A girl walks into a bar...

Date Modified: 06/02/2008 3:11 PM

E-mail article | Print version

To begin with, I’ll be honest with you. I have one bar that is near and dear to my heart and it’s one that I never get to go to anymore. It is one that I compare every other bar to. It has set the standard so high that I fear I will never find a bar in this area that can take its place.

The bar is Wild Geese and it can be found on Avenue Livingstone in Brussels, Belgium. I love that bar. It is an Irish pub in every way. Wood floors, wood paneling halfway up the dark green painted walls, thick butcher block bar and tables. All of it lacquered to a high gloss.

It is a bar where you can play cards at one table and at the next an intimate conversation will be going on, the open areas so crowded with people dancing and mingling you can’t see light between them. It is the happiest bar I have ever been to.

Maybe I’m nostalgic for this bar because of that particular period of time in my life, living in Europe and all that goes with it, or maybe just the simple fact I lived only two blocks away from Wild Geese and the fact a person can have a pint of Kilkenny any time of day. Either way, I always had a great time there.

Since I’ve been back in these United States and particularly Rochester, I think I have been on a subconscious quest to find its equal. It has not been fruitful. Maybe I’ve become a bar snob? Maybe I’m jaded because you can’t get a Kilkenny here in the U.S.? Or maybe my judgment has just been clouded by all the nostalgia?

In any case, I am going to try to find a new bar in the area to love, a new bar to call my own. I’ve decided to start smack dab in the middle of downtown Rochester at Chester’s Kitchen & Bar, one of our city’s newest drinkeries.

From the start, before I even step foot inside, it’s got its pros and cons. Pro: it is new with a modern edge, young and hip looking (hopefully, attracting a lot of eye candy!). Con: I’m sure it gets a majority of its clientele from Mayo Clinic visitors (not so young, not so hip), because of the location and the fact that Chester’s is actually a restaurant, not a full-fledged bar.

I know it’s new and has gotten a lot of press lately, but why not give it a try? Every favorite bar doesn’t need to be like a well-worn pair of jeans –- does it?

I have to admit that I work at Chester’s, but it’s totally different going in as a guest than going in to work. You have a completely different frame of mind and you notice things you wouldn’t when you’re busy working.

Knowing the busy days, I pick a Saturday night to head out with the ladies from my “Book Club” (the first rule of “Book Club” is you don’t talk about “Book Club.”) Chester’s is located at 111 South Broadway. It’s not walking distance from any of our houses. And street parking in Rochester on the weekends is slim to none on Friday and Saturday nights. But ramp parking is easy to find and it’s free! So we walk from the Radisson ramp into the Shops at University Square, where Chester’s is located.

The first thing I notice is the music pumping out of the doors. It wasn’t like a dance club, but it was loud and it was Prince! So far, so good. I get to the door and, like I mentioned before, it’s very modern.

There is nothing like it in Rochester at the moment. Great ambiance -- lots of glass, lots of granite, lots of low lighting. The restaurant dining area is almost free of patrons except for the few drinkers who have spilled over into the near tables and booths. It is pretty packed at 11:30. That is always a good sign.

We find a free booth in the corner and watch. There are all types. From 21 (hopefully they’re legal and probably they are, considering the devotion of Chester’s staff to carding all drinkers) to 65, a few of whom could qualify as “hipsters” here in Minnesota, and all pretty good looking.

Not that I’m biased or anything, but the bartenders are all pretty as well. In no particular order of prettiness, the ones working that night were Brad, Cantenn and Jason. Not only are they easy on they eyes, they make a mean drink too.

Abandoning our usuals, we order a Mojito, a Key Lime Pie (mine, and I almost forget all about my beloved Kilkenny), a Pomegranate Splash and the house drink – Stoli Doli. All well worth the money ($7.50 regularly priced, less during happy hour).

Chester’s has happy hour twice daily, from 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close. As the night goes on we invite more friends over. The booth is built for four, but we cram six in it and have a few bar stools around the end. Too much fun! I think I might be finding that happiness again!

Looking and listening, I notice the usual bar dramas and activities -- texting, talking, hooking up and the one girl (or guy), who has had way too much and thinks they are a whole lot sexier than what they appear. All in all, it is a really chill place, with really great drinks. The only downside is they cut off your fun at 1 a.m. Then where do you go?

This bar may not be my well-worn jeans, but it’s definitely a new pair of heels I’ll take out on the weekends.

A Girl Walks Into A Bar ... is a new feature in EXPOSED highlighting our favorite local drinkeries. Bar fly Ericka works days as an advertising guru and moonlights as a waitress. Check out July’s issue of EXPOSED to see where she winds up next!