Tag: Daniel Masters

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Pontotoc Lounge’s Second Floor to Open

The second floor of Pontotoc Lounge has a planned March 17th opening. (Credit: Elly Hazelrig)

Onwards and upwards for the Pontotoc Lounge.

Literally.

The second floor dining area of the cocktail lounge at 314 South Main is slated to open March 17th, says owner Daniel Masters.

The new space is “an extension of Pontotoc,” he says. “We opened the stairway. So, when you walk in you can access it from downstairs.”

The upstairs area features tables and booths, and will feature the same menu as Pontotoc’s downstairs section. “So the seating will be comfortable for eating. We’ll have a nice, diverse amount of small plates to choose from.”

Pontotoc is “a creative cocktail lounge. We focus our kitchen on smaller plates to share.”

Describing the upstairs space, Masters says it’s “an intimate setting.” The concept features “more of an antique nature museum feel to it. We’ve put in a lot of small fun little touches. Art work, books.”

Pontotoc Lounge’s second floor. (Credit: Elly Hazelrig)

And, he says, “all nature based. And in the bathroom, there’s a TV playing old nature documentaries from the ‘70s.”

The “fun touches” include a lot of artwork featuring birds and two different nature murals.

Items upstairs are “things that I’ve gotten at at antique shops and on Etsy,” Masters says.

“The carpenters built custom booths. The color scheme is pretty diverse. It moves around.”

The building housing the Pontotoc Lounge was built in 1933. “It’s two floors with a basement. The upstairs dining area is approximately 1,700 square feet and can seat up to 40 guests.”

Masters doesn’t want to give too much away about the new upstairs space. “I want to leave a lot to the experience. I don’t want to put too much ahead of it so people are somewhat surprised. I want them to go in with a blank canvas, in a way.”

Pontotoc Lounge’s new second floor area provides an intimate space for dining and drinking. (Credit: Elly Hazelrig)
Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

A Visit to Pontotoc Lounge

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

The only reason that the Pontotoc Lounge wasn’t packed the night I went is that, presumably, not enough people know that there’s an actual bar that is equal parts the “Be Our Guest” set from Beauty and the Beast and a contemporary art funhouse. It’s luxurious and intimate, creative and dark. We went in the middle of the week and spent a few hours with Cady Smith, one half of the bartending duo who designs, names, and serves the drinks at Pontotoc Lounge. It didn’t have any cursed Prince Charmings, but if one spends enough time at this elaborate, mirrored bar, one could easily understand the appearance of dancing furniture.

Pontotoc Lounge has undergone a bit of an overhaul. Its former version was bright and airy with white walls. It was the kind of brightness and natural light that I don’t like to associate with drinking unless said drinking is being done on a patio. It also felt out of place in an arts district known for its devotion to darker, grubbier bars. Fortunately, owner Daniel Masters must have recognized this, because he went in the complete opposite direction with Pontotoc’s latest incarnation. The walls are now black, and the lights are low. Large, framed mirrors are hung everywhere, and in the dimness of the space, the mirrors make for a fun adventure for anyone navigating toward the restroom. This is made no easier by the incredible mural by Frances Berry that covers the whole hallway including the ceilings; Berry’s line work makes this a perfect location to be blindfolded and spun around before being made to walk a straight line. Masters also dropped “café” from the name and added the slinkier and sexier “lounge.”

Justin Fox Burks

Cady Smith with a blazing cocktail

Smith and her colleague, Jonathan Wade, have put together a hell of a drink menu that matches the new look. It’s unique without being over the top, featuring cocktails like the Mezcal Negroni (a combination that works way better than it should) and the Constant Sorrow, which is the perfect drink for the post-holiday Seasonal Affective Disorder that’s wrecking your life right now. For the more adventurous among us, the menu also has the Safe Word (gin-based with ginger and rosemary) and Love Your Mouth (inexplicable flavor combination of rum and egg white). They’ve incorporated local spirits from Old Dominick into their menu, which Smith says they try to change seasonally. She and Wade make most of their bitters, shrubs, and tinctures. The Smokin’ Mary, made with Old Dominick bourbon, was a delicious concoction made even better by a rosemary tincture that is so concentrated it can be lit on fire. Anyone who lights drinks on fire can fully expect to see me back at their establishment. Pontotoc also serves their wine in large, voluminous glasses, which is an oft-ignored special something that all bars should do.

Perhaps the most grandiose display of luxury within the Pontotoc is the oversized, completely unnecessary chandelier. It’s hard to describe how large it is, as a piece half its size would still look massive in the narrow, dark space. Evoking the Beast’s mansion and frolicking décor, it’s cartoonish in the perfect way. I felt fancy sitting underneath it, so I can only imagine how girls on actual dates probably feel when they visit Pontotoc. It is the perfect centerpiece in a bar where interior decorating is already much celebrated and respected.

The Pontotoc Lounge is by no means a dive bar, but it does a bang-up job of fitting in with the dive bars, chandelier and all. It knows its South Main audience, because there are two TVs for those who like decadence but also need to keep up with Mike Conley and 624 new Grizzlies. It has a full menu with meat and cheese plates and chicken and dumplings among other delicious-sounding dishes. They even serve brunch until 6 p.m. on Sundays (2 p.m. on Saturdays) for those patrons who find themselves allergic to sunlight, or, because they’re a monster from a Disney movie, don’t like going out in the daytime. Give this place a visit; I may just be there, too, clapping gleefully at things on fire.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

The news from the Brass Door and Pontotoc

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

The Gate Clock Bar in the Dublin airport is the place for those leaving Ireland to get their last real pint of Guinness. It was there, at around 6 a.m. some 15 years ago, that Patrick Reilly met Seamus Loftus. They were introduced by Patrick’s wife Deni.

A couple weeks ago, Loftus and the Reillys were at the bar at the Brass Door talking over, yes, a pint of Guinness. The Reillys, who own the Majestic Grille and run the Front Porch, were brought in as consultants to bring order at the Brass Door, which is owned by Loftus and Meg and Scott Crosby.

“It’s a selfish project for us,” says Deni. The Reillys felt a connection to the Brass Door. They loved the building, saw the potential. Downtown should have an Irish pub, they thought. A place where soccer fans can gather and watch the games. What the Brass Door needed, they believed, was just a little guidance.

“The team needed a new captain,” says Loftus. “We found a new captain.”

The Brass Door, which had closed in July, reopened in early November. The pub was given a good cleaning, and equipment was updated. A new staff was hired. The Reillys sought to bring consistency to the pub’s hours, the service, and the food.

Some of the Brass Door’s tried-and-true favorites remain on the menu. The fried goat cheese is there, as are the hand-cut fries, Shepherd’s Pie, and the BELT sandwich.

One new dish is the Vegetable and Chickpea Balti. Balti is a Pakistani curry. This is Patrick’s nod to Birmingham, England’s soccer culture and its large Pakistani population.

They’ve also upped the Irish on their drinks menu. There’s Mangers Irish Cider and Murphy Goode wines. They’re also aiming to have the most extensive collection of Irish whiskeys in the city, including the Dubliner, Sexton, and Power’s John’s Lane. Among their speciality cocktails is the Caskmates Stout Pairing with Jameson Caskmates Stout mixed with Guinness and the Black Barrel Old Fashioned made with Jameson Black Barrel. There is, of course, Irish coffee.

One more thing: The Brass Door is now completely smoke-free, even the smaller side bar.

Deni says once word got out that they were reopening the place, she was flooded with texts and emails. “People have real feelings about this Irish pub.”

“It’s the old Door and the new Door,” Loftus says. “It’s the future and the past.”

Brass Door is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Special early-morning Saturday and Sunday hours for international soccer matches.

Daniel Masters has a lot on his plate these days. The owner of Silly Goose recently opened the jazz bar Pontotoc in the old Cafe Pontotoc space and is now making the finishing touches on Civil Pour, a bar inside the food hall South Main Market, which will have its grand opening on December 2nd.

Masters says that when the Cafe Pontotoc space opened up for rent, there was a lot of interest. He, for one, wanted a spot that was still downtown but a bit away from all the foot traffic where Silly Goose is located. He wanted to spread his culinary wings a bit.

Masters is partnered with Jeremy Thacker-Rhodes and Matthew Thacker-Rhodes. They stuck with the name because they simply liked it. It means “land of hanging grapes” in Chickasaw.

Pontotoc opened in mid-October. Chef Chris Yuer is in charge of the kitchen. The menu can be described as Mississippi Southern: PBR Boiled Peanuts, Alligator Filet Fritters, Sister Schubert Beignet with sour cream gelato … There’s also duck confit, pot roast, and pork belly.

Pontotoc’s cocktail menu features the classics — Side Car, Manhattan, and Moscow Mule. And there are seasonal Old Fashioneds and Daiquiris. The winter Old Fashioned includes pecan bitters.

For the space, the owners carved a cute, sorta enclosed patio out front and brought in a large chandelier as a focal point for the interior. They took out a divider to make a larger dining space and covered up a window looking into the kitchen with a back mirror.

They added a piano, too, all the better for this jazz bar specializing in classic jazz from all eras. They’ll have live music Thursday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

As for Civil Pour, Masters says he’s still working on the identity of the place. He says he’s leaving the Jell-o shots at Silly Goose and is envisioning top-notch charcuterie plates and old school cocktails like a Sazerac made with French cognac.

Pontotoc is open Monday through Friday 4-11 p.m., and Saturday 2 p.m.-midnight, and Sunday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.