Gus's Cafe

J had heard that a new bar had moved in where Barb’s Country Kitchen used to be on Butler Street, so we decided to check it out. It looks dingy and uncared for from the outside and we almost drove past it, but the inside is a whole different world. There is a lot of space with tables and booths and a really long bar with colorful but not annoying bar stools. It feels a lot more open and spacious than it did when it was Barb’s. Most of the bar walls are covered in chalkboard paint and all the drinks, specials, and other essential bar signage is written there. The menu is written at the far end of the bar surrounding the cooler and that is the only place they have it, which actually makes for a fun experience.

The bar was lightly populated on a Monday, but it was still a pretty diverse crowd--some Yuppies and locals, and we are pretty sure that the hippest hipsters in hipsterdom were next to us at the bar. So that was amusing. One girl was wearing a dog cone. We are sure it draws a bigger crowd on the weekends. No clue if it gets packed, but we suspect it is busy.

We ate here. A had wings and J had the Kale and Garlic Crepe. It was good, better than most bar food and the menu is actually interesting and happens to be gluten free. They have a ton of vegetarian options and a list of gluten free beers, so they know what crowd they’re aiming for: picky hipsters with money. Plus the kitchen is open so you can see where your food is being cooked, which gives you more confidence when ordering food at a bar. They ring a little bell when the food is up, which is kind of nostalgic and cute.

We loved this place. We are going to go back. It is comfortable, the service was great, the owner checked in on us, the lighting is good, the atmosphere is relaxing, and we overheard their plans for the patio this summer. Two thumbs up. We always talked about having some sort of rating metric; we should really get on that.

Address:	4717 Butler St, 15201	Games:	None
Façade:	Scary	Scene:	Hipsters eating and drinking good things
Parking:	Easy	Patio/Outdoor:	Planned
Kitchen:	Come Hungry	Cleanliness:	Normal
Smoking:	None	Jukebox:	None
Hours:	11am-12am	Cig Machine:	No
Drink Prices:	Average	# taps:	15
Bathrooms:	Sit	Specials:	Being Cheap
Live music:	Almost Never	Riley Factor:	$10.00
ATM:	Yes	Cash Only	Yes
TVs:	2	Size:	Normal