BUMBERSHOOT

Here is your dining and imbibing guide for Bumbershoot — from where to grab a quick bite before Tony Bennett takes the stage to where to avoid the crowd after the Big Sean concert lets out.

Sure, your usual fair vendors will be on hand, about 30 booths spread across the concert grounds. But if you tire of elephant ears and curly fries, we can remedy that. It requires nothing more strenuous than turning around the corner to Mercer Street or crossing the street, where Queen Anne bars await.

Here are some of the bars and restaurants within a five- to 15-minute walk from Bumbershoot.

Cheap cocktails

$4 drinks on Sunday and Monday at Solo, a low-key bar and art gallery with comfy couches — and a good place to dial it down a notch. 200 Roy St.; www.solo-bar.com.

Good beer

T.S. McHugh's Irish Pub, 21 Mercer St., with its 21 beers on tap, should be packed. But around the corner is a recently opened craft-beer joint with lots of IPAs but not the crowd: Red Papaya Ales & Spirits, 530 First Ave. N.; www.redpapayaales.com, www.tsmchughs.com.

Where the party's at

Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge, 601 Queen Anne Ave. N., will be the standing-room-only bar this weekend, especially during happy hour (4 p.m.-6 p.m. and again from 10 p.m.-1 a.m.), where the New Orleans-inspired grub is cheap. And those who can't get in will hop over to Peso's Kitchen & Lounge, 605 Queen Anne Ave. N., whose Tex-Mex happy hour is just as generous; pesoskitchen.com, toulousepetit.com.

Cheap bar food

Folks will be chasing happy hour. But you don't need to check your watch at Racha Noodle House and Thai Cuisine, 23 Mercer St., where appetizers are half-off at all hours. Oskar's Kitchen, 621 Queen Anne Ave. N., serves some reasonably priced sandwiches (around $6 to $8 with sides of fries). Cozy up at the bar with a refreshing pint of Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, and you just might see the bar owner, former Sonics great Shawn Kemp; www.rachaseattle.com, www.oskarskitchen.com.

Something new

For Bumbershoot veterans who have done it all, there's the new craft-cocktail bar The Tin Lizzie Lounge inside The MarQueen Hotel. Frog legs and oxtail soup? Around the corner, Cloves Seattle, 12 Mercer St., offers a taste of Indonesia. EMP now features POP Kitchen + Bar, 325 Fifth Ave. N., serving sandwiches and mac and cheese. At the foot of the Space Needle is The Collections Café inside Chihuly Garden and Glass; tinlizzielounge.com, www.clovesseattle.com,www.empmuseum.org, www.chihulygardenandglass.com.

Away from

the madhouse

If it rains, the bars will be packed with folks waiting it out in between acts. In the evening, you can avoid the craziness at The Sitting Room, sipping on a Chartreuse Cocktail (the best cocktail in Lower Queen Anne), a crisp, herbaceous gin concoction with some strong herbal green liqueur tamed with a muddled lemon and thyme. 108 W. Roy St.; www.the-sitting-room.com.

Cheap food on the run

The line will be long for Dick's, 500 Queen Anne Ave., especially with the rush of revelers from "Bumbershoot After Dark." The burger joint is the place to be for the late-night munchies, with burgers served until 2 a.m. Nearby Pagliacci Pizza, 550 Queen Anne Ave., will be less of a zoo but open only until midnight on Saturday; www.pagliacci.com.

Late-night grub

If you don't want to deal with the lines at Dick's, Laredos Grill will serve tacos and Mexican food until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. 555 Aloha St., #100; laredosgrill.com.

All-you-can-eat fries

Order a burger or sandwich at New York Pizza & Bar, 500 Mercer St., and it comes with all the fries you can stuff your face with. Just remember not to overdo it, or you'll be laid out on the lawn, comatose; www.newyorkpizzaandbar.com.

Dinner (and by 'dinner,'

we mean with utensils)

Crow, 823 Fifth Ave., does some stellar interpretations of comfort food, from lasagna to pan-roasted chicken wrapped in prosciutto for under $20. Tilikum Place Café is another causal dining spot where the entrees such as pork chop come in big portions and won't bust your budget. 407 Cedar St.; www.tilikumplacecafe.com,www.eatatcrow.com.

Marinepolis Sushi Land

vs. Genki Sushi

The devotees swear by Sushi Land, 803 Fifth Ave. N., but you might not have a choice since the wait for this cheap, conveyor-belt sushi joint is often long. Genki, 500 Mercer St, is about two blocks away if you can't get in to Sushi Land. www.sushilandusa.com, www.genkisushiusa.com.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com.