Bar C is the latest CRMR restaurant in town, having opened its doors in a prime location on 17th Avenue just off 4th Street. While several other businesses have failed in that spot before, it looks like Bar C is here to stay for quite a while. The bar has a clean, modern ambiance and it’s perfect for a quick pint after work or a great place to get your night started. They’ve just recently started serving brunch as well. Bar C is already known for their charcuterie plates, tasty preserves and sparkling wine on tap. One of the coolest features about this place is the fact that wine is served in Erlenmeyer flasks; this gives you a weird nostalgia for grade 9 science class while you’re simultaneously enjoying a great glass of vino.
On August 14th, Bar C opened up their side alley patio, which transformed the space between the Bar and Cilantro into a haven for summer drinks. The new patio is enshrined with 10-foot antique boiler doors made of solid cast iron while the façade of the goliath doors can’t help but grab your attention as you walk down the block. Once you’re inside the great walls of the patio, you are greeted by a long corridor with inviting patio furniture, a hanging wall of plants to add a little greenery, and a giant fireplace along the back wall.
So what’s worth trying when you’re on the patio? If you’re in a cocktail mood, there’s the Bar C Bloody Bloody, their version of a Caesar which is made with vodka, homemade tomato juice, CRMR bison jus and pickled brussels sprouts to replace the typical asparagus and green beans. It’s hard to imagine a Caesar more suited for this town. Also worthy of mention is the Light and Stormy, an ultra refreshing beverage that puts a twist on the traditional Dark and Stormy, made with Dos Maderas, pear vodka and Fentiman’s ginger beer.
If you’re more of a beer drinker, then check out the great selection of draft beers, which include the Dieu du Ciel Hibiscus and the Rogue Oatmeal Stout. This hearty oatmeal stout is made with chocolate, rolled oats and roasted barely and can work as a great pairing for some of the cheeses and meats the Bar C serves on their charcuterie boards.
The wine list is equally good with producers like Zind Humbrecht, Lake Breeze and Sea Smoke. Try the Collin Chardonnay, a sparkling white from Languedoc or the Portuguese Niepoort Colheita, if you’re looking for something sweeter.
We only have a few precious weeks of summer left, so make sure you try to spend at least one evening on Bar C’s alley patio taking in the sounds of 17th and enjoying some of the restaurant’s amazing food and drinks. The restaurant is versatile enough that you can really bring anyone along. Parents in town? They’ll think you hang out in respectable places; meeting work colleagues for a casual after work pint? Bar C is casual but you can still pull off work attire here. Or if you just want to take in the sun and catch up with friends, you can show up in jeans and a t-shirt and still feel right at home. Whatever the occasion, make sure to sample the CRMR buffalo tartar and the soft shell crab tempura.
Photo courtesy Bar C