That which you see above is the reason we do summer. We didn’t take this picture at home, oh friends of the shellfish, this shit’s live and in full color majesty at the freshly open Varga Bar. We recently sat down with Chef Evan Turney about his ‘All American’ menu, but he didn’t tip his hand to let us in on this full house of Kings and Aces.
Seeing ‘Clam Bake’ on a menu can mean so many things, but what you really want is a stainless steel vessel full of crackworthy shellfish and bivalves swimming in a savory broth. At Varga Bar, that’s all you’re gonna get. Shiny shiny and sweltering, the presentation consisted of no more than a dishtowel, a pot, and a heaping pile of succulent fish, meat, and vegetables. Two plates for your spent shells and a cracker are all the tools you’ll ever need. We’ve all gone through our Molecular Gastronomy phase, but in this case, deconstruction is for the weak. Dig in with your hands and be a man.
We food junkies and snobs often make reference to ‘honest’ food, and if you ever wondered exactly what that meant, head to 10th and Spruce for Webster’s definition. Full of lobster tail, crab claws, clams, scallops, potatoes, and sausage, it’s the summer plate to beat. And at a $36 price point ($18 per person, serves 2 hungry friends), we can’t imagine a better value.
Varga Bar, 10th and Spruce
I love Varga Bar – the beer list is awe-inspiring and the menu looks great, but at least when I got the clambake last night, I felt it needed some work. “Heaping pile” was a gross overstatement of the amount of shellfish that was in the pot, and even the potatoes and corn were in short supply. I’d prefer if they skipped the lobster, piled in more clams, mussels and fixins, and dropped the price by $10.
That’s not a clam bake, that’s a clam boil. Not the same. No pit, no coals, no seaweed, no canvas. Can’t be done in a kitchen.
Gabe
You are technically correct, but we posted this based on the title of the dish listed on the menu.
Still yummy.
gabe knows what he’s talking about. either authentic or not, i’ll give it a try. seems like a cool place that’s trying to offer some different/interesting food options than we’re used to.