Underdogs Lounge is cozy yet hip. The first thing photographer Paul Franz and I saw when we walked into this basement-level retreat on Bridge Street in Shelburne Falls was the sizeable bar.
The bar features pretty much any hard liquor one could want and a variety of wines, along with 12 local beers on tap. (More beer is available by the bottle.)
The rest of the room features another long bar, where eaters and drinkers can sit, conversation areas furnished with mid-century modern décor and a dance floor.
Partners Margaret Fitzpatrick and Tanya Bryant were assembling seasonal cocktails behind the bar when we arrived. In addition to offering us drinks, they shared one of their tapas plates. This smoked-fish platter included whitefish, scallops, lemon-pepper mackerel, mussels, pickled onions, greens, a sherry-Dijon sauce and beet-infused horseradish.
Paul and I were very happy.
Fitzpatrick and Bryant are no strangers to the Shelburne Falls restaurant scene. Over the years they have run Margo’s Bistro, Party Girls’ Catering, the Tusk ‘N’ Rattle and Ollie’s Downunder.
They thought they had retired — until their former restaurant space underneath 10 Bridge Street became available a few months ago and called to them.
They opened Underdogs at the beginning of August. Establishing the business has challenged the two, who both have other jobs. Fitzpatrick is a real estate agent with Keller Williams, and Bryant works as a nurse at Baystate Franklin Medical Center.
They admitted that they don’t get a lot of sleep. Nevertheless, Bryant told me when I visited, “We are enjoying ourselves. … This is what we want to do.”
“We love seeing the same people time after time,” Fitzpatrick chimed in. “We love knowing everybody’s name. We just want to have a great community space.”
They keep things simple by limiting the menu to a few high-quality items. As the name “Underdogs” might suggest, they serve hot dogs and sausages. These meats are nitrate-free, local and organic. Vegan and vegetarian dogs are available.
The menu is rounded out by a variety of salads and soups — and by light fare like the smoked fish array we tasted, a fresh pickle plate, and a popular local artisan cheese plate.
Integral to the vision Bryant and Fitzpatrick have of their lounge is its identity as a music hub. Audio-video wizard James Sullivan books local acts, and Phil Nolan hosts a monthly open-mic night.
Sunday night is jazz night at Underdogs. In addition, Fitzpatrick and Bryant step away from the bar frequently to perform original songs with their new all-girl band, “She Said.”
Bryant explained that the music from Underdogs is piped up to street-level speakers so that passersby can enjoy the experience. The pair also try to offer musical events on Facebook whenever possible.
The overall vibe is fun, authentic and unusual. Fitzpatrick, an experienced chef, enjoys great, simple foods and craft cocktails.
The drinks she chose to make for Paul Franz and me were typical fare — seasonal and unusual. Both used a fruit-shrub base. Shrubs were popular in colonial times in this country and have lately enjoyed a renaissance. They are vinegar/fruit concoctions that can be mixed either with liquor or with carbonated water.
I am not much of a drinker — but both Paul and I enjoyed our cocktails, a Butternut Bourbon Blast and an Apple Shrubtini.
Underdogs Lounge serves food from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
In addition, Margaret Fitzpatrick noted, “The bar stays open until the party’s over.”
Underdogs Lounge Seasonal Cocktails
Ingredients:
for the butternut shrub:
1 4-pound butternut squash
1 cups organic raw sugar
2 tablespoons fresh sage or pineapple sage
to 1 hot pepper (depending on the heat of the pepper)
1 cup white-wine vinegar
for the apple shrub:
9 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into wedges (about 8 wedges per apple)
4 cups organic raw sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
teaspoon ground nutmeg
teaspoon ground cloves
4 pieces star anise
1 cup apple-cider vinegar
for the Butternut Bourbon Blast:
2 ounces Smugglers’ Notch bourbon
2 ounces butternut shrub
1 splash simple syrup (sugar syrup), plus more to taste
1 slice lemon
for the Apple Shrubtini:
2 ounces Green Mountain organic vodka
1 1/2ounces apple shrub
1 slice apple
Instructions:
To make the butternut shrub, begin by roasting the squash at 350 degrees until it is tender (about 30 minutes). Cool and peel the squash; then puree it in a food processor along with the sugar, sage, and hot pepper.
Transfer the squash mixture to a bowl and chill for two days, covered, stirring daily.
Whisk in the vinegar, and strain the shrub. Transfer it to a sterilized canning jar. Cover it tightly. It may be stored for up to one month at room temperature or in the fridge. You will have enough shrub for numerous cocktails.
To make the apple shrub, in a bowl combine the apples, sugar, and spices. Stir them for five minutes. Cover the mixture and chill it for two days, stirring daily. Stir. Strain the liquid (reserving the apples for snacking) into a sterilized canning jar. Add the vinegar, cover tightly, and store for up to one month at room temperature or in the fridge. You will have enough shrub for numerous cocktails.
To make the Butternut Bourbon Blast, combine the bourbon, the 2 ounces of shrub and the simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously, and then pour the liquid into an old-fashioned glass with ice. Garnish with lemon.
To make the Apple Shrubtini, chill a martini glass. In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the vodka and the 1 ounces of apple shrub with ice. Shake and then strain into the chilled glass. Garnish with a slice of apple.
Each cocktail serves one person generously.
Tinky Weisblat of Hawley is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” If you have a suggestion for a future Blue Plate Special, please email Tinky at Tinky@TinkyCooks.com. For more information about Tinky, visit her website, www.TinkyCooks.com.