{"id":451,"date":"2015-06-05T14:10:46","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T21:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shakennotstirred.us\/?p=451"},"modified":"2015-06-05T14:10:21","modified_gmt":"2015-06-05T21:10:21","slug":"bar-review-86-west-doylestown-pa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/shakennotstirred.us\/?p=451","title":{"rendered":"Bar Review: 86 West, Doylestown, PA"},"content":{"rendered":"

I walked into this place and I just didn’t want to like it.\u00a0\u00a0 The first thing you notice was the stark, almost spartan, decor done up in moody earth tones.\u00a0 Even the bar itself was plain.\u00a0 My immediate impression was that they were trying very hard to be hip and trendy.\u00a0 My overall response was just “meh”, to quote my teenage son.\u00a0 More on that in a bit.<\/p>\n

I ordered my martini and a menu – mostly bar food and Sushi???!!! \u00a0 When was that ever an appetizing combination? \u00a0 “I’ll have the Bar Burger and a spicy tuna roll please.”<\/p>\n

So I ordered the “86 West Burger” with my Martini…. yes a burger and Martini!\u00a0 To my surprise the burger was really very good.\u00a0 Their homemade chips were also great.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Martini was good, really good \u00a0 Not great, but really good. \u00a0The stem was taken from the freezer and was very nicely cooled. \u00a0 The mix was perfectly dry and abundant, almost overflowing the stem.<\/p>\n

My only complaint, and which keeps this bar from a second martin glass is that the barkeep poured the Sapphire into the shaker with bar ice and just let it sit there.\u00a0 Off she went to pour a few beers for other patrons.\u00a0 I guess she thought that “not shaken, not stirred, just left to get cold” was the optimum solution to chilling the dink.\u00a0 Of course the martini was nicely chilled but also a bit more diluted than I like. \u00a0 The only other beef, and its minor, was that the stem was on the small side.<\/p>\n

A final note about my ‘meh’ comment above; by the time I left the place had become amazingly busy!\u00a0 On a Wednesday evening, so they must be doing something right.<\/p>\n

Overall, a good martini and really good bar\/comfort food.\u00a0 The decor isn’t my ‘cup of tea’, but it clearly is for a lot of people.\u00a0 My rating:\u00a0 \"Martini<\/a><\/p>\n

For selection 86 West gets a “C”.\u00a0 A non exhaustive sampling:
\nSapphire, Hendricks, Tanguaray, Bluecoat,
\nNew Amsterdam, Beefeater, Bombay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I walked into this place and I just didn’t want to like it.\u00a0\u00a0 The first thing you notice was the stark, almost spartan, decor done up in moody earth tones.\u00a0 Even the bar itself was plain.\u00a0 My immediate impression was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[37,12],"tags":[3,9,13,40],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":200,"url":"http:\/\/shakennotstirred.us\/?p=200","url_meta":{"origin":451,"position":0},"title":"Bar Review: R2L, Philadelphia","author":"wlmoon58","date":"April 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Not long ago I was at R2L in Philadelphia for an after dinner drink.\u00a0 R2L is on the 37 floor of Two Liberty Place and has absolutely stunning views to the north and west of Philadelphia.\u00a0 Its incredible at sunset or during a thunderstorm.\u00a0 The food is excellent and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Martini"","block_context":{"text":"Martini","link":"http:\/\/shakennotstirred.us\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1397,"url":"http:\/\/shakennotstirred.us\/?p=1397","url_meta":{"origin":451,"position":1},"title":"Bar Review: One Flew South, Atlanta Airport","author":"wlmoon58","date":"May 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"As you may know from my other bar reviews, I fly through the Atlanta airport regularly.\u00a0 I've even written about one particular restaurant, my favorite, at Atlanta; P.F. 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