The Pearl

Traveling for work and decided to try out the Pearl since it was a short distance from my hotel. Sat at the bar and was promptly greeted by a friendly bartender who recommended some of their bourbon cocktails. The barrel aged Manhattan was very tasty, as was the ‘Bourbon.Bacon.Beautiful’. The bartenders there definitely know their stuff. The atmosphere was fun and eclectic, friendly folks sitting at the bar. For a Tuesday night the restaurant was very busy.

Happy hour was great with drink specials and half price apps, snacks, and sandwiches. I tried the ‘Devils on Horseback’ which are dates stuffed with some kind of cheese and wrapped in bacon, topped with a vinaigrette slaw of some kind. They were out of this world good. Sometimes bacon wrapped dates with cheese can be too rich but they were the perfect little bite (comes with 5) and the acid from the vinaigrette really made the flavors sing. I also tried the beef & Stilton pie, which was a small crispy, flaky crust (think best pot pie crust ever) with shredded beef and Stilton blue cheese. Also very tasty, served with a some lightly dressed arugula and radishes.

For my entree the bartender recommended the Pub burger with the house made tots. The burger had cambozola cheese (which was creamy and slightly funky) and came with a slightly tart and sweet tomato jam that played well with the creamy funk of the cheese. The tots were little cubes of heaven. Literally fried cubes of mashed potatoes, and they weren’t shy with the serving size. I was already pretty full but decided to get the coffee stout they had on tap and a piece of the homemade chocolate cream pie. Needless to say I went back to the hotel very satisfied, but uncomfortably full. Highly recommend checking this place out if you are in town.

Sorry about the picture quality. I dug in before getting good shots, the food looked much more appetizing when it came out.