Bloody Mary Review : Darby's Pub & Grill

Place: Darby's Pub & Grill

Location: 315 N. 5th Ave. Mpls., MN 55401

Day: Monday, January 30

Time: 5:10 p.m.

Temperature: Around 39 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

In a rather unusual location comes a rather fantastic find.

Not expecting too much I ventured with friends from work to this out of the way 'pub & grill' and discovered something ... well, unexpected. Fans of Darby's wont be disappointed by this review. In fact, it's probably something they already are aware of and have been trying to get others to try as well.

Now, by unusual location, I definitely am implying that it's off the beaten path. First you see the sign located just off 5th Avenue. Brightly lit, and pretty easy to identify. Two markers on each side of the alley point the way down towards the bars entrance.

The alley has strings of lights overhead, but with very little activity in the alley I wasn't sure if I was even going in the right direction. The signs pointed this way though, so I grabbed my sense of adventure and headed down the deserted alleyway.

At the end of the alley was this sign pointing the way onto a deck.

The train track side deck was hugely expansive, yet still as empty as the alleyway was, so the feeling of uneasiness was still on high alert. I can imagine that in the Spring and Summer this deck is probably full of people, but this is January, in Minnesota. The only outdoor people you might run into out here would have lit cigarettes in their hands. No smokers here today. Go figure. The view of the city from this deck, on the other hand, was amazing! I can see why they built the deck where the did, and the size they did.

And now for the blogs purpose, the Bloody Mary.

First the price. THREE DOLLARS! Seriously, just $3! Shouldn't expect too much from a $3 drink anywhere. The extras were minimal, with just a pickle skewer, an olive and a wedge of lime. My first bite of the pickle was an absolute joy. No idea where they get their pickles, or if I just hit them on a good day, but to tell you it had a flavor worth eating would be a major understatement. I've never cared much for olives, so let's just say that it was ... an olive. Perfect olive taste. Just an olive.

Then the first swig. Heavier on the spicy side, but not overwhelming. Good tomato flavor, nice mix, not watery, but not too thick. An excellent flavor of celery salt around the rim just added to the drinks enjoyable factor. The staff were ALL friendly and courteous. The french fries ( the only food item I ordered : also $3 oddly enough ) were crisp and delicious. Overall, I'd say that this is a place worth bringing friends and returning to. Good food, good drinks, friendly staff and an unexpected price. You just need to get over a fear of walking down a deserted alley. Call it an internal strength building exercise.

End results:

Location : A

Parking: B ( Street Metered Parking - but easy to find a space)

Bar/Restaurant Appearance: A

Staff: A+

Bloody Mary Appearance: A-

Bloody Mary Extras: B

Bloody Mary Itself: A

Price: A ( $3.00 + tax )

Bloody Mary Review: Joe's Garage

Place: Joe's Garage

Location: 1610 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, MN 55403

Day: Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Temperature: Around 22 degrees

Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor

Well, this blog entry probably isn't going to win me a lot of friends, but blogs are about opinions, and this one is mine. Joe's Garage has been a neatly tucked away bar/restaurant that I've enjoyed many times over the years. The food is an excellent fare with a good price. In warmer weather you can choose to sit out on the sidewalk patio, or venture up to their open air, rooftop patio area. The location is nicely tucked off the busy Hennepin Avenue, and right along Loring park, making for a quiet get-away when gathering with friends. Parking car be a pain in the butt on evenings, but daytime parking has never been a problem for myself. There's a nice separation of the bar and the restaurant, giving both types of patrons a pleasant experience. The staff is well trained in what they do and are just the right amount of friendly to make you want to return again and again.

Now for the bad news. The Bloody Mary. The price was a moderate $7.20, which is about average for a downtown bar. The bartender was polite and even went so far as to inquire if I would like a beer chaser. I accepted the offer. The extra's that garnished the drink were both plentiful as well as flavorful. The complete offering of which included a pickle, and onion, a banana pepper an olive and a wedge of lime. The salt lining the glass rim had an odd flavor to it, and not in a 'good' type of odd. The drink also had an odd flavor to it. I wouldn't describe it as having a good tomato flavor. It was high on the spicy end of the spectrum, and what it lacked in flavor it made up for in burn. It wasn't watery, but it wasn't thick either. In fact, it had a perfect consistency for a Bloody May, just not a perfect taste. It wasn't overwhelming in alcohol flavor, which is what makes it difficult for me to describe.

The beer had a good taste to it, but if it were a bottled beer and I walked in knowing it's name, I wouldn't order it over an MGD. All in all, based on this experience, I doubt I will ever be ordering a Bloody Mary here again. That's ok though because they do a fine job mixing my other drinks of choice and there food more than makes up for a single bad experience with a drink.

End results:

Location : A

Parking: B ( Street Metered Parking) - Free on Sunday's

Bar/Restaurant Appearance: B

Staff: A

Bloody Mary Appearance: B

Bloody Mary Extras: A

Bloody Mary Itself: D

Price: C ( $7.20 )