There's something about a place in Clayton insisting: don't call me a wine bar, I'm a wine dive…read more Okay. We see you. You're a wine bar. Nothing divey about a hip cocktail or hip deviled eggs -- these are sophisticated modern twists, the exact move wine bars make and dives don't. A chalkboard of specials and weathered seating gesture at the aesthetic; the rest of the room knows. Kendall Roy of restaurants -- comes from privilege, wants badly to be of the people. It's a bit, and mostly the kitchen and bar back it up. Nevertheless, we arrived to a full room, hour wait for a table, but we fortunately arrived to snag the last first come patio table.
The bar was also full, by the way, which felt neighborhood like, people clearly like this place during happy hour.
The old fashioned makes the case: Old Grand-Dad Bonded, pickled rye, cognac, butterscotch bitters. Two whiskeys and a bitter you won't find at an actual dive. Rich, a little sweet.
The harissa deviled eggs keep going -- fried shallots, roasted red peppers, cilantro, marinated tomato jam. You know, just like the old dive with the $1 PBR.Deviled eggs for people that don't like deviled eggs. However, we love deviled eggs...foreshadowing.
The short ribs are the headline -- fall-apart tender over whipped potatoes substantial enough to stand up to the meat, gravy spot on. Eats like a perfectly executed roast dinner. The brie burger is the sneaky second hit, genuinely decadent, bacon with the cheese melting into the beef.
The service was good and pleasant and that felt more like dive-friendly, where you might expect a wine "bar" to be snooty or full of themselves.
4.4 Stars
Picking Nits: hip deviled eggs that reach past what they can hold. Tomato jelly on top is a lot going on, in the wrong way, and the egg disappears under it. These are trying to be hip deviled eggs more than they're trying to be good deviled eggs. Every ambitious kitchen has one plate that tries too hard; this appears to be one. A 5 needs those eggs landing, in the same way the entrees excelled.
Regardless, we'll be back.