I was out having a beautiful night with my girlfriend. Life feels special when I get to spend time…read morewith her. As we were leaving our very special dinner date, we were driving through downtown Lubbock off Broadway when a place we had never seen before passed by the car window. In perfect unison and harmony, she and I said, "What place is that? Narrow Bar?" We had never seen it before. Was it new? Were we just blind all this time?
Narrow Bar has been around. We truly have been blind all this time. Through my four years of college and then some, I had never heard of it. Tonight would change that.
As I reached Avenue Q, we turned around to investigate. Narrow Bar is attached to the Wells Fargo building with, shockingly, a narrow indoor bar. The outside is what grabbed our attention: an expansive patio filled with a live music trio and young adults casually having a great time. Was this bar one of Lubbock's best-kept secrets? Having had a few drinks already, we agreed on a one-and-done experience to try this place out. We were handed an expansive drink menu listing four categories: classic cocktails, contemporary cocktails, signature cocktails, and mocktails.
I immediately eyed one of my favorite cocktails, a Carajillo, while my girlfriend yearned for the IYKYK (a Porn Star Martini).
Our server took our order, and it wasn't long before our drinks reached the table. My Carajillo came with one of those big ice cubes (an actual cube), which was awesome, and the drink itself was really well done. Their espresso cold brew gave it a strong coffee profile that wasn't as sharp as other Carajillos I've had, which I think benefited the drink, especially being mixed with the slightly citrusy Licor 43.
As for my girlfriend, she was really excited for her martini and adored it, notably because it came with prosecco.
The space is really nice on a cool Lubbock night as it faces the street of downtown Lubbock. The band playing was not a cheesy bar band but actually quite good, pulling some deeper tracks out of their hat, including "That Smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The lead vocalist had this Steve Miller vocal inflection going on, so I requested any Steve Miller song, and we got the always enjoyable "Fly Like an Eagle." They had no tip jar sadly, but my hat goes off to you guys.
It was a short experience, but a great impression enough to make us know we're coming back the next time I visit her in Lubbock.
RIYL: A Steve Miller Band cover band that mostly doesn't cover Steve Miller Band songs