Walking in from the stone, cement and shadow outside Blue Orchid always feels like ascending. Maybe the relative ease inside this pan-Asian bar and restaurant lifts some inner weight. Maybe the wide planks of wood wrapping the back bar and front columns simply remind me of a treehouse.
The wood motif’s been there since the place was The Beer Collective, which closed in 2020. Other things have changed. Hardy wooden tables befitting a beer hall used to extend more cohesively to the rear opposite wall. Now the tabling is more transitory, deferring to the needs of dance parties and drag brunches. Blue Orchid is as much an event space as a bar or restaurant, catering in particular to the local LGBT+ community.
My companion and I avoided the crowds, settling onto our bar stools a little after 4 p.m. the day before New Year’s Eve. Using her Chaser, we started with a complimentary Lemon Drop (normally $8, or $6 during happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m.), a can’t-fail blend of vodka, simple syrup and lemon juice served in a stemless martini glass with a delicate lip of sugar. Glowing a very pale yellow, the result was refreshing and refreshingly uncomplicated, each sip a soft, sweet kiss of citrus.
We then shared an appetizer that may be unique within city lines: the Chive Bites ($8.95). These dark, fried, deceptively dry-looking cuboids were warm and crispy outside and hot and wet inside, where thick tangles of chives floated in a gelatinous blend of rice flour and cornstarch. The sugar, salt and significant heat of the spicy soy dipping sauce were good and crucial counterpoints to the bready chive flavor, though I wondered if the small portion size justified the price.
I finished with an order of the Vegan Green Curry (with mock duck, $18.95), whose silky, spectrally green broth was sweet, savory and nutty in careful balance. Bundles of rice noodles and tufts of al dente broccoli held it, creating extra juicy bites, while dashes of dried spices delivered peppery jolts. Chewy, salty boulders of mock duck were abundant and lightly singed, as rafts of bell pepper carried brightness and crunch. Broken boards of bamboo, fibrous but pliant, were scattered across the surface as if a tornado had met a shed.
Scary storm metaphors aside, the dish, much like off-hours Blue Orchid, was a peaceful if colorful experience quietly enjoyed.
Written and photographed by Dan Mims.
