By Jim Duncan CVFDude@aol.com
Uncommon bars, uncommon bar foods
Beer drinking has shaped American food history since the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, instead of Virginia, because they’d run out of ale. Uniquely American foods, from porterhouse steaks to Buffalo wings, have been invented in taverns. Today bar food is an industry, fueled by sports bar growth and the beer drinker’s unbridled desire to deep-fry everything edible. Some places, like the Chicken Coop, preview the latest industrial products seeking to become the next jalapeno popper. For the most part though, bar food is boringly similar — frozen pizza, chips and dips, heavily breaded fried things and grilled sandwiches. So hoping to find something different, I visited two bars that have carved unique niches in the local scene.
If Fatboyz were a TV show it would be a hybrid of “Sons of Anarchy” and “Modern Family.” This suburban biker bar has a full kitchen that caters to families with daily lunch and dinner specials (kids eat free on Tuesday) plus more on Bike Nights. That kitchen mixes typical fare with invention: A predictable spinach-artichoke dip was served with focaccia instead of chips. Good hot wings could be ordered with homemade sauces on the side (mild, hot, BBQ, Asian Sweet Chili, house, ranch or blue cheese.) Cheese sticks and cream cheese poppers will not disappoint, or surprise anyone. Hog wings, a dish that has somehow not yet become a pork state icon, is the bar’s attention grabber. Pork was braised on the bone and finished in a deep fryer, producing a crisp yet tender treat similar to authentic carnitas.
Homemade side dishes included a subtle pasta salad, meaty baked beans and tangy coleslaw. Onion rings were freshly breaded. Fried pickles and fried sweet corn nuggets were not, but delivered a taste of the South. Waffle fries were a textural change from rectangular expectations. A flavorless buffalo burger disappointed especially compared to a Graziano’s Italian sausage sandwich. A French dip was served on a fresh Rotella’s bun with a decent au jus. Homemade chili, a short menu of generous Mexican dishes, and a $4 kid’s menu kept the waiters busy. Fatboyz star attraction though is a line of original homemade cheesecakes that featured brown sugar crusts and a very moist crumb in various flavors.
Margarita’s, the dancing queen among local clubs, includes an attached 60-seat café with the absolute latest in big screen, HD sports bar technology, reserved mostly for NFL and soccer (World Cup fans won’t find a more fervent venue in the metro). Music videos rocked during lunch, louder than anyplace in town, yet so acoustically excellent I wasn’t the least bothered. The restaurant changed hands recently and features an all-new menu of 50 seafood dishes and five burgers.
An octopus cocktail had too soft a texture, as if brined or frozen too long before being used. Other seafood was better in a huge, flavorful bowl of “siete mares” which also included mussels, shrimp, crab claws and oysters, with tomato shrimp broth. Huachinango (red snapper) was treated four ways, including a classical garlic crusted whole fish. Mine was large enough to hang over both edges of 10-inch plate, fried perfectly golden and moist to the bone. It was served with mound of rice, peas and corn, plus a large iceberg and tomato salad with cukes and onion slices. Good as that was, my favorite dishes were teaser servings of homemade salsas (red and green) plus freshly prepared ceviches (shrimp and squid) that came with hot chips.
Side Dishes
Farm-to-fork waiter Jennie Smith moved from Le Jardin to 801 Steak & Chop… Max Wellman is in town for the summer with free Wednesday shows at Chuck’s… Chef Dave Mafara moved from Grand Piano Bistro to Ciao. CV
Caption: Garlic crusted huachinango from the new all seafood and burger menu at Margarita’s, 2060 94th St., Clive. Hours are Monday through Friday, 11 to 2 a.m., Saturday, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m.
Fatboyz Saloon & Grill, 200 Gateway Drive, Grimes. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
