First Look: Public House, Denton

Who knew a bar would combine uptown chic with beer belching?

Public House in Denton ain't no ordinary cocktail adventure. Inside you'll find a mix of sophistication with booze, beer and more beer. Set up like a restaurant, with tables resting throughout and the bar smack dab in the middle of everything, college town residents are invited to sit back, relax and chit chat with "A Little Less Conversation" mildly playing in the background. Long live the king.

Some patrons have already been crawling back for more, showing up two weekends in a row since the place first opened.

That was two weeks ago. The new pub occupies the space once held by a nightclub called The Drink. Proprietor Byron Crain decided to transform it into a much more mellow setting for college dwellers to hide out in, combining upscale food with cheap alcohol--and public relations out the wazoo.

And cheap alcohol.
 

A blender of beer.

That's right, cheap alcohol, as in the house's $5 dollar beer tower--yes, a beer tower. Boys, your hearts may have skipped a beat.

So with blender-sized containers of beer and sports on TV, Public House seems like most every man's dream. But this place has a split personality. Despite a plot in Denton's infamous Fry Street area, despite all that cheap booze, there are no neon beer signs or blaring music. Instead, long, large windows rest in front amongst a dull, flesh colored paint. It looks more like Jane Doe's house than anything else.

And there's the menu--a stab at the 'gastro pub' idea or, more likely, an attempt to latch onto the kind of solid but unpretentious cooking you find at Bolsa, DiTerra's and other local spots...although someone may want to remind management these are UNT wallets, not SMU accounts they're trying to lure.

Shrimp and artichoke pesto over pasta in a college bar.