In the Drink: Jonathan at Gratz Park

Our new monthly column checks out area watering holes; first up, Jonathan at Gratz Park

By Wendy Miller CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST

If you ask Webster's, a bar refers to a place where alcohol and sometimes food are served.

In today's world, however, that definition, ignoring sociology, is far too restrictive. There are juice bars, dive bars, coffee bars, gay bars, wine bars. In a multicultural community, they also go by different names: a Japanese izakaya or an Irish-style pub, for instance; sometimes they are merged with a broader concept like a discoteca.

Whatever the context, what you drink, and why and where you drink it, says a lot about you and your community.

That, broadly stated, is what this column will explore monthly. From top shelf to the cheapest well, from English-speaking to bilingual, from the public counter to the private wine tasting, from the coffeehouse to the alternative music clubs, I hope to hit all of the area's venues and provide impressionistic reflections -- not reviews! -- on the experience of drinking in the Bluegrass.

Let's start at Jonathan at Gratz Park, a downtown restaurant known for its contemporary flip on local dining traditions.

The food is great, and the atmosphere conventionally semi-formal; designer jeans might feel out of place.

Most of the people I know, and there are a lot of regulars here, prefer to eat and drink in the bar, the more relaxed cousin adjacent to the dining room, where labels are cool, no one is overdressed, and the judicious use of cell phones is predictable but considerate.

I suspect that the bar's smaller scale lends intimacy, and its relaxed atmosphere further breaks the ice.

In one corner there is a muted television screen -- let's face it, whether talking basketball or horse racing, Lexington is a sports town. Apart from this fixture, and a little rock 'n' roll as the ambient music, the bar at Jonathan is a cozy cross between a bistro of simply set little tables and a clubby home library, complete with fireplace.

Three experienced bartenders, all passionate about their work, mix and pour everything from a classic martini -- gin, please, not shaken -- to tropical cocktails. Leaving aside my own such atypical preferences in clear liquor, this demographic (and seemingly the whole country) drinks vodka (Grey Goose) and, on the amber end, bourbon -- apparently the drink of the moment nationwide. How strategically convenient is that?

Such soft "statistics" notwithstanding, the fact that the full menu is available everywhere in the bar probably explains why wine is the biggest seller. The frequently changing four-page list is food-friendly and hardly intimidating, right now representing the United States, France, Australia, Germany and Italy.

By-the-glass reds and whites are in the $8-to-$10 range, and no one is unwilling to pour a smidgen to taste. The bar at Jonathan is committed to the fine dining experience. How would it be possible without a sample sip to know whether a wine will match the food? A pet peeve is the widespread assumption that decisions about wine precede those about food. Huh?

From my bar-stool perspective, the well-heeled crowd here orders lots of bottles, presumably because they know what they want and can afford it.

Because I am sitting by myself for this column, however, what I really appreciate is the selection of half-bottles (10 whites, 10 reds) that gives a world of choice to those solo or coupled customers, and is brilliantly put together by chef Jonathan Lundy's wife and business partner, Cara, to harmonize with the menu design. Try the crisp, refreshing 2005 Robert Sinskey pinot blanc; staff can suggest a dish that will do the wine justice.

The bar at Jonathan is open daily, and while reservations are not accepted at the bar itself, given the utterly unpredictable nature of dining patterns during seasonal events like the Keeneland races or University of Kentucky games, it never hurts to book a table.

in the drink

The bar at Jonathan at Gratz Park

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Signature drink

Here's a sexy historical factoid: Belle Brezing, Lexington's famous madam who is believed to be the model for Belle Watling in Gone With the Wind, is said to have had a site of operations at what is now the bar at Jonathan. As an homage to her, Jonathan bartender Tyler Cox invented an eponymous bourbon drink. Of course, the Belle Brezing is probably best enjoyed in the bar with her ghost somewhere close by, but Cara Lundy has been generous enough to share it here for the home mixologist.

The Belle Brezing

2 ounces Woodford Reserve bourbon

1 ounce Grand Marnier

1 ounce Pama pomegranate liqueur

Splash of cranberry

Pour all four ingredients in a shaker with ice, and shake until icy cold. Serve in a chilled martini glass.