The Cork Tucson
★★★★☆ 3.9 (385) • $$$
"Even though we were 20 minutes early for our reservation they sat us immediatelyMatt was our server on the patio, he was amazingCork Manhattan (wife)Buffalo Trace bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters, Luxardo cherryVery bourbon forward, decent Manhattan, nothing specialGrapefruit Cosmo (mine)Deep Eddy grapefruit vodka, orange liqueur, fresh lime (usually comes with cranberry juice, I got it without)Refreshingly delicious, very subtle grapefruit flavor, vodka nearly undetectable, smooth finishSouthwest deviled eggs (happy hour only)Deviled eggs with pickled onion, jalapenoPretty standard deviled egg, topped with red or green jalapeno slice, pickled onionI will eat a baker's dozen deviled eggs every day and these, while not exceptional, are no exceptionFreshly shucked raw oystersServed with Mignonette sauce, horseradish, and cocktail sauceThe best combination was a mini dollop of horseradish, a small dollop of cocktail sauce, and a dripping of the mignonette sauce, and these bluepoints were amazingClassic escargotAchatina escargot, garlic, shallots, buerre blanc, house made breadThe buerre blanc had the perfect flavor profile, the bread was amazingAs my first tasting of escargot, I like itTexturally it's akin to mussels or oysters,a little earthy flavor, the sweetness of the buerre blanc plays well with the flavor of the snails110 in the Shade (mine)Habanero house-infused Ketel One vodka, passion, fruit juice, cilantro, sugar rimThe heat comes FAST, the sugar rim offers NO help, but the sweetness of the passionfruit elevates the fruitiness of the habanero; the heat complements the flavor rather than overriding itThe Dirty Tini (wife)Classic Martini, house-stuffed blue cheese olives, Ketel One vodkaVery well balanced drink, alcohol flavor doesn't come through, you get the olive brine and Bleu cheese funk, the olives are incredible and salty in all the right waysMargarita Verde21 seeds cucumber jalapeno Blanco tequila, Cointreau, fresh citrus, Tajin rimThe tequila flavor is subtle, the jalapeno cucumber combination comes through well, Tajin rim was al the right choiceBison Osso BucoServed with Demi-glace reserved from the braise and Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Sauteed AsparagusWife tried the marrow and her eyes are stuck in the back of her headThe demiglace is so rich and beefy, the way that it complements the mashed potatoes, the bison is fork tender, asparagus was pretty basicBlackened ChickenTender boneless thighs, cilantro-lemon buerre blanc, comes with esquitesThe esquites is not "street" food; it's delicious but it isn't what you think of when you think of esquitesThe chicken was perfectly cooked, fork tender, blackened well, lemon flavor comes throughWe got a slice of apple rum cake to go"
"Had been wanting to check this place out since it reopened so we stopped by last night and am glad we did. There was a $5 cover charge which was worth it for the music. It's a typically dive, with great music and clean bathrooms, SCORE!"
"Real shitty dive bar, but the establishment has good staff, and the building has good bones. So maybe it's not that bad?What I liked: Plenty of TVs around. Plenty of booth seating. 64 ounce pitchers at great prices. The semi-enclosed patio dedicated for smoking that has the pool table in it, which I bet is a big hit in cooler months. I was here on a quiet, spontaneous date, and the rest of the clientele seemed to be a bunch of sad, single men in their 40s and 50s, playing old music on the jukebox and ogling the bartender, who was admittedly really funny and a natural at her job. Just know the vibe you're getting before you visit. They have a kitchen that's open late night, and it served me the worst pretzel I have ever seen. But for some reason I could still envision myself ordering another while really sloshed some day. That is the true spirit of the dive bar."
