What an evening. What an adventure. What FUN.

The man and I have been pondering a visit to Citizen Public House for multiple weeks and it finally happened. On a night when we were going to lay low, save our pennies and generally relax after a busy weekend, instead we took an adventure. Hopped on the bike and made our way to Old Town. The ride was incredible. One of those relaxing, hair in the wind, beautiful night, kind of rides. And the randomness of our adventure was lovely.

Citizen Public House was quiet. It was 7:15 pm and the Sunday crowd was thin. For us, this is good. This means we can relax into perusing the menu, tinker around with our drinks, slow our pace for just a couple hours. The welcome was nice and our seats were near a beautiful floor to ceiling window. 5th Avenue people watching was under way. Our server was thorough. Reviewing details each step of the way. Starting with the drink menu exploration, we learned the unique focus on mixology that CPH prides itself in. We learned of the unique focus and specialty menu items. The man ordered a martini and I ordered a Moscow Mule. The presentation of the Mule was cool. Never drank out of a tin barrel before, what fun.

We ordered the Original Chop (a menu favorite at Cowboy Ciao brought to CPH by the chef that created it) to share as a starter… After a lot of gushing and a little bribing we were provided the recipe on a secret card (printed in bulk for all requesting folks). Score… The man’s two favorite things in the world – a dirty martini and an original chop salad… I can now make both, anywhere, anytime.

We moved into round two of drinks… a sangria for me and “The Import” for the man. The sangria, though made perfectly, was not what my pallet really wanted. The server not satisfied with “meh”, took it back and had the bartender create something magical. It was fizzy, sweet, fruity, tart and delicious. The Import was musky, thick, belly warming and reminded me of a perfect holiday mix.

For dinner we shared the meatloaf. It was dense. Paired with grilled zucchini and mashed potatoes with a scrumptious demi glaze. It was a stick to your ribs American classic with a hint of gourmet. Unfortunately, the mans was cool. Mine, perfect.

We moved into dessert and shared “Donuts & Coffee” which was a fancy bread pudding with a smidge more sweet and flavor of donut, topped with coffee ice cream.

This evening was amazing.  Growing up in the restaurant industry, this was a servers restaurant, this was a foodies palace, this was the place to be. Food and drinks were incredible. However, for me it was the service. Our server Brian was above par, he communicated with knowledge and opinion, he bantered with ease and respect. Richie Moe, one of the partners in CPH, is an acquaintance from my earls past and he happened to be working on Sunday evening. I had not seen him in years and did not know he was one of the minds behind the magic, but he came to our table and chatted it up with us. Brian and Richie took the time to sit with us, get to know us, discuss our tastes and things we may like, share life stories and catch up. It was a familial feel and a fun night.

The man and I will return. We will enjoy. We will “speak easy”.
Recommended – YES.