Retro Bars Around the World: Houston

Hello Darlings! This week’s feature is a delightful lounge in Chicago called the Anvil Bar & Refuge.

TOP DRINKS:
• The Anvil Margarita: Tequila That Tastes Like Tequila (No Ice, No Salt, Never Frozen) – $12

THE VIBE:

The Anvil provides exactly what it says it will: a bar and refuge. After work, after dinner, to celebrate, or just because it’s Tuesday, Anvil is an inviting space to take the edge off. Familiar with seemingly every drink and stocking virtually every ingredient under the sun, this is the spot to embark on a spiritual tour, emphasis on the spirit. Whiskey, gin, rum – all get their best brought out in classics from phosphates to fizzes to sours. These guys are serious about their cocktails and it shows. Which brings me to the bartenders. You don’t see anyone flipping through a recipe book to make the drinks. You see them making the drinks with care, making sure to properly muddle the herbs, carefully measure out the right proportions of liquor, shake or stir when appropriate, down to gingerly placing little leaves as garnish when the drink calls for it.

The prices to be unbelievably reasonable for the quality of drink that you receive. $8-12 is all that you will spend on one of the best cocktails you’ve ever had. Compared to the usual swanky $15 per drink bars, this is a steal. Really I don’t think you can go wrong. That’s why it’s a refuge. You’re safe from bad choices, because there are none.

http://www.anvilhouston.com/index.php