I have wanted to eat at the Bacchus since I lived here ten years
ago, and was not old enough to enter the premises. The curved rafters lie flush
to the ceiling, embellished with carved monk heads. Vertical rows of copper
mugs (for which a hefty deposit is required, if you wish to drink out of one)
line stained-glass images of “Bacchus”, god of merriment. The long wood bar and
ample seating, inside and out, give the venue a true pub feel, and they boast a
modest, but quality selection of beers and whiskeys, including a decent
selection of mid-range Scotches. The only perplexing point of the décor is the
bulldog head on the logo…
Opening the menu, I had a hard time
finding something to order. I wasn’t in the mood for a burger, but clearly this
was a bar-food type of joint. The menu is all over the place, actually,
beginning with a selection of “Pub Grub” that ranges from “Shepherd’s Pie” and
beef “Pasty” to “Irish Fish Tacos” and “Curry”. I would have pegged it British
fare, were it not for the “Italian Beef” and “Stromboli”. The sides are even
more diverse, from “Roasted Root Vegetables” to “Mac and Cheese”. A full
selection of pizzas further complicate a menu that can’t make up its mind, and
the salad choices were generic and over-priced. I found the overall pricing
parallel to Philadelphia, which seemed a tad high for Bozeman, Montana. I
settled on the “Falafel” sandwich, for $8.50.
Part of me feels I sunk my own raft on
this one. Having been married to a Middle-eastern man, my opinion of
Mediterranean cuisine is biased to the traditional. I have been fortunate
enough to sample some of the best, home-cooked Middle-eastern fare available,
thanks to my ex-husband and his sister, both excellent cooks. The dish
consisted of three falafel balls on warm pita bread, topped with some sauce,
cucumber, and fresh tomato, plus my choice of side. While the pita was fresh
and expertly puffed, I found the falafel balls disappointing, at best. Dry,
misshapen, and too finely-ground, they were obviously overcooked. The sauce,
which claims to be tahini, tasted strongly of mayonnaise. (Those of you who
know me, know I hate mayonnaise in almost every incantation, and refuse to eat
it willingly unless hidden in potato salad.) I had chosen quinoa-pasta salad as
my side, thinking it sounded interesting; it wasn’t. As a pasta salad goes, it
was delicious, full of rich vinegar and herb flavors, bits of olives, peppers,
and red onion, but the quinoa-pasta was so similar to a multi-grain (and cooked
to the same chewy consistency), that it proved more of a novelty than anything
else.
The service was pleasant, albeit a little
slow. That’s to be expected in the middle of the afternoon, as the bartender is
often also dealing with food and beer deliveries, and setting up for dinner. I
wasn’t in a rush, and the laid-back professionalism suited me just fine. The
beer was cold, my water glass always full, and the barkeep didn’t complain when
my brother and his girlfriend joined me and drank only water themselves.
“Would I come back here?” Sure. I did, in
fact, go back later that night, to listen to quality live music and drink
local micro brew. I would probably even go back to sample the dinner fare. As
for a quick lunch, probably not; there’s a great, inexpensive burger down the
street at the Hofbrau, which claims an even larger selection of micro brew
drafts, and the service there is just as good.
The Bacchus Pub (Inside the Baxter Hotel)
105 West Main Street Bozeman, MT
(406) 522-0079
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