Stand up and unwrinkle that nose and ask for NO GARLIC SALT. I guarantee they have “real garlic”. I’m 110 years old and you don’t know more than me.
“By the way, why don’t you try our breaded soy chicken? Or maybe a BLT would better suit your fancy. No? How about the Chicken ala King? Not that either? Hmmmm, maybe the chef could fix you up a faux gras and tofu veal sandwich.”
Hey, hey, hey…it didn’t say “do whatever the fuck you want to yourself, leave the animals AND non-animal things that might taste vaguely like animals out of it”.
So long as nothing that actually walked the Earth is killed, why does it matter if the food LOOKS like meat?
But where did the Lamborghini go???
Chicken A La King is traditionally served with toast, so it’s actually not an inexplicable choice.
I liked Highline but wish they had a few options that didn’t include faux dairy or meat for those of us who enjoy vegan dishes but also eat meat and can’t generally stomach the fake stuff. Having had some truly awful fake cheese and fake bacon, I wasn’t too excited to try them again.
While Highline’s bacon was better than the thin cardboard stuff Smart Food makes, it wasn’t awesome. The rest of the sandwich was yummy and could have stood on its own.
If they’d had stuff like a burrito (no fake cheese, just really good fillings & salsa), chili, a salad with vinaigrette instead of fake ranch or cesar, pasta with red sauce instead of fake cream, etc…I probably would’ve liked it more.
Is it family friendly or 21+? One of the annoying things about Squid and the Ink was the lack of a kids menu. Don’t vegans have kids too?
I don’t mind paying $10 a stab for what my kid is going to east, but watching 3/4 of the plate go into the trash seems too wasteful. At the same time, I want my kids to experiment with new things. Letting them pick over the menu empowers them to dare. Is it to much to ask to get half plates at 60% of the price? Or maybe a full priced plate of half and half?
@11 It’s 21+. It’s a bar.
Highline rocks. The food is great and ranges from super-bad-for-you junk food, to actually healthy and light fares in case you’re working on your man-tits. And for anyone who want’s to hate on vegans or criticize vegan food for being too “meat like”: come on down, have a beer (or soda), and quit bitching about shit that doesn’t fucking matter!
The lives of animals (including human) fucking matter.
“You know what’s completely unaffected by the tenets of veganism? Booze”
Um, wrong. You fail at journalism. Some reading material: http://www.barnivore.com/
@11 Wayward has a kids menu. Or just take home what the kid doesn’t eat. Why would you throw it away?
The only booze that’s affected by the veganism at the Highline are the Bloody Marys. They need to add some A1 in there since they don’t have Worcestershire sauce.
This place is awesome save for the hipster douchebags behind the bar. It doesn’t take 5 minutes to pour a PBR, get fucking real. And if you do take 5 minutes to pour a PBR, don’t give me a bunch of fucking attitude with my change.
the place is dirty, the music doesn’t change and sounds like heavy metal???, the food is vegan and they charge $8-$10 bucks for your drink. there are so many better options on the hill. i don’t understand this place, unless it was relocated to detroit…in which case the drinks would be much much cheaper.
I agree with #10. Why does vegan food have to have fake meat in it? Why not just use lots of fresh vegetable, beans, fruits, and breads instead? Think about vegan Indian or Thai food, which uses spices and natural flavors to create a delicious menu. Fake meat is as processed as a chicken mcnugget, and about as appealing.
great another pretentious “punk” bar that smells like dreads and trust funds. no thanks
@14 = Good info, unnecessarily snotty attitude.
@15 – There is actually a vegan worchestershire. It has a wizard on the bottle. It can be found at coop groceries…so no excuse for them to not have it. 🙂
I find the title of this article ironic since every dollar we as consumers spend supports a vast web of commercial industry that is responsible for an inconceivable amount of animal death. (Look at the gulf coast.) It’s impossible to leave the animals out of it, whether you choose to eat them or not.
@20: seconded.
and food aside, they have some of the stiffest drinks on the hill right now–worth it just for that.
Fret not David Schmader (on the moving in of the BBQ joint)! Roro BBQ is the only BBQ place in town that has veggie stuff. I’m veggie and go to the one on Stone Way all the time. BBQ Portobello sandwich, tons of great sides, and fresh watermelon fizz!
i got mad at them because i ordered a duchesse de bourgogne (my favorite) but the bartender provided me a foamy glass with next-to-flat beer. he didn’t even fill it up to the goddamn line on the glass but charged me $1 more than it would cost at stumbling monk down the street. if you’re going to have belgian beer on tap, do it right or give me a fucking bottle and let me pour it myself.
i didn’t try much of their food, but their bbq nuggets are bland, slimy, and way overpriced. my friend’s ceasar salad looked pretty much like a plate of lettuce. cooking is one of my hobbies, i’m a vegetarian, and a lot of my meals are made without animal products. it’s really not that difficult to make vegan food without all the fake meats, so i really don’t understand their focus on it.
I admire veganism. Eating from the bottom of the food chain is far more sustainable, among other things.
I eat meat about as often as I don’t, and reaily admit that I’m a hypocrite: if I had to kill each animal I ate, I’d sure as hell eat less of them, and appreciate them much more when I did.
The problem for me is that I lack the imagination to become a vegan on my own. Giving up meat is one thing, but a life also absent dairy and eggs sounds bleak.
Maybe a place like Highline can show me how it’s done.
@25: My guess is they’re trying to imitate typical pub food, which is really meat-heavy. Without some form of chewy, chunky protein it probably wouldn’t feel substantial enough to satisfy a bar crowd.
So it is 21+? Piss. Well 10 more months till I can taste the deliciousness.
Some of us like meat, but don’t eat it on ethical grounds.
Why is that hard to understand? Meat tastes good.
To all those asking for a non-fake-meat option at Highline: try the Garboose. It’s basically a cold salad sandwich, made with chickpeas, lettuce, celery, etc, that tastes like a summer picnic. Aside from the aftertaste you wouldn’t even know it had garbanzo beans in it.
@25
that’s partially my fault. the kegs of Duchesse that my work (I work for a distributor) has been getting from Belgium come in shitty tin kegs that need to be re-carbonated when tapped. sometimes it doesn’t work out as well as it should. fear not! starting this month, the importer is switching back to quality draft dispensers. come back in a few weeks and that should be ironed out.
and for God’s sake, if they don’t fill the fucking glass up to the line send it back and say something. I don’t see what’s so complicated about that. if you’re paying $6 for a glass of beer I think you’re allowed a little wiggle room with how its poured.
@29 Yep, like me. I like the taste, smell, etc. of meat. I don’t even have a problem with the idea of eating meat, just the way the animals are raised and processed. This does seem impossible for most people to understand.
Tried it for the first time last night. Food was GREAT. Tables were disgusting. It’s sad that I’ve come to expect than vegan restaurants around the city will be grimey. It seems like it might be difficult for a vegan restaurant to remain operational in a spot that large, let alone having the health department on them about nasty, grimey tables among multiple other healthcode violations.
I’ll go back, for sure, but it would be easier to make vegan cuisine more attractive and enticing were it not associated with crustiness, grime, and health code violations.
My BBQ “Chicken” Sandwich was SO GOOD! Comfort food, to the max, wouldn’t have even known it was vegan if they hadn’t made it abundantly clear (though I am usually pretty stoned)