The Bar - Coral Gables, Florida

Posted by GhenghisJuan: The Bar is named after its star attraction and its a truly excellent establishment. I think you should visit despite what I'm about to say about the food. It has a nice selection of draught and bottled beers (including my most recent favorite Spaten Optimater). This joint has played host to more great nights than I can remember and I'm sure it will be great for you too.

Last weekend my wife and sister invited some lady friends over to my house for a night of wine and gossip. I needed to get the $%#* out of Dodge. So I called my old buddy Alej (formerly known as Alex) to see if he was free for a night of bar hopping and as luck would have it he was.

Since we last did this we've both become a little older and a little wiser. Our 30 years of combined experience has taught us that binge drinking on an empty stomach is not such a good idea. And at the time, we did not posses the level of intestinal fortitude required for such an activity. Fortunately, our research has shown that the ingestion of fats and starches is a rapid route to a steely stomach. Dinner at The Bar seemed like a good idea.

But first, a couple of rounds of drinks.

Manhattan's for me and beers for Alej.

Cheers!

Now the food.

The Order

2 Sliders, fully loaded (cheese, onion, pickle)
2 Hot Dog Sliders with onions and pickles
Cheeseburger Egg Rolls
Basket of Fries

The Hot Dog Slider:
These dogs are half sized hot dogs served on half sized buns. I'm suspicious because they look like a novelty and my instincts were dead on. They were gross and absolutely devoid of any flavor. I'm not sure if it was the actual dog they served or if it was "kitchen error". The hot dog tasted as if it had been boiled for 3 days. It had about as much taste as a chunk of tofu. Alex, I mean Alej, doesn't like 'em either. We ate it but these are NOT RECOMMENDED.
The Hamburger Slider:
These look pretty standard. The burger looks a little dense and its burnt on the outside. First bite confirms they are too dense and the burnt outside reveals an overdone inside. Its not all that bad though and it was well seasoned. Alej's patty looks an awful lot like mine. I suspect these came from a processing plant. The $0.25 onion upgrade is not worth the money. The onions are chopped and probably came from that little plastic box of preserved onion product sold at your local supermarket. The cheese was no improvement as it was a slice of an awful, pasteurized and processed "american" cheese. It was so bad I'd be shocked to find it were a name brand. I hated it, Alej, ever the optimist, thinks they were well seasoned, but he didn't like them much either. NOT RECOMMENDED.
The Cheeseburger Egg Rolls:
These egg rolls stuffed with ground beef and cheese looked interesting on the menu, so we ordered them. Alej likens the egg roll paper to a pop tart crust and I don't think he's far off base. The ground beef is nice and the cheese takes like Velveeta. I have a sneaky suspicion these weren't made in-house either. They weren't bad, but not something I think I'll eat again. The curiosity factor leads me to RECOMMENDED them. Go ahead, give 'em a shot.
French Fries:
These definitely came from the freezer but - they were done right. Cooked well and seasoned properly. RECOMMENDED
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
I've had a few things to eat at The Bar over the years, including a full-size burger or two. My usual order here is a pastrami sandwich and its pretty good. Tonight it seemed as if everything came from the freezer. I don't know about you but I find that to be a bit insulting. I am a paying customer after all and I expect a little bit of effort, especially for a simple slider.

Alej and I had a good time here regardless of the uninspired food and I won't think twice about coming back. However for my next visit, food will not be on the agenda. Especially not the sliders. 

RECOMMENDED - but not for the food.

The Bar
172 Giralda Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134

(305) 442-2730