11's: Excellent Bar Snacks
A little something to tide you over
If I’m tasked with fetching a round of drinks at the bar, I’m almost certainly returning to the table with an order of the best-sounding bar snack available. I can’t help it. It’s much like a dog finding a great stick and bringing it back to its owner beaming with pride. Even though no one asked for it, I’ll slide a bowl of popcorn onto the table — and whether it’s genuine or not, everyone pets me on the head and tells me I’m a good boy. I’ll never apologize for this behavior.
Bar snacks are an underrated art form. Although small in stature and ancillary in nature, they can greatly impact a drinking experience. A great snack can improve the mood, tide over the hangry, and ultimately elevate a very good bar to a memorable one.
There’s a fine line between a snack that satisfies and a meal that distracts. I have strong feelings about appropriate food offerings at the bar. Simply put, a lot of places are doing too much. I’ll never forget my buddy losing a bet and being forced to order the “Beefy Lasagna Al Forno” at the Brown Jug in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Please tell me why that exists. He walked out looking sedated while the rest of us kept the night rolling. I generally don’t eat full meals at bars — a burger or wings in the right situation, sure, but rarely anything that requires more than a small, three-pronged fork. A bar snack should support the hang, not interrupt it.
Purists might argue a great bar shouldn’t have food at all. I’m not in that camp. Bars are for drinking, first and foremost, but I firmly believe a snack — salty, crunchy, maybe even briny — is a welcome addition to the equation.
Today’s 11s is a collection of excellent snacks from bars around the world. If you’ve been reading Flood’s for a while, you’ll know I’ve got my local watering holes well-documented and appropriately celebrated. But today’s list — this topic near and dear — demands reach from across the globe.
As much as I love a little bowl of mixed nuts to pair with a crisp pilsner, the snacks we’re about to dive into go quite a bit harder — you’ll see. Whether it’s a mid-day pick-me-up, a spirited aperitivo hour, or even a late-night post-game, these are the snacks I think about the most.
11's: Excellent Bar Snacks
11] West Coast Oysters at Maison Premiere Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The raw bar selection at Maison Premiere is no joke. But gazing past the tantalizing allure of the grand crab and lobster plateux and focusing within the bounds of their oyster menu is a wise way to go. There’s plenty of variety, but the west coast is where I gravitate (Baywater Sweets from Thorndyke Bay, WA is a personal favorite). Slightly sweet, creamy, and briny — there’s nothing that pairs better with a ripping-cold martini, or if you’re feeling dangerous, a chartreuse-forward cocktail. Settling in at the horseshoe bar in front of a dozen is a luxurious drinking experience.
10] Grilled Cheese at SWAY Berlin, Germany
There’s something disarming about grilled cheese. Putting one on the menu dials back the seriousness of a bar to a comfortable, decidedly unpretentious level. It’s impossible (actually, maybe just harder) to be an asshole with grilled cheese on your intimately-small two top. SWAY is a very cool wine bar in Reuterkiez, the best neighborhood in Berlin, and they offer all the right snacks. The best of which is their take on the humble classic — very buttery brioche packed with melty alpine cheddar, layered with a sweet fig chutney. There’s a crunchy pickle on the side, and warm mustard to dip. At 11:00 pm, a few glasses of funky orange in, this absolutely rips. And “want a bite of my grilled cheese” is a confirmed excellent conversation starter, no German language skills required.
09] Anthony’s Famous Chips & Dip at Rodeo Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn
There’s always one person at the table who’s adamant they’re “all good on snacks.” They’re lying, and this is the chip and dip that’ll break their levee. They’ll try to play it cool, but they’ll eventually reach in, I know it. Rodeo is paying homage to the legendary Ha’s Dac Biet creamy onion leek dip — a tried and true classic. Crunchy Cape Cod chips are the vehicle for dip delivery, nothing fancy, but importantly sturdy enough to handle this lushious concoction. You can add a dollop of briny trout roe for $4, which I didn’t realize the first time around, but haven’t skipped since.
08] Kombu Celery at Bar Goto Lower East Side, New York
It’s easy to overlook celery on a menu. At Bar Goto, that would be a rookie mistake. Cool, crisp celery spears are coated in a sesame soy sauce and a healthy dusting of furikake. It’s a simple, umami-packed plate that pairs beautifully with a stiff plum boulevardier, or anything involving sake. Under the amber-glow of the Japanese-inspired room, you can’t help but feel like an extra on Tokyo Vice.
07] Assiette de Chacuterie at Rouge Gorge Montreal, Quebec
Chacuterie feels a little like a layup. It’s the timeless European classic, and nowadays the heartbeat of every suburban housewives book club. When it’s shitty, it’s still cheese and crackers. When it’s great, it’s the foundation of legendary aperitivo hours. There are a million wine bars I could choose from that have a bang-up board, but Rouge Gorge is a standout amongst them. A perfect, sunny room in Montreal’s charming Mont Royal neighborhood, they’re serving up a thoughtfully curated and prepared selection of goods, best paired with a beverage involving Campari.
06] Popcorn with Irish Cheddar at Hartley’s Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
For as many times as I’ve been to Hartley’s, for as many pictures of frothy pints I’ve accumulated on my phone, there’s no photographic evidence that I’ve ordered this beautiful bowl of popcorn. But I have! I promise. I think it’s because it’s a snack that hits the table and immediately gets reached for by all parties. Nothing too elaborate, just popcorn (probably microwaved?) blanketed in grated, sharp Irish Cheddar. In combination with the creamy, bitter Guinness, the salty and tangy bites of popcorn push you into a borderline divine state of being.
05] Pork Shoulder Nachos at Bastion Nashville, Tennessee
If you do some quick recon, you’ll find Bastion is most certainly not a bar, but rather an upscale 24-seat tasting menu spot in a warehousey district of Nashville. However, their massive front room, aptly named “The Big Bar,” is a casual, walk-in-only hang. The drinks are great, the staff is loose, and the lone snack offering of fully-loaded nachos is a killer one. Salty chips are set in foil-lined paper basket, layered with a tomatillo salsa and warm queso, piled with smoked pork shoulder, garnished with radish and jalapeno. Every component is well-executed, no corners cut, and no bites with just chips.
04] Seafood Tower at Queen Mary Tavern Chicago, Illinois
Queen Mary, my 2024 “Bar of the Year” winner, took home the title for a multitude of reasons, one of which is their idyllic snack menu. Peanuts, olives, whitefish dip, cheese & charcuterie, and lots of conservas — humble but great, and importantly taking the backseat to their stellar cocktail program. On Sunday and Monday, though, their snack offering gets a little more prominent. I usually get a overwhelmed (and outpriced) by opulent seafood towers — but Queen Mary’s take is surprisingly approachable and accessibly priced. Ramekins of fish dip, seaweed salad, and trout roe come along with oysters, mussels, shrimp cocktail, and a pile of crunchy chips. With the best martini in Chicago in hand — or a “navy strength” old fashioned if you’re feeling bold — you’ll be able to really lean into a nautical night in Wicker.
03] Sardines at Comida Independente Lisbon, Portugal
There are a few perfect scenes I’ve encountered in life: A table for 6 at Contramar in Mexico City; ham & cheese sandwiches at Glacier National Park on a Sunday afternoon. Another easy addition to the list is aperitivo hour at Comida Independente in Lisbon. This table setting — a glass of crisp, cold orange wine and a plate of fresh, meaty sardines doctored up with high-quality olive oil and a zesting of lemon — is something I long for. A basket of crusty sourdough doesn’t need to be ordered, it just comes alongside. Again — perfect scenes.
02] House Special at Morro Fi Barcelona, Spain
When the 2:00 pm church bells ring in Barcelona, it is time for vermouth. I don’t make the rules, I abide by them. There’s no better place to sip a glass of house red than Morro Fi. To be honest, I don’t even know what else they serve. Just the “house special,” which is a package deal of vermouth on the rocks and a mountain of potato chips layered with boquerones, olives, pickled mussels, and spicy piparra chili peppers. Spanish happy meal kinda vibe. It’s truly hits all the desired flavor and texture notes — crunchy, salty, briny, and even just a little spicy. Plus there’s a little lo-fi on the speaker system at a conversational volume. What a life.
01] Tortilla de Patata at Antonio Bar San Sebastian, Spain
If I could wake up every day, shuffle over to the outdoor ledge at Antonio Bar around noon, order a tortilla de patata and a crisp, cold cruzcampo Spanish pilsner, I’d be a very happy man. I legitimately can’t think of a better way to live. An egg omelet melds together onions that have been caramelizing for (probably) days, gooey potatoes, and green pepper. Served on a small plate with a simple slice of crusty bread, it’s the perfect snack at all hours, in all situations. For me, the interplay between cold beer and a warm tortilla was nothing short of an epiphany. Sure, you could eat this tortilla without drinking a beer and have a good time, but should you? I’d argue not. Please note, unlike other items on this list, tortilla is not for sharing — order your own.
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all you need is just a liiiiiiiitle bite