Art In Bars

So, as previously stated, I decided to take my partner out to Varga Bar to see how it fared in terms of a cozy date night dinner, rather than afternoon drinks, and it was a wise decision. Firstly, HOOKS UNDER THE BAR!!!¬† Yes, three exclamation points. They’ve¬† added hooks for my purse. I’m telling you, it’s the details. AND according to the menu they are now doing a happy hour. (Mon-Fri, 4-6 , $2 cans, $4 select drafts, $5 Margaritas and Fresh Hard Strawberry Lemonade, which I want to try, like, now.) Mayhaps I can talk someone other than Mike to doing an afternoon happy hour there with me. Maybe someone who like me, carries a purse.

My partner does not care to explore too much (opposites attract) but I was able to convince him to walk a whole 11 blocks to¬† try something new (Varga) and he was rather pleased once there. It was a temperate evening and the windows were all open. We sat at an inside table at an open window/door. He noted the bare-feeling walls as well and thought the pin ups should be “like, plastered everywhere” to push the theme. (He doesn’t read the AiB blog even though he claims to.) He selected the Elysian IPA, I the Six Point Apollo, and we ordered dinner. I still think the beers trend pricey, but you can’t knock the wide, constantly changing selection, or the comparatively cheap food one pairs with it.

We started with the pomegranate chili confit wings. The confit was a nice texture, creating fall off the bone meat, but the glaze was disappointing. As the partner astutely noted, pomegranate in itself is a rather subtle and mild flavor. He thought there needed to be more salt, I thought the sweetness should be upped, we’re probably both right. The blue cheese dip was weridly seperating, but there was the right amount of crisp fresh celery to accompany the wings. We moved on to beers nos. 2, Dogfish Aprihop for me to pair with the roast pork sandwich, Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye for him and his steak sandwich. The sandwiches were good. Sloppy, succulent, fairly priced and well proportioned.

Each meal came with fries that I can’t quite get a hold of. They’re alright, I’m just not crazy about them. They’re my favorite cut, slender with skins on, and tossed with both salt and pepper, but weirdly devoid of distinct texture or prominent flavor. I can’t tell if they’re pre-bought or cut on premise, but I’m fairly sure they’re only fried once, and lightly, so there isn’t much crisp to the exterior, nor an interesting lightness to the insides. Just, potato. At least they’re not soggy, or heaven forbid those thick limpid slabs of wasted potential, steak fries. Provided for said fries were house-made mustard and ketchup. The mustard is what my family defines as ‘sinus clearing’ in potantcy, liquid smooth, and nearly bitter in its heat. The ketchup is more akin to a barbeque sauce and is delicious, sweet and smokey, also very liquid in texture. The partner ate all of it on my plate.

For my second visit in as many weeks, I was surprised to see how many food menu changes there have been already (any menu you can currently find online is half out of date), as well as the rapid pace in which new beers are brought in (there were at least 7 beers that weren’t there last time.) All and all, I’m fairly sure Varga won’t be making it onto my cocktail happy hour rotation, but with its constantly updating menu of foods and beers, it is a nice new option for the many late night bar dinners the partner and I often indulge in.