Dig A Pony More booze, less Beatles

To believe the Beatles were the best rock band ever, you only need to see footage of their screaming fans, listen to the intense depth of the White Album, and realize they did all that despite the drummer whose name rhymes with the dog who stole your baby. Not planning on sucking, or having much to do with the Beatles, really: Dig A Pony.

Pony was conceived after the owner's band stopped performing and a pal suggested opening a bar, which just opened at Morrison and Grand with a windowed wedge concealing a surprisingly huge riverboat saloon interior with a massive 60ft-long horseshoe bar, original 1917 mosaic tiling, and a "minimal if non-Beatles feel"...wait, so this is a Beatles bar or something? Keeping things beautifully basic, the 'til-2a food menu rocks belly liners including fried plantains with "pickled hot pepper mojo", a hash-like pile of sauteed 'shrooms topped with shoestring taters, soft egg, and salsa verde, and an English muffin’d burger with Tillamook cheddar and Painted Hills beef, also a series of classic fights between LC and Heidi, during which they both wore way too much makeup. The cocktail menu balances adventurousness with drink-it-and-shut-up ease via the bold-and-warming Black Strap Rum/ lime/ maraschino La Leche Negra, a Negroni riff dubbed the Degroni with Gran Classico, gin, and the minty sting of Fernet Branca, and the St Germain/ gin/ lavender bitters Patsy's Cocktail, which’s perfect to sip before you go walkin' after midnight, if you're so in-Cline'd. And crazy.

Because the proprietors have plenty of experience bending the strings, Pony will eventually play host to live music, but'll start with DJs seven nights a week, most spinning pre-'80s goodness, but hopefully no Ringo, as he's the one who made George Harrison's guitar gently weep.