# favorite bar foods



## kpollard_2000 (Sep 10, 2000)

We're working on a menu for our bar. What are some of your all time favorites. It's a midpriced, midwestern bar. The local favorites are buffalo wings, nachos etc. Have you tried anything different lately that stands out.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Sweet potato chips with blue cheese dip
Fried raviolis are HUGE here and actually pretty good...(beef filling breaded and deep fried served with marinara)
Calamari with lime aioli
This is really going over the edge with Fat Fried battered quiche
edames (just steamed)
Bourbon glazed chicken bites
cheese straws 
I always adored a great cheese and meat/fruit
plate with a glass of wine.
tiropete and spanokopita
always spinach dip
oozy melted brie with fruit


----------



## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

What? No pickled pigs' feet and pickled eggs and pickled sausages?? (THAT'S how long it's been since I hung out in a bar....). Wings and various forms of fried onions are big around here... pretty traditional territory.


----------



## kpollard_2000 (Sep 10, 2000)

One of my favorites are fried pita chips w/ parmesan and a ranch-jalepeno dip. Another favorite is shrooms....fried mushrooms w/ a cream cheese-ranch filling.....so where did your name come from shroomgirl.


----------



## david jones (Jan 15, 2000)

The best freebie I've had is Tony Mantuano's rosemary potato chips at Tuttaposto and Mantuano's.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Wild Things not domesticated....noramally wild shrooms are not stuffed and fried. Though I do know a guy that finds HUGE (in size and haul) morels that he insists on battering and frying every Winter Picnic....really messes them up.....real culinary crime.
There is a bar that also serves beet chips...supposed to be good with beer.


----------



## cookm (Aug 8, 2000)

Wow, I am really plain. I like a good salsa and chip. Hmmm, springrolls. I like hot and spicy shrimp. Sausages.


----------



## bevreview steve (Jan 11, 2000)

I agree, salsa and chips are the way to go... nice spicy salsa!


----------



## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

At the brewery I was at we used to do a mixed bowl of veg chips (boniato root, malanga, beet, and sweet potato) served with a roasted red pepper stout dip. Huge seller.


----------



## live_to_cook (Aug 23, 2000)

If you're dealing with Midwest palates you want meat, and if you're doing bar food, skewers are the way to go. Use the "right names" for the skewers or not, it won't matter to people as long as they like it and order another.

Beef and/or pork chunks in olive oil, red wine, garlic, rosemary, oregano, salt & pepper etc. (souvlaki)

Chicken in the above minus the red wine, add a little lemon juice (chicken souvlaki)

Chicken (thigh is best) in coconut milk, ginger, garlic, lime juice, curry powder, cilantro, etc. (sate)

Serve 'em with the right dipping sauce --(tzaziki, garlic-cucumber-yogurt-dill with the souvlaki; peanut sauce, ground-roast-peanut-coconut-milk-etc. for the sate) --

or, just something generically nice (a little fresh cut salsa with or without fresh papaya)

good honest bar food cause you can just whip out the skewers when you need 'em. nibblers who don't want a steak or a chicken basket will go for a skewer i bet. do this right and they'll beg you for more.

*sigh* i have a skewer fixation, it's true. it's because worked with a church group to raise money this summer, sold $30,000 of souvlaki in a week with a volunteer crew. people just go nuts for a proper skewer.

[This message has been edited by Live_to_cook (edited September 13, 2000).]


----------



## cookm (Aug 8, 2000)

Yeah, I have this friend who always makes skewers for every single potluck dinner party. Doesn't matter what the theme is, those d**n skewers are always there!


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

break off the sharp tips or the drunks will poke their eyes out....


----------



## live_to_cook (Aug 23, 2000)

Good point shroomgirl. Better yet, yank the stick and settle the goods down on a nice toasty round of cushy pita bread, or bit of jasmine rice for the sate...


----------



## lynne (Oct 6, 2001)

I have to say I've gotten into nachos with a twist, there was a place here that did a really light chip with smoked salmon, chipotle cream cheese and the standard salmon toppings. Yummy and much lighter than your standard nacho.

Again, wings are good, but how 'bout something different than your standard hotwing? A tandoori spiced or oriental stcky wing or a parmesan garlic? People have gotten too focused on the "it has to be hot!" thing and there's not alot at your average restaurant to satisfy . So use your basics but accompany them with something a little calmer. There's a whole bunch of people out there that love food, love flavour and can't "stomach" the heat! (Bad I know, but I couldn't resist. Just look at the TV for one evening, you are inundated with ads for gastric reflux, heartburn upset stomachs, pepsid, tums...


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Really good onion rings...vidalla, mahi, 1016 whatever with a light buttermilk batter and blue cheese dressing (Harvest restaurant)
does a good job with those here.

Boudin blanc steamed....boy I sure miss a good boudin.


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

We make our own BBQ potato chips. Fry the chips then sprinkle them with our own BBQ spice. Best potato chips I have ever had. How about little empanadas or taquitos? Also check out the last year of Food Arts. They have run a number of articles on bar food recently.

Shroomgirl, I love fried morels! But the only way to fry them is seasoned, dredged in flour, and pan-fried in bacon fat. Try it, it's great!


----------



## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

This topic has been moved to the Inside Scoop as it seems to be a better place for it.

------------------
Thanks,

Nicko
[email protected]


----------



## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

Bangers and Mashed!


----------



## cookm (Aug 8, 2000)

Hey, shroomgirl, Enlighten me. What is 1016?
Thanks.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Texas sweet onions....they are huge and that is the # designated when they were developed.
Texas 1016 like walla walla or vidalia


----------



## chefjohnpaul (Mar 9, 2000)

We do artichoke hearts stuffed with pepperjack then breaded, fried, and served with a lime/cilantro aioli. Can't take it off the menu. Also crabcakes go well at the bar.


----------



## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

If anybody is interested, in this week's Restaurant Business Magazine, there is an article about the new trends in bar food (page 83).
Some highlights:
Roasted sardines, lemon aioli and dill
Brushetta
Fennel Crusted calamari
Pepper filled with shrimp and crab
Homemade potato chips with bleu cheese
Rice ball with peas and provolone (ehh??)
Sweet corn flan
Grilled eggplant with spinach
...anyhow, you get the idea.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Pretty funky list ....what do you drink with eggplant and spinach or corn custard was it.......Lager just doesn't go that far.....
Who comes up with this stuff and why do they have to be weird about it?


----------



## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

I think sometimes, agree with me or not, that A LOT of cooking is done for the sake of being different.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Jim I think your right it's like guess we NEED to do something different this year lets eat kohlrabi and snails Hey we can even serve it at the bar......


----------



## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

Shroomy,
Might make for an interesting topic on its own... "Innovation versus Insanity" or "Trendy versus Tradition".









[This message has been edited by Jim (edited September 28, 2000).]


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Hey! I thought we were all artists. Who cares if anyone likes the combinations we come up with as long as it satsifies our creative urges. Charlie doesn't care so why should we?


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

LOL Pete there are always going to be shock guys (either they need shock therapy or they are shooting to just shock you cause they don't have finesse) and then there are others artists if you will that have some method to the madness and actually think out what they are doing.....it's like any art it's in the eye of the beholder.....but peers are the best(?) critics.


----------



## chefjohnpaul (Mar 9, 2000)

I think bar food should be easy to eat and assertive enough to stand up to the drinks. Sometimes different works, sometimes it doesn't. We just put macaroni and cheese on our menu because it is a comfort food, but we added Sonoma chevre and white cheddar topped it with fried onion bread crumbs and a roasted tomato, a little different but all things are pretty much still familiar. I heard of a chef doing a vanilla crusted rack of veal that some said was awful, would it have been better if it was just "old hat" with a Dijon and breadcrumb crust and cooked to perfection? Probably.


----------



## lynne (Oct 6, 2001)

Grown up Mac n' Cheese - sounds wonderful! And familiar.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Putting thought into what you do....where, who are your customers, casual/upscale, other dishes in the restaurant, what sells in your area, finger or fork foods, at the bar or at tables,how far can you go, how far do you need to go, what's your competition doing.....Boy free consulting.
this is what I think before I even get into what to do.....art or craftsmanship depends on whether your copying or creating.


----------



## stephanie brim (Aug 30, 2005)

Rock Bottom Brewery in Des Moines does a lot of great things...they have Italian and Greek pasta as well as burgers and the good old fashioned pickled eggs. One of the times I was there to eat I got an alfredo with artichokes, shrimp, and scallops...and a Pinot Grigio to go with it. Heavenly.


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

5 year old thread.....not much has changed. Sweet Potato fries with chipotle/orange aioli or salt and pepper fries with pickled onion aioli still win my heart.


----------



## stephanie brim (Aug 30, 2005)

Yeah, I'm pulling up the old ones. I found the horrible kitchen injury thread and had to see what else there was back there. Good stuff.


----------



## scott0949 (Oct 18, 2013)

I'm running a small grill in a bar in Indiana.I saw your recipe on the skewers.I don't consider myself a chef by any means, but I know how to barbecue.I'd like to experiment with your recipes. Can you tell me how much red wine,garlic etc, to put into the recipe for say, one skewer?

Thanks you


----------



## left4bread (May 8, 2009)

shroomgirl said:


> 5 year old thread.....not much has changed.


13 year old thread, bumped again. What's changed, shroomgirl?

Sliders, I guess.

Anything new and exciting?


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Pulled pork (smoked but not sauced) on a potato roll with mayo based cole slaw?

mimi


----------



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

bone marrow, pickled eggs, pickled pork trotters, offal.....Korean themed snacks...charcuterie platters have come back in full force, gosh there have been considerable changes in 13 years...


----------



## jgraeff1 (Jun 3, 2013)

veal cheeks or grouper cheeks

fried calamari  

venison summer sausage 

foie gras 

scallops with cucumber kimchee 

deviled quail eggs with smoked salmon


----------



## left4bread (May 8, 2009)

Yeah yeah, charcuterie and fried calamari are pretty normal right now. Sweet potato fries too.

"X with truffle oil/salt" seems pretty common.

I see marrow on app menus, not so much bar menus. (here)

Waiting for hot dogs to make a come back...


----------

