“Wine ~ Beer ~ Eatery”

Restaurant: CRISP

Recommended Meal of Choice: Happy Hour

The Perfect Pair: Baked Texas Goat Cheese and Marinara and a glass of 2012 Citra, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo from Italy

A staple in the Thursday Happy Hour rotation, CRISP is one that never disappoints. It is easily accessible in the Shady Acres neighborhood of the Heights. This cozy gem brings our busy lives to a halt as we gather around the table eating family style with a glass of wine in hand.

As a group, we value good apps as much as we value good wine. There can be around 10 of us who go to happy hour together and we always have a hard time finding apps that satisfy all of our snacking preferences. We definitely do not have that problem at CRISP.  On Wednesdays and Thursdays, it’s HALF OFF all appetizers! Over all the times we’ve been to CRISP together, we’ve ordered every single app, but there are some clear favorites. At the top of this list is the Baked Texas Goat Cheese and Marinara. It comes with killer garlic bread that is wow… just wow. It is beyond perfect. The drunken garlic bread alone is one of the best garlic breads we’ve ever had, but dipping it into the savory goat cheese and marinara is comfort food at its finest!  When ordering this for a group on Wednesday or Thursday, just go ahead and order two (you can thank us later)! It will cost only $2 more than just adding the extra bread! We also love ordering the Truffle Parmesan Fries. They are a huge crowd pleaser and an easy finger food for the center of the table. The yummy pizzas are crispy crusted and delectable. You can’t go wrong with any flavor, so just plan to come back to try them all! Last, but surely not least, the Dairymaid’s Cheese board. Pros: the cheese is all so delicious and there is plenty of it, the accompaniments are the perfect addition to the board, and it is priced well. Cons: there could be definitely be more bread and each slice of meat comes at an additional cost. However, you don’t need the meat to enjoy all of the wonderful cheese already offered on the board.

You bet your bottom dollar we didn’t forget about the wine! Crisp has an enomatic wine machine. A.K.A. a wine vending machine that runs off of preloaded cards that are what we like to call, “Adult Dave and Buster’s” cards.  You add cash to it via your waiter whenever you want, and just whip out when you want to go and get some wine. This is awesome because you can pick your pour size and essentially try the wine out before getting a bottle for the table or just try all the kinds you want to! If it wasn’t too good to be true already, during happy hour, all the wine in the enomatic is HALF OFF! On the other hand, if your legs don’t want to move after a full day of work, you can just order off the menu instead because all glasses of wine are $2 off from 3pm to 7pm. 

We’ve mentioned before that building community is one of our favorite things. If we’re able to do that while drinking and eating… praise! When it comes to this, CRISP has it in the bag. This is a place that makes friends feel like family. As our friends all order their favorite apps or pizzas and place them in the center of the table, we share stories as readily and as easily as we share the dishes themselves.  Every night there are different specials and you can’t go wrong. We can’t wait to see you there!

Peace & Pinot,

The Perfectly Paired Pals