Johnwynn

Wine Bar, Meet Lounge. Lounge, Meet Wine Bar. This little gem sits across from the Wachovia in Midtown on Smith Street in the spot once occupied by Midtown eatery LeMond's. If the Wine Bar and the Lounge did the horizontal mambo then squeezed out a kid, the result would be the chic and hip establishment known as The Community Bar. As of this writing, I have been to the soft opening (10/1/08) and they have not finished yet - be looking towards the target date of 10/8 for a full opening. What I loved about the decor was that it reminded of me of some cross section of dark wood colonial retro meeting Cuban-Miami retro, and it does it with style in a seamless blend - sophistication and fun are what this place screams. The bar was made by hand, and the craftsmanship shows through. While they will have a wine selection, they were already amassing an impressive hard liquor collection while I was there. And yes, I had some drinks and chatted with one of the owners. We can thank the Armitage brothers of Houston for finally bringing an alternative to what is a slew of also-rans that are starting to dot Midtown (see: Woody's, a sad excuse for Midtown and encouraging white trash to move in). They wanted a lounge/wine bar mix, and they delivered. Enough wine to whet your grape fancy, and good ol' fashioned cold beer and liquor in a style that makes you feel like you just got transplanted to some chic dimly lit Miami joint - without (thankfully) the pastel colors and flamingos.