Bar 145
 Kent, Ohio        Date of Visit  03/01/13        http://bar145kent.com/ 

Got a Kent recommendation from The Randazzle, apparently the shiny new section of town now features a gastropub. Named bar 145 for their recommended mid rare cooking temp on burgers (145°). The tag under the sign says Burgers, Bands and Bourbon, okay, we’ll try. The inside is interesting. Small stage, bar, few tv’s, open kitchen, none of which is very busy at this off hour. What makes it interesting is the ambiance. I’m not sure what to call it, industrial country?, Daisy Duke & Marilyn Manson?, something like those.
 

Very Adult Root Beer Float

The place is littered with Bulleit Bourbon barrels, the servers are in plaid, cutoffs and cowboy boots, modern country gives background noise; that is Bar 145 at 3:00. It took a while for anyone to notice us after we were seated , tried and true the less there is to do the less gets done, but things picked up after that. We tried the Poutine, a couple of burgers and a couple of sides. We also split a cocktail, the root beer float. Root beer, vanilla ice cream and Bulleit Bourbon. It wasn’t bad, just enough bourbon pushing through the mix to keep it mostly sweet with a little grown up to it.

The poutine couldn’t compare to the version from Public House but it was delicious. Thin crispy fries with duck confit instead of the braised oxtail, veal gravy instead of the bordelaise sauce and shreds of gouda instead of curds but the same idea overall. It certainly could have used more cheese but was loaded with rich succulent duck and wonderfully seasoned gravy. O Can- A- Da! A definite must, it’s a good thing I have been trying to lose a little weight as of late or the pretzel and the green beans would have hit our table as well.
 

Our two burgers were the Simpleton and the Apple Pie. I was more interested in the egg and toast burger but most of the burgers weren’t available at lunch, odd. Only two were available but they did make Steph's strange concoction special but couldn't do the others.  Speaking of strange concoctions, the eccentric but not bad apple pie burger was a patty sitting atop a buttered brioche bun, warm cream cheese and spiced apples. The apples layered above and below the burger and were bathed in a cinnamon laden sauce which ran down over the whole concoction making everything but the burger a little sweet. I don’t think I would order it again, it wasn’t bad, actually not bad at all, just not my thing.

The simpleton burger…hey they even named it after me, also has cream cheese, an onion confit, bacon strips and roasted mushrooms on an onion roll. Not the best burger I’ve had by some distance but I have been lucky enough to tuck into some unbelievable options through the years. It was solid, well balanced and just interesting enough make it good. I still want to try the egg and toast.
 

The sides were also pretty good. The mac and cheese was a little less so with curly fusilli pasta and a creamy white cheese sauce with herbs and roasted red peppers. It was a perfectly serviceable bowl but just lacked a punch of cheesiness. I think I may have quoted him before but the Big Cheese once said “Cheese has got to slap you in the face.” This didn’t even blow a kiss. The truffle fries were also tasty and served with a cup of what I think was a roasted pepper aioli. Bar 145 isn't near Bachi Burger for taste and innovatoin, but also not thousands of miles away. I don’t know if gastropub is the best description for Bar 145 but it is an upscale and worthwhile stop for some burgers and booze. And it’s in Kent? Yes, it’s in Kent.