Crow’s Nest – Embrace the Chaos

Crow’s Nest definitely has some flair.  Great hang out/meet up/[drink alone] spot. Plentiful beer options.  Very chill staff.   A large projector screen makes for excellent sportz watching (the screen is a hold-over, along w/ the panama-esque ceiling fans, from the bygone asian fusion restaurant that aired kung fu movies).  Food is certainly creative, if erratic in quality.

So, you want to meet some people for some beers?  Crow’s Nest’s wide selection and atmosphere will not fail you.  You want to grab a bite?  Be prepared for either full-out awesomeness or mediocrity.

First dining experience there was before a major re-tooling of their menu.  They have since ditched the calves’ brains (an homage to an old south city favorite) and the vintage record menu covers.  That first time I had a spring vegetable sandwich topped with tomato jam – it was decent enough, not an extraordinary stand-out.  Next time, the pulled pork sandwich with sriracha aioli was absolutely noteworthy.  I would order it again, and I loved that they had some very crispy green beans as an alternative to fries.  But you see that picture of said sandwich below?  Do you see what’s on the green beans?  That’s right, tomato jam, again.  Crow’s Nest <3 tomato jam.  Like for real.  Because when I showed up for a ‘taco tuesday,’ I was presented with dry pulled-pork tacos topped with yet more sweet tomato jam.  The tacos as a whole were highly disappointing, and the reappearance of the tomato jam was perplexing. [Note: drink specials on 'taco tuesday' were neither disappointing nor perplexing]

However, that’s not a total death knell for ‘taco tuesdays,’ or Crow’s Nest as a whole.  Because on that given week, that’s just what Crow’s Nest happened to serve in and on their tacos.  Sea changes occur fairly frequently on the Crow’s Nest menu – one day you’re eating dried-out pork tacos and the next you’ve got some of the best damn waffles as part of a killer chicken n’ waffles rendition (see ‘heavy metal sunday brunch’; see also superb bloody mary).   And I’m pulling for Crow’s Nest, I really am.  That particular location over the last few years has been seemingly haunted – a slew of quirky and charming establishments have come and gone (Fu Manchu and Red Lion come to mind).  Crow’s Nest is fighting the good fight though.  I know I’ll be back.