Drinking the cow+

When you live in the big city there is always at least one or two places that hospitality workers tend to end up at after work. These places are open late and serve food and drinks for foodies.

Now living far from the big smoke we were really pleased to find such a place even in our tiny town. Gyu+ bar is most known for it's unusual entrance, an old coke fridge door.



Once you pass through the low door you enter a warm inviting bar, the walls adorned with thousands of records that all get played depending on the whim of Hisashi, the owner of Gyu who along with working behind the bar takes time out to keep the music going on the set of decks next to the bar.



The seats and lounges are all mismatched there's a chair made from rubber balls and a wooden seagull hanging from the rafters guiding you to the bathroom. Once you sink into one of the lounges you may never want to leave.





The drinks menu is extensive, with a whole page devoted to hot cocktails, like hot chocolate with bailey's, just the thing on these sub zero nights.



There's a page of Gyu originals with things like the Dr Pepper, a beer with a splash of coke and a shot of amaretto, it has the flavor Dr Pepper down pat, perhaps just a little more grown up.



But where Gyu really comes into it's own (apart from the amazing music/cocktails/decor/staff and food) is Hisashi's collection of whiskeys. An avid collector, he has an extensive collection, with a good range of Japanese included. When a whisky is ordered if the order is on rocks, the rocks are a single perfect ball of ice that fills the whole glass, providing maximum chill with minimum melt.



With Gyu being open late after we have finished up it's the perfect place to drop in for a late night snack and unwind. Those snacks being the Gyu sausage plate, five large sausages of different flavors, pork, chorizo, lemon and parsley and plain, these come with olives, pickles and mustard. The sausages are custom made for Gyu by a butcher in Sapporo as large sausages are something of a rarity in Japan. Great drinking food.



And the sardine plate, a tin of sardines heated untill the oil is bubbling then generously seasoned and served still in the can, along side wedges of camembert, olives and crusty bread. This plate is so addictive we found our selves dropping in for a fix more and more often.



When it's all added up the answer is, no wonder we were here most nights!