On a freezing cold night last week I headed over to the Bel Ami Lounge on Willamette and 16th with the aim of finding a good dark beer and a cozy corner from where I could people watch and jot mysterious notes in my moleskin. I would then surreptitiously slip out and all would wonder what the silent journalist had been checking up on, or plotting.
A bit absorbed in my daydream I was startled by the smartly dressed hostess as she said hello and led me over to the long, curved, cherry wood bar.
Bel Ami is an upscale lounge situated in the back of the Midtown Marketplace. The space was warmly lit and modern with an extensive, exotic alcohol collection and bar as the room’s centerpiece. Nearly every chair was taken, including the one in the back corner, so I took a front-row seat along the glowing red bar and ordered an espresso stout by Willamette Brewery. Now all I had to do was look broodingly intelligent. The man seated next to me was draped casually over the table and had been joking briefly with the bartenders as they deftly prepared complicated cocktails. In fact, most of those seated at the bar were on a first name basis with both bartenders.
After a few minutes the bar cleared out a bit and I was able to start talking with a friendly regular. The bartenders moved about confidently and were swift but warm with an obviously deep knowledge of the alcohol behind them. The regular informed me that they had been a pair for quite some time. He introduced me to the head bartender, and together they divulged the story of the Richmond Gimlet.
Years back the head bartender had worked with a young University student at a different Eugene bar. The two became good friends and eventually a drink was born from the relationship, today the most popular drink at Bel Ami. The Richmond Gimlet was ostensibly a tribute to his friend; however, he coyly admitted the drink was a subtle joke at the friend’s expense. The nature of the joke was unspoken, but if you look gimlet up in the dictionary it can mean either “a cocktail made with vodka or gin and lime juice” or “a small tool.”
With that the friendly stranger took off for home and I hit the last quarter of my creamy stout, which had been a true pleasure. Without the game blaring or the Pabst-thirsty Thursday crowd, Bel Ami seemed the perfect place to relax or impress a date, a place to get involved in some complex history and indulge in serious drink mixology. Whether you’re looking for tasty fare, a tasty local IPA or stout, wine, or jazz Bel Ami is a place worth finding. And plan on staying awhile.