Can't they find a way to make buses easy to understand? I know I can walk to Willy Street, but it's gotten cold out again. Even the allure of food and resale items can't draw my feet to pound the frigid pavement that far this time of year. Luckily, I got a ride from a friend.
I heard about The Weary Traveler a while ago and must admit I have been a little excited about it. I heard it was going to be a fairly inexpensive place that served eclectic pub food until really late. Then I heard something about a full bar. Needless to say I was a little more than excited at that point. I don't know of anywhere you can get a good late night meal and a good gin and tonic at the same time. So I'm reviewing another fresh-faced whippersnapper of a restaurant, and another one on Willy Street at that.
I stepped out of my friend's Jetta at a little after 10 p.m. and entered the Weary Traveler, 1201 Williamson St., for the first time. The first thing that struck me were the extremeness of the interior, specifically the floor, walls and ceiling. The former are all wood and the ceiling is a decorated tile affair. It reminded me of my recent trip to a couple of dozen old pubs in Edinburgh. The only difference was the relatively spread-out seating and the bar being on the back wall instead of in the middle. The walls were covered with an abundance of angled mirrors and a few odd pieces of art: an Audobon bird, a photo of troops in Giza and a drawing of a nude woman with a bow. It seems like the place has been established for quite a while. There is a smoking section on one side and when I asked if the whole place was for smoking yet the waitress shrugged and said \Um, sure."" That's my kind of restaurant.
Just as exciting as the presence of a whole lot of booze was the menu. Such items as Hungarian goulash, apple and bleu cheese- stuffed pork chops, lamb au jus sandwich and sea bass ceviche perked me up considerably from my already sated stupor (I couldn't wait and had already cooked and eaten a shrimp and pasta dinner). I knew Magnus has ceviche, but I was not expecting it here. Needless to say, I ordered the raw fish with salsa and lime juice. While I waited, I enjoyed a beer from their considerable list (barley wine served in a snifter) and watched the people come and go. One of the B-Sides guys entered and I was not very surprised'that is the type of place it is going to be. There is a small stage and it seems like there may occasionally be acoustic guitar players there. Just like Mother Fools, but with booze!
So the food came. The ceviche contained honey and was a little sweeter than I am used to, but it was very fresh and satisfying. You get to eat the mixture off of toast, which is also a little different, but good. One of my dining buddies had the lamb au jus and was quite pleased with the meat and au jus, but had a problem with the bread falling apart under the stress of meat and juice. My other friend ordered the West of the Andes sandwich. It consisted of a rather small bun that sandwiched artichoke, avocado and a chipotle mayonnaise. The bun was an incredibly soft fluffy little thing that she didn't appreciate with the sandwich, but that I found to be excellent with the soft artichoke and avocado. The slight sweetness of the bun balanced that latent smoldering heat that chipotle brings. Throughout the meal the waitress was quite helpful and even brought more toast when I ran out.
There may be a different lunch menu'I don't know, and I can't call because they have no phone. It doesn't matter. This is the place to drink and eat at night if you live over there or know someone with a car. Also, watch out Mickie's Dairy Bar and even Bon Appetite. Sunday brunch has a new player and it's slinging all-you-can-eat pancakes served with sausage or bacon, coffee and juice for $5.50 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. That is the ill deal. They certainly got the hours right. No more waking up still drunk and getting in the queue for the Dairy Bar. I'm gonna make that walk and eat buttermilk pancakes until I need a beverage stronger than coffee, and then I'll order whiskey. Oh yeah, and smoke. I love food writing.
