{"id":244897,"date":"2012-03-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-02T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/welcome-to-the-cave\/"},"modified":"2012-03-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-02T08:00:00","slug":"welcome-to-the-cave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/welcome-to-the-cave\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to \u2018the cave\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Dr. Ink <\/strong>

\"Welcome<\/a>
House-made Sangria with free chips and homemade salsa are in the offing on Saturdays at Cueva Bar. (Photo by Dr. Ink)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think is in this Sangria?\u201d I asked my drinking cohort who lived in Spain for three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot sure, but it has a deep prune-y taste,\u201d he replied as we noted its intense sweetness, inky red color and exceptionally generous pours sitting in our globe-shaped stemware.<\/p>\n

On Saturdays at Cueva Bar, the happy hour special points directly to seasonal, house-made Sangria, available for $5 a glass. It\u2019s served with complimentary tortilla chips and thick, zesty salsa made on the premises by chef-owner Oz Blackaller. It turned out that Blackaller\u2019s wife, Joanna, concocted the current recipe for this Spanish commingling of wine and fruit. Although here she used an anomalous blend of red wine, molasses, wine-based Triple Sec, blackberries and dates. The latter ingredient is what obviously tipped off my friend\u2019s palate upon first sip, which indeed added a raisin-like quality to the drink. Fans of Port and old-vine reds will easily embrace its cloyingness.<\/p>\n

Drink and food specials vary throughout the remainder of the week (except on Sundays, where a happy hour is not offered). They feature $2 off all beers (bottled and drafts) plus $6 flatbreads on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Visit on Tuesday or Thursday and savor $5 wines by the glass (red or white) along with $5 tapas.<\/p>\n

New to the program is a second late-night happy hour on Fridays resuming that day\u2019s deals while also pulling in the tapas menu. In addition, Blackaller increased his beer taps from three to eight this week, giving customers broader pairing possibilities for his South American-inspired chow, all served within cozy confines that welcome you with burnt-orange walls and rustic d\u00e9cor. The name \u201cCueva,\u201d by the way, is Spanish for \u201ccave.\u201d <\/p>\n

Having been a fan of Blackaller\u2019s coco flatbread with walnuts, dried cranberries and Asiago cheese, I was thrilled to see it make the tapas list throughout the weekdays. The creation breaks the mold of all other flatbreads served around town, striking a sweet-and savory outcome that matches better to beer and medium-bodied vino than it does heavy Sangria.<\/p>\n

Of the newish tapas we sampled off the Saturday menu, a smashed red potato topped with olive tapenade would have been livelier if draped with a piece of Spanish ham or prosciutto. Although an order of potato skins broke into a hat dance when swiped through the marvelously spicy house aioli. Other nibbles you\u2019ll find along the way include dates stuffed with bacon and goat cheese, olive tapenade quesadillas and baked pita with veggies.<\/p>\n

In keeping with its Spanish ambiance, the softly lit Cueva Bar demands you hang a while over sips, bites and intimate conversation.<\/p>\n

CALIFICACIONES:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Drinks: 4\/5
\nIf you\u2019re a sweet tooth, behold the house Sangria infused with molasses, dates and blackberries. The bar has also increased its tap beer selection and offers wildcard wine choices of global origins on certain days of the week.<\/p>\n

Food: 4\/5
\nThe coco flatbread with cranberries and Asiago cheese is a winner!<\/p>\n

Value: 3\/5
\nDepending what day of the week you visit, savings average a couple of bucks on booze, tapas and various flatbreads. <\/p>\n

Service: 4\/5
\nIn keeping with the bar\u2019s neighborhood feel, the owners extend warm welcomes to patrons while providing casual, unpretentious service.<\/p>\n

Duration: 5\/5
\nThere\u2019s no need to rush in here on Fridays should you get snared in rush-hour traffic. As of this week, a second late-night happy hour has been added, and we like the fact that deals exist on Saturdays.<\/p>\n

Cueva Bar<\/strong>
\n2123 Adams Ave. (University Heights)
\n619-269-6612
\nHappy Hour: 5 to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, with the addition of 10 p.m. to midnight on Fridays.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Ink \u201cWhat do you think is in this Sangria?\u201d I asked my drinking cohort who lived in Spain for three years. \u201cNot sure, but it has a deep prune-y taste,\u201d he replied as we noted its intense sweetness, inky red color and exceptionally generous pours sitting in our globe-shaped stemware. On Saturdays at […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":244813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Welcome to \u2018the cave\u2019","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}