Record Bar--Early Bird Special

Now that we have Charlie, we're not up to our usual late-night, weekend shenanigans. We do, however, have a standing Tuesday night babysitting exchange with another Westport couple, so Tuesday night we were left looking for good food and live music--all before about 8:30 pm (the time at which our son turns into a cranky, hungry pumpkin).

Luckily, a friend tipped us off to The Record Bar's Tuesday night early show--Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys and the Record Bar's "Honky Tonk Supper Club." Basically, you get there, drink some beers (from their extensive list), eat some food, and listen to some straight-up, old-school country music.

Ian and I ordered Boulevard Wheat and a British ale respectively. We tasted the cider and ordered a Pacifico. Pretty bland. The menu is fun but not good for indecisive types. Basically a twist on general bar/grill food with pizza, salads or pasta bowls all with your own choice of toppings. Fun and creative, yes, but the sheer number of options can be a bit overwhelming. The food, when arrived, was passable bar fare. If ordering the alfredo pasta sauce, ask for 1/2 the amount typically dished out. I had trouble locating the pasta in the creamy, fatty sauce and felt it in my arteries for days. We split an iceberg wedge salad, which was great, and Ian had a pizza, which was a perfect portion for him.

The music was fun, with an eclectic and mellow crowd enjoying the mix of crying-in-your-beer ballads with uptempto numbers that made me want to teach Ian to 2-step. We don't know if anyone ever started dancing, though. We had to leave to pick up the little guy about 45 minutes into their set.

Overall, a good evening for about $40 (we tipped our grumpy waitress well, according to Ian's new Theory of Tipping which states that mad servers need to be tipped well to offset their discontent with humanity.) Good tunes, good brew, good food and an early evening for the old folks (or those with little beans).