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Legume is a spot that I haven't been to since it was a tiny affair in Regent Square. Wild success bought them a much larger space in North Oakland, amid cheap college housing and Pittsburgh culinary staples like Lulu's Noodles, this might have seemed like a strange move to make. So strange to me, in fact, that I let Legume slip silently from my mind and never considered it again, until recently.
Searching and re-searching Yelp for some restaurant or unique feature that I may have missed on the last pass, as I often do, I happened to stumble across the fact that this new-and-improved Legume had a bar! Aptly named, the Full Service Bar is open from 4p-midnight, and offers not only a solid beer and wine selection, but a fair selection of small bar-bites from the kitchen, which is also open until midnight. Honestly, though, I can go anywhere in town to grab a beer and a bite - what drew me in was that they not only have a 4p-6p happy hour, but a 10p-midnight happy hour as well! That's right, stop in for skillfully crafted bar food and discount drinks, specifically $2 off drafts, $4 wines, and $5 well drinks - along with some weekly specials(ie, $5 punch on Monday) and live music/DJs(I think Zombo plays Tuesdays)
We arrived at about half-past 10 and Legume itself had already closed, but the bar has a separate entrance in the entryway. The bar is beautiful, lined with comfortable leather-backed barstools, a high-table with a wooden alcove, and dimly lit by candles and sconces on the wall. In the back are a few low 4-seat tables with leather chairs to have a group of people sit. The bartender greeted us quickly and handed us a cocktail and draft list, along with a bar menu. The menu has about 6-8 small plates, a few soup/salads, and 3-4 dessert options. The draft list was decent, however 2 slots of their 10 choices were wasted on Miller Lite and America's oldest brewery(Yuengling). The bartender was happy, though, to give us samples of Duck-Rabbit Doppelbock and Southern Tier's 2x Stout(She was also nice to our fellow patrons, giving them a whirlwind tour of the finer points of gin and a quick intro to Mezcal).
My girlfriend stuck to her 2X($4), while I wound up with a standard Manhattan, which turned out to not be part of the $5 well drinks(it was $8), but the bartender let me slide since she wasn't aware until after it was made. We also settled on an order or Risotto Balls($4) - coming 8 to a set(think Lindt truffle-sized) with a small ramekin of something that seemed an awful lot like citrusy mayo, but it was dark enough in the bar that I could pretend to uphold my diet by not asking. The risotto balls were very crispy on the outside and the inside was creamy and delicious - definitely a nice alternative to french fries.
Having finished our risotto balls but not our drinks, we also ordered the crostini with chèvre and pepper jelly($4) - a kitchen open as late as the bar is such an overlooked luxury! They arrived quickly, 4 slices of toasted bread completely overloaded with goat cheese, and a dollop of sweet and spicy heaven on top of each. The cool and creamy goat cheese really paired well with the flavor of the jelly, and the jelly itself was so good I grabbed every last bit I could from the plate.
I still have yet to try the restaurant portion of Legume, but the bar has certainly won me as a late-night regular, especially on a low-key but classy evening. Also, they have their own twitter @FullServiceBar, so be sure to keep up!
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