Copper Rocket has
always been the perfect example of how a homegrown bar can thrive in a
mini-mall. You cover the windows, keep it dark, keep it a little grubby and
make everyone forget that there's a dry cleaner next door. A couple pool
tables, some dartboards and some salvaged dinner tables complete the mix. Oh,
and ashtrays. I don't smoke, but a dark bar without smokers is like a
Cosmopolitan without the lime.
Scoping: Copper Rocket aims
toward the young hipster crowd, but not exclusively. That means you've got your
guys in ironic Mennonite beards and girls with tattoos of pin-up girls, but
you've also got retired guys in short-sleeve dress shirts who are just here for
the beer.
Drinking: Copper Rocket treasures
both ends of the beer spectrum. (Not a bad name for a band -- “Tonight on
stage, it's Beer Spectrum!) Monday nights, the special is $1 Miller High
Life, Mickey's Malt Liquor and Schlitz. At the same time, I
also poured through the detailed beer menu and tried a pint of Monk in the
Trunk ($5), an organic amber ale from Jupiter, FL. Most, though not all,
bottled beers run $3.75 or lower. (Yes, there's hard liquor, too.)
Chewing: My drinking buddy and I
started out with the rocket dip ($6.50), the bar's version of a
seven-layer dip –including bean dip, cheddar, tomatoes, onions, black olives,
jalapeño slices and a plop of sour cream. Served with tortilla chips, it wasn't
any better or worse than what you or I would make at home, but at least we didn't
have to make it.
The barbecue pork
sandwich ($6.50) was a sorry thing. Made with thin slices of some salty,
spongy loaf, the barbecue sauce wasn't even mixed in with the pork – just
spread over the top. It was small too. Ordinarily, that would be a disappointment,
but in this case, the less the better. The menu didn't mention that the
sandwich includes onions. Not a big deal for me, but the friend who actually
ordered the sandwich hates them.
The shepherd's pie ($7.50)
was better. A soup bowl is filled with a thick mix of ground beef, carrots,
onions and mushrooms – then topped with instant mashed potatoes and cheddar and
put under the broiler. The meat mixture is really rich with fat, so rich that
you might have trouble finishing the bowl. I think it's spiked with a little
bit of cinnamon or allspice.
Going: For obvious reasons, I
usually don't get to tell the ladies what their toilet looks like. Since Copper
Rocket only has a single unisex can, you're in luck, sweet thangs. The sink has
a hole that's been patched with either caulk or chewing gum. Someone has taken
the paper towel dispenser, but there's no way for me to know if management or a
hoarder is to blame.
Departing: Copper Rocket's beer menu has more pages
than its food menu and that should let you know where its priorities lie. Go
for the brew and if you need a little starch, meat and cheese to settle your
sudsy stomach, it's there.
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