It’s hard to imagine that the building now home to the glossy Blu Grouse once contained the Tiger Lounge. My last memory of its backyard patio and fire pit was of a slice of pizza flying out of my hand as I was knocked into a flowerpot during a Bloodclots show. I was happy to see the patio remains intact and has been outfitted with a cozy ring of stumps to sit on and a new fire barrel with the restaurant’s name carved on its side in a cheerful font. I sat there with owner Diana Lane, a former bartender at Slim’s Last Chance, while she told me about the excitement and stress of opening her first restaurant.
When the Blu Grouse’s website says “fresh and healthy with a gut-bomb twist,” it thankfully does not refer to ipecac-spiked quinoa, but a vegetable-laden selection of flatbread pizzas, wraps, salads, and tacos. The “Caprese Grouse” wrap I tried, with spinach, buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and pesto mayonnaise, was creamy, tangy, and slightly sweet. The mozzarella was lacy and delicate, like an elite string cheese.
