Blue Collar

• Hours: Lunch daily 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; dinner Sun-Thu 6-10 p.m., Fri-Sat 6-11:30 p.m.
  Price: $$$
  Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, cash
• Attire: Casual
  Features: Kid Friendly, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Vegetarian Friendly, Wheelchair Accessible
  Serving: Dinner, Lunch
• Alcohol: Beer/Wine
  Parking: Lot Available, Street

Description

The 20-seat room (with nearly that many outdoors) has been spruced up since American Noodle Bar vacated the premises. Metal lunch pails are lined up on a freshly painted gray wall, formerly communal seating is now segregated into tightly spaced tables, and three stools form a minicounter where the cashier stand used to be. The music is '60s classics, the atmosphere is coffee-shop casual -- a nice little neighborhood spot. Food is American comfort, with most appetizers and salads under $10 and entrées under $20 (except weekend "white collar" specials). Start with pork and beans with a fried egg and sourdough toast, or a gutsy New Orleans-style dish of shrimp and grits with bacon and Worcestershire-based barbecue sauce. Another winning appetizer is tostones topped with vaca frita -- pulled frizzles of fried flank steak with orange mojo. Best of the main courses is often found within a trio of chalkboard specials: a rib item (short ribs, spare ribs, prime rib, etc.); a "parm" (chicken, veal, pork, etc); and a braised meat such as pot roast, brisket, or pork shoulder. A cheeseburger, cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon, a thermos of Panther Coffee, and desserts such as homemade berry cobbler make Blue Collar as American as, well, homemade berry cobbler.