DINING OUT

Sesame Seared tuna with Siracusa cream cheese potato latkas

Sampling some of the borough’s best meals in West Chester’s premier dinner destinations.

My friend Amy and I rolled into Side Bar for dinner and drinks on a drizzly evening in late February. It was Fat Tuesday, so we sampled some Side Bar standards as well as a few specials and a brand new menu addition. The Vibe

Our host led us to a high-top table in the downstairs dining room right in front of a crackling fire in the brick fireplace, lending an especially cozy touch to our damp winter outing.

The crowd was eclectic: a solo guy with tattoos hunched over a beer at one end of the bar, while local business types mingled at the other end. By 6:30pm, the room was humming with millennial couples and small groups of friends.

Page, our server, cheerfully indulged our barrage of questions. While I love spicy, bold flavors and novelty, Amy has a tamer palate, and Page skillfully used our preferences to recommend a winning roundup of both drinks and dishes. The Drinks

Side Bar prides itself on the selection of its continually rotating beer list that no one else in town has—or can even get—such as several from Tired Hands Brewery in Ardmore. After a fairly lengthy consultation with Page about our likes and dislikes in flavors and textures, we settled on a four-item flight that included Tired Hands’ Alien Church, a cloudy, grapefruity NEIPA whose 7.0% ABV gave it a balance of both levity and gravitas.

The other beer in our flight was a sour, the Rodenbach Grand Cru 2017. If one could drink a Sherlock Holmes mystery, it would taste like this beer: tart and dark, with a lovely amber hue and caramel, balsamic fragrance.

Rounding out our flight were two hard ciders: the effervescent, lightweight Original Sin and its counterpoint, the surprisingly hearty, full-bodied Downeast White wit cider.

Since it was Fat Tuesday, we threw in a cocktail, too—perpetual Side Bar favorite Bright Days, a citrusy blend of champagne, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and Ketel One’s grapefruit and rose botanical vodka.

The Apps

In the spirit of King Cake, we focused on foods that were filled with surprises, like new-menu-addition potato and ham croquettes, which arrived atop a bed of wilted spinach and garlicky mashed potato puree. Inside their crispy fried coating was a blend of ham and more garlic mashed potatoes. The surprising note of sage popped out immediately and made me lament the dearth of dishes that feature this pungent herb. (Full disclosure: I’m not a particular fan of ham, but these were delicious, and when we packed up our leftovers after dinner, this plate was the only one with nothing left on it.)

We couldn’t resist a flight of the trio of mac and cheese offerings on the specials menu. With their creamy house-recipe mac and cheese as a base, Side Bar offers a constant assortment of creative takes on this beloved comfort food. Tonight’s spe

cials were the Al Pastor, a chili-colored concoction with braised short rib throughout and a slight kick. The second of the mac trio was mixed crab and asparagus for a mild, rich, version with a hint of the ocean—easily our favorite of the three. Lastly, Breakfast Meats incorporated scrapple and ham, along with diced tomatoes, for a whimsical and hearty alternative. I took some home to reheat for breakfast alongside homemade waffles.

Lastly, Page insisted we try the short rib and mushroom dumplings, her favorite thing on the menu. It’s no surprise why—the dumplings feature a zing from sriracha sauce on top, along with a sprinkling of crunchy peanuts, all of which melts into a filling of smoky short rib, mushrooms, and cream cheese.

Side Bar prides itself on the selection of its continually rotating beer list that no one else in town has—or can even get—such as several from Tired Hands Brewery in Ardmore.

The Entrees

For our entrees, Amy and I both wanted something classic from the menu. Page asked if either of us were a fan of spicy food. YES. ME. Accordingly, she suggested the Inferno burger, which has been on their menu since Side Bar opened their doors. Manager Jon noted that “very bad things would happen if we ever took this off the menu.”

Ghost chili cheese oozed out of the center of the burger, which is generally served medium or well for a proper melt on the cheese filling, but I ordered mine medium rare, a decision that Page supported. And because ghost peppers alone aren’t hot enough (just kidding—they top out at more than 1 million Scoville heat units), the Inferno also has a layer of pickled jalapeno slices on the bottom. The spicy edge is softened a bit with a honey hot BBQ sauce and the pillowy brioche bun.

On the spicy scale, I would rate this at about a 5 out of 10 on first bite, but the magic really happens after a few minutes, when the initial slow burn spreads and intensifies. For the side, I chose sweet potato tots, and the little round orbs of crispy, sweet goodness were the perfect companion.

At the other end of the spice spectrum is Amy, who laughed as she watched me sweat and fan myself after diving into my burger. She opted for another Side Bar classic: the hummus chicken salad, a fresh spin on the classic Greek salad, with grilled chicken served atop crispy romaine, kalamata olives, feta cubes, roasted red peppers, and a tangy vinaigrette. What sets this salad apart, however, is the dollop of thick and creamy house-made hummus. Unlike most types of hummus, Side Bar’s iteration is whipped, which lends it an almost buttery texture. The salad was flanked by wedges of warm pita bread, which Amy said added the perfect touch.

As I write this review several days after our night out, I’m still dreaming of those crispy ham and potato croquettes and their lingering soft sage presence. Put them on your agenda the next time you visit Side Bar.

photos ERIK WEBER @westchesterviews story JESSE PIERSO L @JESSEPIERSOL