"R" Bar and Restaurant

Ho-Lee smokes, "R" Bar and Restaurant is fantastic! Our most recent Saturday escape and probably the newest spot on our immediate list, "R" Bar is a stunner. We ran across a write-up and recommendation in Tastebud Magazine, I checked out their website, www.rbarkc.com, perused the menus (and cocktails) and decided we needed to try the joint... and in it's interesting way, a joint it is. Reservations were at 7:30pm and we promptly started with a Corpse Reviver No.2 for Michael and a riesling for Susan. For starters we mixed it up with foi gras, pastrami sweetbreads, sweet potato soup and the mixed greens (with apples, Humbolt Fog blue cheese, and candied pistachios). They were all fantastic starters - the foi is a mousse/pate version which was delicious but disappointing when you want a seared chunk of goose liver. The pastrami sweetbreads were miraculous as an almost tempura fried epiphany... I didn't get the "pastrami" per se, but luxurious nonetheless. The highlights were the salad (perfection) and the soup, a soothing concoction of pureed sweet potatoes, cream and light stock. What was best about the soup? It wasn't overtly cloying in it's sweetness, the sweet potatoes were there, just not candied with marshmallows. Our entrees were a work of art; the smoked hanger steak with parmesan hashbrowns and the braised wagyu with potato gnocchi... RAPTURE!!! I'll also emphasize that a classic rye Old Fashioned works beautifully with any beef dish, but back to the meal. The smoked hanger was perfectly seasoned and delicious, the rarer side of medium rare, and a kiss of smoke that only emphasized the quality beef. The parmesan hashbrowns were a little closer to a parmesan frico with potato but delicious anyway. The wagyu? Succulence on a plate. Braised beef becomes meltingly tender, make it wagyu beef and it is dreamy tender with the added unctuousness of insane marbling. The gnocchi were a little heavy, but serviceable in this presentation. Top it all off with a shared slice of pecan pie, smoked vanilla ice cream and caramel and the decadence is complete. Blend all this with an old school, West Bottoms saloon with live music after 10 (on this Saturday anyway) and you have a recipe for a great Saturday date.