A Sneak Peek Inside Aviary Restaurant's New Bar

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[Avila, 12/30/11]

As promised, the trio behind NE Alberta's Aviary — chefs Sarah Pliner, Jasper Shen, and Kat Whitehead — have added an exclamation point to their post-fire comeback story with the opening of a new adjacent bar that features a full cocktail list and its own small-plate menu. Taking cues from the space itself, which once housed a church, the bar and a 16-seat private-dining area reclaims church wood, drapes, and cabinets as design features.

To start, new bar manager Ross Hunsinger offers an 11-item cocktail menu (the Brix Layer features bourbon, Cointreau, house sour, cherry, angostura bitters, and cabernet; "One Night in Bangkok" gets visitors vodka, kafir leaves, lime, simple syrup, and sesame glass) created to match the chefs' plates. And though the full dining room menu will be available in the bar area, a special happy hour menu (available Monday-Friday from 5-6pm) offers bar-appropriate bites like oysters, pork sliders, and an Aviary "slaw dog" (aka a house-smoked hot dog with pickles).

Aviary's bar officially opens tomorrow, December 31.
· Aviary [Official site]
· All Previous Aviary Coverage [Eater PDX]