Ten minutes after opening its doors on an overcast October morning, Ten Stone Tavern already has customers; seated at one of the bar's elegant tables, a pair of middle-aged men intently looks over the menu.
Quarter to noon isn't when most pubs pull in their business, but a quick glance around Ten Stone, located at the corner of 21st and South, reveals a different sort of feel: warm orange and yellow walls complement the resonant wood d‚cor, framed photographs sit spaciously between potted plants hanging from sunken windows, and cushions line the bench that wraps around the wall.
Sportscenter still plays on three high-def televisions by the bar, but the sound is off, and the music replacing it is quiet, soft, peaceful.
A woman in blue jeans and a red shirt is the only server on-duty, and she tells us to sit wherever we like as she wipes down the bar.
Soon she is bringing water over to our corner table and providing remarkably honest advice: thumbs up to the Tuscan chicken sandwich ($8.95) and quesadillas ($6.95), thumbs down to the portabella mushroom ($5.95) and the ham and cheese ($5.95). We ask if they have orange juice, and she nods. "It's not very good though," she warns, "it's mostly for mixing vodka." We order the Brie and Bleu Cheese Fondue ($6.95), an Apple Spinach Salad ($6.95), and take her advice both on the Tuscan chicken and the orange juice - just water, thanks. It's a bit early for alcohol, after all.
The fondue arrives in a mug, hot, surrounded by a healthy serving of sliced ciabatta bread. Thick and mixed with mushrooms, the brie provides the dish's driving force while the bleu cheese adds a provocative finish.
As the bartender brings out our salad and sandwich, a quartet of elderly women, at least in their seventies, come in and take up a table. Soon they are sampling from the 24 draughts on Ten Stone's tap. It isn't yet noon.
Our meals are both excellent, the Apple Spinach Salad successfully combining goat cheese, honey-roasted cashews and apple slices with a walnut vinaigrette for a sweet, fresh taste, while a subtle pesto sauce mixed with artichoke and gouda serves the Tuscan chicken well.
It is the atmosphere, however, that proves the most delicious. A young couple pushing a baby carriage sits down to a cup of coffee at the table by the door. A man in a suit-jacket with the New York Times sits at the bar. Light streams through the windows, and the old ladies drink their beer.
Thanks to such a diverse clientele and selection of liquors, Ten Stone almost certainly picks up at night. But with a menu strictly under 10 dollars and a welcoming, neighborhood feel, here's one bar that's worth checking out before dark.
