The Vortex midtown location is where I have been spending every Monday night for the past 4 weeks, and many weeks before hand. Monday night is trivia night and if you are in the area its a great way to start your week. Pete, the trivia D.J. and entertainment comes with a barrage of question ranging the pop culture world. As a side note, if you do come bring your A game because team “I wish this microphone were a penis” has placed in the top 3 every week with two 1st place finishes to date.
Anyway on to the nitty gritty. First off I will talk about the food. One word, scrumtruelesent. I have ordered three different burgers and each one has been amazing. I will have to note that I have gotten the black bean patty each time. Not because I am a vegetarian, because I’m not, but because they are so freaking good. Plus you can get tots with your burger. I mean seriously why are tots not an option everywhere?
The beer selection is also fantastic. They really don’t have a real wide selection of beer on draft. I take that back they do have a fairly wide selection with 38 different beers but there draft selection comes no where close to the number of beers that they have in a bottle, with 148 varieties. The price ranges from $2.50 for a PBR bottle to $10.00 for a lovely Lindman’s Lambic and the typical prices range is between $3.50 and $6.50. So basically what ever form of a brewed beverage you are looking for, The Vortex should be able to quench your thirst. They also have a good number of high gravity beers (even more than my beloved Taco Mac).
The atmosphere is fairly typical for a “famous” bar. There are autographed pictures all over the walls of the “famous” people that have come to eat and drink at there fine establishment. They have a long bar against one wall and on the opposing wall there are large, poster size photos of the girls in the burlesque show next door at the Laughing Skull Lounge, which is owned by The Vortex and connects to the restaurant via the hall to the bathroom. There is a smoking section as well. How, you may ask, in a Midtown bar and grille? Because its 18 and up ALL THE TIME! You have to be 18 to get into the place no matter what. Finally a place to go and eat and hang out without listening to screaming kids and out of control families. The service is pretty good, not the best but pretty good. Sometimes you get the feeling that some of the servers have the attitude of being too cool to work or seem to have better things to do besides come and make sure everything is okay but that just ads to the attitude of the establishment.
The Verdict:
Overall The Vortex is a happening place in both Midtown and Little 5 Points with great food and an ample beer selection. Its the type of place that I would start the evening out with but would not be the last stop. On top of trivia, The Vortex offers many other evening specials like weekly service industry night and monthly figure drawling classes at the Lounge next door, adding to the trendy and artistic allure of the place. Its the type of place that I can, have, and will make it a usual stop. Oh and when you make your way to The Vortex read the cover of both the food and drink menu. Coming from many years in the food service industry not only are the covers useful information but also pretty humorous. So with that I will leave you with a quote from the cover of the bar menu:
PAYING FOR YOUR DRINK
If you are ordering “cash & carry,” at the bar, have your
money ready. Fumbling for your wallet or purse prevents
the Bartender from waiting on other customers. Trying
to pay for a single drink with a credit card is really
pathetic, so if you don’t have cash, start a tab.
These are true words to live by.
Overall rating: 4 out of 5
