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Y! MyWebBar Review
Bar Louie
Late treats, good eats spice up The Greene's newest hot spot
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
For anyone looking for the next place to be seen in Greene County, you might stop by Bar Louie, one of the latest additions to The Greene that opened its doors to customers in March. The expansive indoor and outdoor space exudes an eclectic vibe of hip urban hotel lobby, upscale sports bar and Jimmy Buffet's front porch.
One of the first sights you focus on after entering this richly appointed urban-hipster space is a large bar featuring endless seating with flat panel TVs suspended overhead.
Extras
Photos
Exterior view of Bar Louie at The Greene
Dawn Bodine will mix up drinks at the bar for patrons of Bar Louie 
Bar Louie serves a variety of food and drinks
Wood paneled walls add to the atmosphere at Bar LouieBar Louie
- WHERE: The Greene, 4462 Glengarry Dr., Beavercreek [Map]
- HOURS: 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. seven days a week
- DRESS CODE: What would you wear to Jimmy Buffet's front porch? Our guess is casual, but not too casual
- BEST BET: Fish Tacos ($10.99) served with a Mojito Anaranjado ($8) is a perfect summertime combination
- BY THE NUMBER: The 5,500-square-foot space seats over 250 with a patio that seats close to 100 when weather permits
- MORE INFO: (937) 427-3900 or www.barlouieamerica.com
- MORE: Reader ratings, complete profile
Seating is available in a variety of configurations — indoor and out — with high-top tables, traditional tables and swanky upholstered booths as well as one of the longest tables in Greene County that we've seen.
With 20 beers on tap, a list of 20 wines by the glass and countless cocktails for the lover of spirits, the Lounge Lizards were ready to set off on another fabulous adventure.
The extensive list of specialty cocktails make it difficult to narrow the field, so we opted to dive in choosing a Red Apple martini ($8) and a Dalai Louie martini ($8) made with citrus vodka, citronge, green tea syrup and brewed tea garnished with mint. The drinks arrive in style with oversized cocktail glasses. On first glance, we were excited by our choices. On second glance, one of the glasses appeared to be wearing the ruby red lipstick of another patron causing the excitement level to wane a bit.
The list of appetizers is almost as long as the drink menu with many choices too tempting to pass on. We ordered the Buffalo Calamari ($8.99), a combination of two traditional bar appetizers. The offering featured fresh and tender portions of calamari, lightly breaded but drenched in traditional buffalo wing sauce. While we'd give them credit for the unusual combination and generous severing size, we would love to see the sauce flavors added to the batter or offered as a side along with the traditional chunky blue cheese dressing it's served with. The amount of sauce made it messy and difficult to share.
For our second appetizer, we opted for the cheeseburger sliders ($6.99). This variation of an over-sized burger cut into four portions was moist and juicy. While tasty, the slider was still in need of an additional condiment — mustard, ketchup, mayo, something — anything ... where's our server?
A weekend stop provided another view on this new, bubbling hot spot. Locating a table in the vicinity of the bar and near the mammoth flat screens, we set off on another adventure through the cocktail and appetizer menus.
Alexis ordered a Mojito Anaranjado ($8) and Craig ordered a Coco Cane Mojito ($8). Both were tasty twists on a classic with the Anaranjado — a concoction made with orange rum, peach schnapps, simple syrup, muddled mint, lime and a splash of soda — coming out the clear favorite at the table.
Pairing our beverages with a couple of entrees, we decided on a Tuna Melt ($7.99) and an order of Fish Tacos ($10.99).
The fish tacos, made with tender grilled tilapia, were lightly seasoned and served with mango salsa. They were fresh and enjoyable and may be the best fish tacos in Greene County — if you know of other places that serve fish tacos let us know. The slightly sweet mango salsa helped to lessen the heat of the seasoning on the fish, making for an enjoyable entrée or appetizer to share. More of the tangy salsa would have made this combination even more enjoyable.
The final choice for our buffet was the Tuna Melt. The generous portion, with the crunch of fresh celery and onion, was served between two hearty slices of multi-grain bread and a slice of Provolone. The portion was large enough to share, although be sure to have napkins at the ready.
When our server returned, we topped off our Bar Louie outing by ordering a nightcap. Craig threw down the bartender challenge and ordered an Old-fashion made with Bourbon and Alexis experimented ordering the Blood Orange Margarita ($8).
While the Old-fashion was almost a hit, it was missing the Bourbon — it appeared the drink was made with Canadian Club instead — but we still award Lounge Lizard points for trying. Alexis's margarita was an unusual blend of tangerine tequila, peach schnapps, blood orange syrup and cranberry juice. It was a great drink that screamed for a great garnish. Served without, the naked drink would have been dressed to impress with a slice of blood orange.
Bar Louie is open from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. and is one of the few spots in the area serving food and drinks into the early hours. Some of the lessons learned during other outings may have saved us some disappointment.
Despite more staff on the floor than most restaurants or bars, the wait time was long. Try to sit at the bar whenever possible for the best service, and stick to the drink menu rather than trying to be too creative, or you too may end up with a Bourbonless Old-fashion.
