"You don’t want to test out your Johnny Cash repertoire in a room full of onlookers and their watery vodka sodas, but you don’t want to perform in an empty bar, either. Hattie’s Hat in Ballard is the happy medium. This Ballard diner’s Thursday karaoke nights are energetic enough for a crowd to cheer you on, but not so packed that it’d be humiliating to croak a note in “Ring Of Fire.” You could also simply sit there to eat a chicken-fried steak with no intention of participating in musical activities at all. Speaking of chicken-fried steak, we’d say to come back for weekend brunch, but it’s not great, so you can safely skip that." - aimee rizzo
