At the bar, at Craftbar

Popped into Craftbar around 9pm on Tuesday night. Previous eating experience had been good, yet unexciting. The place was surprisingly busy, with no tables available. I'm always happy to dine at the bar, which with just two of us, wasn't a problem (we grabbed the last two seats). A tasty Hitachino Nest White Ale (Japan) went down quickly on its own, aside for some crisp breadsticks.

The second went very well with the food - we ordered various small portions to share, the highlight being the Grilled Octopus with Chorizo and Smashed Potato. A large chunk of tentacle (big octopus, very big) that was succulent and sweet, and perfectly complimented by the spicy chorizo and peppery potato. The simple-looking Warm Mozzarella with Crostini, Garlic & Anchovies was deceptively full-flavored, and somehow managed to be simultaneously rich and light. Fontina and field mushroom bruschetta was superb, if a little over-charred on the edges (burnt toast = burnt toast, regardless of what language it's spelt in). The Chickpea fries with Black Olive Aioli were disappointing, the fries bland and served without enough of the tasty Aioli to hide this.

Overall, total came to around $65 sans tip for plenty of food for two people and three beers.