The two have combined forces at Saint Valentine for a bar that is dapper and bit quirky. An L-shaped bar in the middle of the space has about 15 barstools, the nucleus of the space. There are also deep booths and a couple of cozy round tables toward the back for a bit of an intimate date. A patio outside is more casual with a big TV for all the sports watching.
On a recent Saturday evening, we stopped in for cocktails and bar snacks. The soundtrack here is a peculiar tonic in itself. The Pharcyde's "Soul Flower," "Get Money" by The Notorious B.I.G. and Outkast's "So Fresh and So Clean" all stood out, like maybe you grew up with these people. And if you didn't party with them, hopefully, you're about to.
As expected with Sanchez — who made high-end cocktails cool at The Black Swan — there's a classic cocktail section on the menu: an SV Old Fashioned, Sazerac and Daiquiri are all made with house-blended booze and all cost around $13.
About a dozen signature drinks are a little more experimental. The Montclair Manhattan ($16) is made with reposado tequila and chocolate mole bitters. The Pink Negroni ($15) has strawberry campari.
We tried the Big Booty Trudy ($14), served in a tall skinny glass. It had pineapple skin charanda, lemon macadamia Orgeat, Velvet Falernum and passionfruit over pellet ice. The libation channels tiki bar vibes and, appropriately, has a pineapple spear sticking out of it.
It was refreshing and fun, but for the next round, we moved to the Churched Up Beer section of the menu. A boilermaker combo of Miller High Life and a shot of whiskey are priced to move at $10 and hit the spot.
Saint Valentine also has a food menu with snacks, "mids" and a few heavier plates. Things get interesting here. You can get a black garlic burger for $12 or a bacon-wrapped hot dog for $9. Wings are $12 per pound, but don't be shy about passing the typical bar items (although they look tasty too) and going for something a bit unfamiliar.
We went with the Fishwife smoked trout ($14), which is like a Happy Meal for a salty old sailor. It comes out on a trey, the fish still in the can (like tuna) along with toast and some accouterments (lemon, pickle, radish and stone-ground mustard).
A little later we ordered the chicken pate ($12) served with a relish and toast: light, fresh and, again, fun to dig into.
A Bit About The Bites
Jordan Edwards is the chef at Saint Valentine and has worked at several bars and restaurants around Dallas, including The Mitchell and Fine China. He started his career at Beruit Rock in Arlington, where he worked in the front of the house, but was drawn to the from-scratch Middle Eastern cooking in the back.Many of the menu items at Saint Valentine came from back-of-house sessions where he and other chefs would play around with recipes and ingredients. This is exactly how this book reads: a chef making things he wants to eat.
This includes the miso garlic noodles on the menu.
"I had some Japanese udon noodles at home and I had miso paste and at the time I was doing popups with my friend, Kaju Pku, we call him Kuma," says Edwards. "He also has a lot of Asian influence in his cooking. And he had left me some ingredients and one of them was white miso. And I'm just like, you know what? I'm going to make some quick pasta at home."
He loved the simple dish, and now it's tucked on the menu between furikake fries and a charred Caesar.
"It's kind of those experiences where you make something, you're like, 'Holy crap, this is good,'" Edwards says. "And then you kind of keep it in your back pocket. When is someone going to appreciate this?"
Edwards says he got the idea for the tin fish tray from another Dallas chef, Joel Orsini, who served it at Izkina in Deep Ellum, "I went there and had that plenty of times, so I always kind of liked tin fish."
Cheers to giving chefs the liberty to cook chef things.
Saint Valentine is an instant classic in Dallas. The drinks, space and bites all add up, and we hope to visit many more times.
Saint Valentine, 4800 Bryan St. Wednesday – Monday, 5 p.m. – 2 a.m. Closed Tuesday.
