Hogan's Hideaway

Hogan's Hideaway is on Park Ave. at the corner of Goodman St. It has murals on the side and the decor inside is of a "funky antique-artsy" vibe. There's outdoor seating in warmer months, a very dark rear bar (that seems alluring and ever so slightly divey), and lots of seating in the front. There's a tiny parking lot behind the building.

HH has an extensive wine selection, two home brews from Custom BrewCrafters (Park Ave Ale and Hogan's Pale Ale), and a list of specials that rotates weekly. They have great homemade dressings, fresh bread made in house (a whole wheat loaf with thyme and other spices), and French Onion soup that tastes like the real thing and comes in a crock. There's a quiche of the day and a stir-fry of the day.

I love the transitory nature of it: HH can be dark, and crowded for a sophisticated, modern dinner with a glass of superb wine. Other times it's more like a lunch spot- light and airy in the front with all the soups, salads and sandwiches on the regular menu. And the dynamic changes again depending of if you're at the bar or eating on the back patio. Hogan's Hideaway can be whatever you need it to be-- like a prostitute. But one you can take out-of-town guests to.

Unfortunately, the shape-shifting nature of HH has an adverse effect on the food (and may explain why I can never remember exactly where it is on the corner-- it's a tear in the time-space continuum). I think the weekly specials are probably consistently great (though pricier). However, whenever I venture into the regular menu, the dishes are a little less so. The burgers were good, but the crabcake sandwich just so-so. The veggie melt lacks something to really pull it together, and the eggplant parmesan (even with marvelous homemade noodles) needed a little kick of garlic or salt and less mozzarella. And even that fabulous creamy honey dressing can't make up for plain old iceberg salad-out-of-a-bag.

Overall, I think there's enough variety to require multiple visits to suss out what is best on the menu. The pleasant surprises will probably outweigh the tiny disappointments. You'll probably be most satisfied if you check out as many online reviews as possible to find out what to avoid and what to steer towards.