Bar Bites
A retro-style bar and veg-friendly neighborhood restaurant put creative spins on typical bar food and drinks . By Karen Deutsch | Photography by Angel Tucker
Lucky Enough
T he West Side is an organic fit for Vito Lantz and Art Chamberland ’ s Lucky Enough — a bar set in a brand new greencoded building that looks , from the interior , like it popped out of 1976 . There ’ s no flash here , no 21st century aesthetic , and no desire to rebrand the neighborhood hangout . Instead , the dialogue centers around a horseshoe-shaped bar with appropriately designed bar taps and the duo — Lantz and Chamberland — slinging drinks . Everything about the space celebrates the rock era , from the photos of pre-Peter Cetera Chicago and a playlist that celebrates vinyl cover art as much as the music . ZZ Top , The Rolling Stones and Tom Jones are all headliners — though there ’ s a discreet screen that descends from the ceiling when the Patriots or other sports teams come to play .
To call Lucky Enough a sports bar , however , is to miss the point completely : nothing is as interesting to the staff as the people walking in the door . They ’ ll take your order and quickly ask your name because this is the start of a long-term relationship , both with the bartenders and with the booze . There are multiple versions of a shot and beer , all titled with song lyrics . (“ Going to Jackson , I ’ m Gonna Mess Around ” will get you a Pabst draft and a Jack Daniel ’ s while “ Sleazy with a Special Kind of Sassy ” mixes cider and Becherovka for a fruit-forward night of debauchery .) And though many regulars take what ’ s on tap , the cocktails — tinged with Tang syrup and plenty of citrus — are determined to set the clock back to a time when no one was carrying , let alone checking a phone during dinner .
And dinner , in this case , leads us to casual bun-borne meals . Constructed , precious food has no place in this space . It ’ s hoagies , grinders ($ 9- $ 18 ) and hot dogs ($ 7 ), most of them
covered in cheese and everything ringing loudly with nostalgia . Your side dish is homemade chili , salad or a snack pack-sized bag of Ruffles , barbecue chips or Cool Ranch Doritos , possibly a compulsion you gave up in your youth or until you tried those baby chips with a Dos Equis and a shot of tequila . The goal here is the dream of every great bar : to mix all the disparate parts together into a superlative whole .
It ’ s true for the drinks , the crowd — often seen throwing darts together — and the food . Messy cheesesteaks , heaping hot subs , roast beef sandwiches and Chicago dogs are piled high and meant to spill out in hedonistic glee . Time it right and you ’ ll find that the kitchen is cooking up thick slabs of bacon with pickled jalapeños and hot sauce potatoes with ranch dip . Whatever you decide to pair with your drinks , it ’ s fodder for everyone sitting in proximity to discuss . Live music , brunch or chatting about local news is a shared experience and if you leave with three more friends than you came in with , Lantz and Chamberland will consider their work done .
LUCKY ENOUGH 1492 Westminster St ., Providence , 642-2749 , luckyenoughpvd . com .
MUST GET Cheesesteaks , bacon , booze .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2022 75