The Wild Hare logo wall
The '90s are alive and well in Stillwater's newest bar, The Wild Hare. I am not mad at the full wall of album covers, or the Johnny Depp glamour shots in the bathroom, and Brit Brit can shuffle with TLC on the screen behind the bar all day long. Just: I'm not going to wear Steve Madden squishy black platform sandals or that eggplant colored lipstick again, ok?
Between the Scream re-invention hit and the half-time show at the Super Bowl this weekend, betting on the '90s feels like a good bet. But what I like about this place is, it's not the only bet.
The new bar, which sits on Main Street right across from the co-op and just down from the Crosby Hotel, is owned and operated by the same crew from nearby The Velveteen Speakeasy. The kids know a thing or two about craft cocktails.
kitchen and tables
This place is mostly bar, with a few tables up front, some skinny high tops along the wall and vids in the back. It's just modern enough with some charred wood beams and corrugated metal accents, to make the '90s schtick light and effective. It's a nice thing to dip into, makes you crack a smile while your brain starts spinning don't go chasing waterfalls, but it doesn't feel like forced cos-play.
video game machines and wall art
And maybe that's because the menu is actually a glimpse forward, into the future of tavern-fare. Owners Sarah and Dariush Moslemi wanted a dive bar with real food, so that's what they made.
It's bar eating, make no mistake, but it's conscious bar eating in that nearly everything on the menu is gluten-free or can be made gluten free, and the number of vegetarian/vegan offerings goes WELL beyond the suburban bar norm. They use organic ingredients wherever possible and no fake-food products, while managing to give us all the bar food we want.
fries and cheese curds
From the fries to the Moroccan spiced cheese curds I tried, everything fried is gluten-free because they are using the same proprietary chickpea flour blend across the board. No need for a dedicated GF fryer, there's just one in the tiny kitchen. So instead of minimizing the GF options, they maximized them.
wings and cauliflower
Order wings, and you can choose chicken or cauliflower. When it's about crispiness and sauce, I honestly go either way. We did both and the cauli in Buffalo sauce disappeared first.
And yes, there are items on this menu that feel more like spa-cafe than town bar, such as curry tofu salad, pick-a-protein Korean bowl, pan-seared steelhead trout. But let me be clear, that's a good thing, a widening of the view of tavern-fare gets props in my book. Keep the majority of nostalgia on the walls.
burger
Maybe the best meeting place is in the buns section where you find a roster of four solid burger offerings, a chicken sandwich, a shrimp po' boy, and a wrap. You can go classic, or you can go fancy with harissa aioli and cumin lemon pepper on the Casablanca burger. And you can go Keto, you can choose a GF bun, you can sub caulafel (cauliflower falafel) and make it all vegan, just as easily as you choose fries or not. It's all possible, not a hassle, while also not alienating those classic burger bros pounding Coors Lite and pinball in the back.
red drink on the bar
And then, there are the cocktails. If you need a way to ease back to the bar after your damp January (it wasn't dry and you know it), this might prove a good idea. Their drinks list included smoothies, mocktails, and daily fresh pressed juices. You can order any number or regular cocktails, but there are also a few called Health Tonics. That's where you take your freshy juice blend of kale, ginger, apple, and lemon, and add gin. Tequila added to beet juice is, for some of us, the only way to get your daily beet. Living well.
outside of building
Also of note: best logo around. The Wild Hare is open for lunch and dinner every day. Rezzies only for groups of 4 or more, otherwise first come first serve.
