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Varga Bar opens next Wednesday
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Varga Bar opens next Wednesday
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
| Artist John Albright puts the finishing touches on Varga Bar's ceiling mural. |
Chef R. Evan Turney says Varga Bar, his new concept at 10th and Spruce alongside restaurateur George Anni, will open to the public next Wednesday, May 20, after a family and friends soft opening on the 18th.
Meal Ticket dropped by the space (formerly Azul Cantina) yesterday afternoon to check out Jenkintown-based artist John Albright's pinup girl ceiling mural. Located right above the bar area, the piece features scantily clad dames striking the saucy poses popularized by bar namesake Alberto Vargas, the Peruvian-born painter responsible for popularizing pinups in early 20th century America.
Turney's American comfort food menu is still undergoing last-minute changes/revisions, but here are a few up-to-date sneak peeks:
- Truffled mac 'n' cheese with gruyere, fontina, mascarpone and parmesan
- Hickory-smoked ribs with a tangerine/chili glaze
- PEI mussels and cockles in a white wine sauce with smoked chorizo, grilled fennel, tarragon, chervil, Tuscan bread
- Varga salad, with baby and regular heirloom tomatoes, burrata cheese, mache, aged balsamic and shaved red onion
- Kobe beef hot dog topped with homemade chili and house-cured pickles
- "Not My Mom's Spam in a Can": Ham sourced from Country Time Farm (Hamburg, PA), brined in Ithaca Apricot Wheat beer and served with fries and braised cabbage and apples
Everything on the menu, including the cheeses, is American, with the exception of a few things � the chorizo in the mussels (Mexican sausage, but it's sourced from a NY butcher) and the Champagne/Veuve Cliquot on the wine list.
After the jump, check out another shot of the mural, as well as bar manager Ian DeFabio's opening all-U.S. tap list (keep in mind that the selections will most likely be tweaked here and there before the opening).
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| Photo | Drew Lazor |
- Founders Breakfast Stout
- Founders Double Trouble
- Founders Backwoods Bastard
- Sly Fox Helles Lager
- Sly Fox O'Reilly's Stout
- Victory Prima Pils
- Victory Root Beer
- Victory Lager
- Green Flash Triple
- Stone Ruination
- Legacy Hoptimus Prime
- Russian River Damnation
- Flying Fish Farmhouse Ale
- Flying Fish Imperial Espresso Porter
- Flying Fish Cask Ale
- Bells Porter
- Allagash Triple
- Ithaca Apricot Wheat
- Rogue Hazelnut Brown
- Rogue Imperial Pilsner
- Dogfish Head 120-Minute IPA
- Dogfish Head Black & Blue
- Troegs Hopback
[...] Varga Bar is opening Wednesday, May 20th. Meal Ticket has lots of details and photos of the ceiling mural, plus the All-American tap list. [Meal Ticket] [...]
[...] Tuesday, we provided an early look at Varga Bar, the beer bar from the team behind Valanni and Mercato. Just got the final versions of [...]
I have 13 vargas pinups from 1940'3 esquire. Five are signed by Mr.Vargas himself. I'm selling them CHEAP.Are you interested? I live in Vegas.
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