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| - The Chymist is one of the more compelling Irish bars to visit in the Valley. The decor is spot on and unique, with its apothecary goo-gaws everywhere one's eyes land. It's location is challenging, being high congestion area and wedged in a kind of cul de sac of a shopping center. But that doesn't necessarily diminish its appeal.
Happy hour is the time to visit, with half off all appetizers & flat breads and 2 bucks off all wine and beer. We were served promptly on a Tuesday with the bar maybe one-third capacity. We got a couple of Dirty Apples -- half each Guinness and cider, some know this as a snakebite.
The menu had a lot more seemingly authentic traditional dishes than in other Valley pubs, but a decidedly not-Irish Beef Sliders dish seemed to be one of the most popular orders as I saw tray after tray walk by. I never lived in the British Isles, so I'll just say I was impressed by the variety.
My bowl of PEI Mussels was only five dollars at happy hour. The single-sized tureen had probably 20 or so plump shells in a salty, bacony, and very peppery broth. So peppery, I choked and sneezed through the last half, but couldn't resist spooning out as much of the leeks and bacon that I could get hold of. What is PEI? I found out this means "Prince Edward Island", a desirable cultivar.
We shared a basket of crunchy, thin cut garlic fries, with a cup of leek vegetable stew. Everything was heavily salted and seasoned, which was okay by me.
Great for an after work stop, or maybe check out the live bands or trivia nights if that's your thing.
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