Bar snacks, like them?

[Alchemist]

What goes with a martini, a cheap beer, a Champsee Lysee? What wouild tempt an expert libationist, or the average yahoo to eat something that will not (and if you are a f$%ing yahoo who the F%@k cares?) F@#K with their palate but is irrisistable?

Is there a type of bar that snack that transends everything?

I like SaltySpicey.

We are taking for granted that the unwashed masses arn't touching YOUR nibbles. Tell me what you want for comestibles?

[Radio7]

Edamame.

Or pretzels.

[Bill Poster]

I tried a cracker surrounded nut snack witha wasabi coating. The most addictive bar snacks. and makes you drink more beer

[Kent Wang]

Superiour nuts like macadamia and almonds.

[eje]

Given that Mr. Alchemist started this thread, I'm tempted to post, "Food! Pah! That just gets between alcohol and my blood stream!".

However, <sigh>, I have, of late, tried to make an attempt to limit my pre-prandial drinking.

The usual suspects, cheese and crackers, are the most common snack.

Not so much interested, myself, in "bar snacks", per se, as actual food and cocktail pairings, if such a thing is possible.

Sure Buffalo Chicken Wings and Long Island Ice Tea are fine...

What else can we do?

~Erik

[Alchemist]

I wasn't refering to pairing cocktails with food. I was waxing nostaligic about some of the wonderful things I have eaten while belly up to the stick.

There were these smoked almonds (they each had a weeks USRDA of sodium) at Eugene that were awsome.

The bar snacks at Gothem Bar and Grill are good. Mixed nuts, heavy on the cashews.

M&H sometimes does strawberries with marscipone(sp), and honey. If you ask for them you don't get them. This is the only sweet bar snack I have ever heard of.

[JAZ]

I've had deep fried anchovy-stuffed olives that make a really good bar snack.

[eje]

I guess I was a bit off topic.

Strangely, I can't even think of any bars in San Francisco that have bar snacks.

To me, Tapas bars in Spain have this down.

When my parents visited China, they were quite enthusiastic about a snack they remembered. They described it as salty potato chunks served in a tongue blisteringly hot, still hardening, sugar syrup. Sort of potato brittle?

I think there are also any number of similar sweet, salty, spicy, seasoned cashew and peanut snacks served.

When I was growing up in the midwest, jars of pickled eggs or pig's feet wouldn't be uncommon. Never quite had the courage to try them, myself.

Whatever it is, you need to be able to eat it with one hand.

edit - typo

Edited May 15, 2006 by eje (log)

[lperry]

In Guadeloupe they served little green olives marinated in spices like clove and hot pepper. Somehow they went perfectly with the rum drinks.

[Rebecca263]

Scotch eggs. Preferably those made by Mike at Churchill's in Miami.

[Alchemist]

This may be a bit off topic, but the bar snack that I HATE, is when a bar patron takes over my garnish trey as thier personal cruise ship buffet. Were these people raised by wolves? These three people came in to my establishment last night, and systematicly(SP) worked thier way through the caper berries (obviously the amuse) folllowed by the olives, (what lovely canapes they have here darling) And then helped them selves to orange slices for desert. And I don't mean one each. They completly decimated my mise.

In the past when I worked at slightly more downscale places, I would mention that the offending patron was (for a change) NOT at Sizzler and that they should desist from grazing through the ganishes. I am not proud of this but I have smacked some knuckles (like a nun, with a ruler) with my church key when they go back for thirds.

I think that if bar kibble keeps grungy little fingers out of a barkeeps mise, then I am ready to alway have it.

[Parmhero]

Cocktail franks.

[JAZ]

These walnuts are great bar snacks. I used to sell them to a couple of local bars.

[freshherbs]

These walnuts are great bar snacks. I used to sell them to a couple of local bars.

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yes to spicy sweet walnuts...love em.

also at the old Zinc bar in NYC (now blaue gans) they used to break out the tree of Deviled Eggs in a bunch of different styles. they were delish and helps out with the glutton problem Alchemist mentioned. it is mighty hard to eat more than 2 deviled eggs at a sitting

[slbunge]

When I was growing up in the midwest, jars of pickled eggs or pig's feet wouldn't be uncommon.  Never quite had the courage to try them, myself.

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Never seen pickled pigs' feet on the bar.

You would be my hero if you brought the pickled egg back as a bar snack. When done well, a pickled egg is fantastic. Tangy, salty, big mouthfeel, and substantial enough to be a real-live snack rather than a 'nibble' or whatever we call it now.

Of course, the commercial versions of the pickled egg tend to be absolutely vile so you would have to make them in-house.

And I think it would be a significant hurdle to have your customers get past the fact that they are ordering what was essentially a foundry-worker's afternoon snack. Perhaps if you halve the or quarter them they would go over a bit better.

Thinking about half of a hardboiled egg, I would say that in Venice (and likely elsewhere in Italy) they do bar food very well. Snacks locally known as cicchetti they tend to be small bites eaten while drinking wine at the bar on the way home from work. Lots of stuff skewered on long toothpicks. Like a chunk of mortadella topped with a piece of cheese. Or a pearl onion wrapped in an anchovy. Or marinated squid pieces (or baby octopus). Or finger food like half a hard cooked egg with a small anchovy atop the yolk. Lots of twists on delivering fats with salt and tangy vinegar. Grabbing a couple of things you got a snack substantial enough to be sated until the late evening dinner.

[Mike Hunt]

Smoked Eggs.......deeeelish.

[Gigi4808]

This does not strictly count but it was so good I will be doing this at home with drinks. The place I was in last night served my vodka martini with blue cheese stuffed green olives. It was perfect!- tangy, creamy, a little salty, a little bitter. I could have eaten those things all night.

[KatieLoeb]

A wine bar here in Philly makes their own sesame cracker-like lumpy things that are great for palate cleansing (they specialize in flights) and are just plain tasty.

I also like Deviled eggs, blue cheese stuffed olives, nuts, wasabi peas and edamame.

[dvs]

eje,

morton's in union square used to do mini steak sandos for bar snacks. and they flippin rocked too! don't know if they still do.

[eje]

Never seen pickled pigs' feet on the bar.

[...]

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I'm fairly certain I remember seeing them at Genna's 20 years ago or so.

But, then, my memory of that part of my life is a little, uh, blurry around the edges, so perhaps it was just the eggs.

Warm, soft pretzels go so well with litres of Paulaner...

[Lan4Dawg]

house made potato chips w/ crumbled Maytag blue cheese set under the salamander just long enough for the cheese to get soft

fried dill pickles

I too vote for pickled eggs. I have not had a good pickled egg in eons and need to hear more about "smoked" eggs as those sound wonderful (any receipts?).

[slbunge]

I'm fairly certain I remember seeing them at Genna's 20 years ago or so.

...snip...

Warm, soft pretzels go so well with litres of Paulaner...

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As a frequenter of Genna's lounge around that same time I wish I would have paid more attention. I'm guessing a few of the corner taps in Milwaukee had/have them. Only real problem I see with them is they can be a bit messy.

I'm a sucker for a place that serves good soft pretzels with beer. Rarely see that anymore either.

[VoodooDog]

Interesting question.

It really comes down to what I'm drinking and perhaps why I'm drinking.

Like eje, I feel that drinking sherry at a tapas bar is the ultimate in "bar snacks".

At an upscale place I genearlly have top shelf liquors neat or very refined cocktails so I snacks are out. It's just bad economics wash down 3 cent pretzel with $20 scotch.

At a mexican place chips and salsa really do go well with margaritas. Since most of these places can not actually make a margarita, I am of course refering to the margarita-style slushy.

At "just a bar" I tend to have my "well you can't screw this up drink", rum and coke. RnC allows for almost any kind bar snack. In fact, sooner or later it starts demanding EVERY kind of bar snack. And thus you find yourself on the express bus to my home town, lardoville. :-/

It is a nice ride though... :-)

-E

[judiu]

Back when I drank Bourbon and Coke (as opposed to my Bourbon and club soda of today) I LOVED the little packs of King Oscar sardines and saltines that came packed by the dozen on a white card that hung behind the bar. You got six sardines and three double saltines per package, and BOY were they good with a sweet drink! This was when I was traveling thru the south east, the deep south and Texas on business, so you Northern types may not know whereof I speak...

[TallDrinkOfWater]

What goes with  a martini, a cheap beer, a Champsee Lysee?  What wouild tempt an expert libationist, or the average yahoo to eat something that will not (and if you are a f$%ing yahoo who the F%@k cares?) F@#K with their palate but is irrisistable?

Is there a type of bar that snack that transends everything? 

I like SaltySpicey.

We are taking for granted that the unwashed masses arn't touching YOUR nibbles.  Tell me what you want for comestibles?

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Goldfish crackers and landjäger go especially well with Pegu Club cocktails [4:1:1:dash:dash (Bellringer:GrandMarnier:freshlimejuice:Regans's#6:Angostura)], for some odd reason. My lovely wife insists that pistachios are a must as well, though that's never appealed to me specifically.