Fill me up: Flask Lounge

Opened in November by co-owners Jessica Nolette and Andrea Fawcett, Flask's location will shape a lot of people's initial perception of it. The building was formerly occupied by a number of gay bars, something Nolette dealt with right from the beginning. The inside was renovated, but aside from a small “Flask” sign, the exterior is almost identical.

"At the beginning, people came in" expecting a gay bar, Nolette says. "We said everyone's welcome, and it's been that way ever since. Some people (came in) that wanted the dance club it used to be, but a lot of people had never even been in (before). Then word of mouth got out."

That word of mouth spread around Flask's neighborhood, located where downtown and the West End collide. This hard-to-describe location is great for those who live in the neighborhood, but makes it difficult to find for people who don't know the city. If someone just wants to “go out” in general, they will go to the Old Port or Congress Street by default, which means Flask has a hard time pulling people in right off of the street.

Even so, there was already a crowd developing on Thursday evening. And when I called the bar around 6:30 p.m. a few nights earlier, the bartender was too busy to talk. Apparently, word is already out. The bar, which is basically one large room with lots of comfortable group seating, had around 15 people by 7 p.m. Some were drinking, others eating and a few were even playing vids. Vids you say?

Yes, this bar has a Wii, and it is available for all to use. In a society where you must leave a form of ID or credit card with a bartender just to use some darts or a pool cue, the trusting manner in which Nolette handed out the Wiimotes was refreshing. She even showed the guys how to set up the game, a departure from the harried and gruff bartenders I’m used to.

The service was good all around. As soon as we walked in, Nolette asked, "Is there anything you guys would like to watch on TV?" Since Seinfeld was on, the answer was no, but it was a nice gesture. In addition, the service was quick. The drinks came fast and so did the food, which was top notch.

The $5.99 jalapeño wontons (six of them) were not frozen, a surprise in a world of deep frying where almost everything is freezer burned. They were also high quality and tasted great, just like the $8.99 Cuban panini. This might not be a place people think of as a dinner option, but they should. The menu is small, but the taste is big.

The crowd at Flask is pretty diverse, a reflection of the population that lives in this area of the West End (not the ritzy Western Prom). One thing I noticed is the lack of the afterwork crowd, a staple of the bars closer to downtown.

“It’s a mixed bag of everyone. My mother comes in here,” Nolette says. “There’s a lot of the West End crowd, but there’s not a lot of the 21-year old crowd.”

Flask gives you a lot of options. You could take a date here, meet with out-of-state friends or just stop by for a drink. Flask meets the criteria for a good time: excellent food, friendly service, video games and a layout conducive to chilling with friends. It is not a big party spot and doesn’t try to be. It might behoove the owners to put a few more distinctive markings on the exterior to separate it from the building’s previous tenants. That might attract even more people than the already effective word of mouth.