#148: Bar Peached

The Bar

Bar Peached. 1315 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78703

Visited 11/20/19 @ 8pm.

The Drink

Beetlejuice. Tequila, beet, lime, cilantro. $11.

There's not a lot of beet cocktails out there, but luckily Bar Peached did the world a flavor and stepped up to the plate. It's hard to describe the taste of beets other than by saying that they taste "like beets", so I won't really try - just imagine "warm, earthy, not quite savory", and other handwave-y terms like that. The other ingredients suggest a Mexican cocktail, but the beets evened them out, leaving a cocktail that was really good even I couldn't put my finger on exactly what made it so good. It was like taking a bunch of paint colors and mixing them together, but instead of a brown sludge I got an attractive burgundy cocktail with enough notes of the other ingredients that I didn't hesitate to order another one.

The Crew

Misty, Travis, Karen, Aaron.

Notes

Normally when I review these bars, I try to review them primarily as bars, but even though it's perfectly possible to saunter up to the bar and just drink here like you would at any other bar, Bar Peached is the West Sixth spinoff of the Peached Tortilla Asian/Southern fusion restaurant up north on Burnet, and we were here for the food. It replaces the sadly departed Winflo Osteria with a slightly different menu than its parent restaurant but with the same neat mix of cuisines. We had a bunch of things:

• Mapo bolognese
• Malaysian fried rice
• Crab chili toast
• Banh mi tacos
• Brussels sprouts

All were wonderful. The interior itself isn't really changed much from the Winflo Osteria era - they took out the knickknacks, but kept the hardwood. The exterior patio level looked to be unchanged. I probably wouldn't come here for casual drinking, but I highly recommend Bar Peached as a nice meal out with drinks.

#147: Swedish Hill

The Bar

Swedish Hill. 1120 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78703

Visited 11/20/19 @ 7:30pm.

The Drink

Savoie Shrub 75. Comoz blanc vermouth, lemon, strawberry balsamic shrub, sparkling wine. $10.

At the time we visited, the newly reopened Swedish Hill had not yet gotten their full liquor license up and running due to whatever goofy TABC regulation covers that situation, so all the cocktails were of the fortified wine or less variety: no liquor. They promised they'd have real liquor cocktails very shortly, but in the meantime you can of course make some perfectly passable drinks without getting into the hard stuff. The name of the drink is an obvious nod to the French 75, but without the ability to use gin, Swedish Hill decided to go off-script, as the drink shares only the lemon and sparkling wine with its more famous namesake. The vermouth is an interesting choice; the blanc style (which Comoz evidently pioneered themselves) is about halfway between the dry style you see in martinis, and the sweet style you see in Manhattans. The other ingredient that stood out to me was the shrub, which is a fruit syrup made with sugar and vinegar, and that strawberry balsamic flavor combined with the semi-sweet vermouth made for a pleasant drink. I hope they get their license soon, but this will tide you over well until then.

The Crew

Aaron, Karen, Misty.

Notes

The bakery Sweetish Hill had been around for my entire life at this quaint little "mini downtown" stretch of West Sixth near Blanco Street until very recently, when it was bought, closed, renamed, and reopened just a few months ago by the steadily growing McGuire Moorman empire as a new central bakery hub for their portfolio of interesting restaurants around town. The name change is a bit confusing to me - it could be a reference to the historic Swedish Hill is part of town, even though that's on the east side - but the new bakery is a nicer and fancier upgrade of the original 1975 joint. They've spiffed-up the interior bakery/deli sector right when you walk in with inviting product cases, and the outdoor patio has gotten a tuneup. I know that the the bar/dining area off to the right looks a little under-decorated and over-mood-lighted in the photo, but in person it's not nearly so bleak, just clean. We didn't eat here, but all the food looked fantastic.