Houston's long, painful nightmare is over. No, the mosquitos aren't going anywhere, but after being shut out in 2011, Esquire magazine has once again included a Houston bar on its annual "Best Bars in America" list.
The last time a Houston watering hole merited a mention on the list was in 2010, when Esquire picked Mockingbird Bistro as a bar with great food. This year it's no surprise that Anvil Bar & Refuge is holding the mantle for the city, with Esquire's David Wondrich accurately noting that Anvil has served as the "single point of nucleation" for craft-cocktail bars in Houston since opening in 2009.
Anvil is adapted to Houston's no-zoning hodgepodge — it's spare, light, airy, friendly, and it caters to people who like to drink but don't consider the cocktail some sort of emblem. It's got serious beer on tap, too, and a Long Island iced tea on the menu — a monkeyed-with one, to be sure (and far tastier as a result), but still. You won't find a better drink anywhere in America."
Esquire isn't the first national group to give Anvil some love (we know because we've been paying attention), but with a write-up like this, it might have been worth the wait.
