Which restaurants actually make your birthday special?

I love to set a mood for my birthday.

I love to go to my favorite places in the city and order a big fish with lots of sides, family style, or go to a spa all day and eat the Korean food on site.

Maybe even go to a winery way out of town in the gorge for lunch.

But one of my favorite picks, one that I think you would love too, is Needle and Thread in Capitol Hill.

It's a speakeasy that makes bespoke cocktails, the kind that you will splurge on.

The speakeasy is reservation only and password protected.

You pick up a phone, you say the password, and the vaulted door just swings open.

Once you climb up the stairs, you can sit in a number of their cozy little corners or at the bar, but the really fun part is how you order.

You can go like a streamlined route, name a spirit, give a descriptive word like juicy or citrusy or spicy, and the bartender will make you something absolutely wonderful.

Or you can play it up and make a request, like a creamsicle for adults or that deep breath when you finally reach the summit on a hike.

I heard one time that someone came in on their 21st birthday and asked for a cocktail that represented the moment you finally beat your dad in a board game.

That person ended up with leftover teen angst.

And so it was bitter.

It was sweet.

It was very beer forward.

I don't know.

It sounded like a better moment than a better cocktail.

So the idea with this is you could go with a friend, a small group, or book out the whole place.

I did that one year and got to collab on the cocktails, and I got to make up my own password.