Duck, elk, more on menu as Modesto chef Tye Bauer opens new eclectic downtown spot
Modesto chef Tye Bauer likes small and unusual spaces.
His first restaurant, Bauer’s 66 1/2 Skillet & Grill, is in the popular McHenry Village shopping center — but tucked away on the side in a windowless room. His second spot, Bauhaus Tapas Lounge, is on Downey Avenue right at the busy intersection of Scenic, Burney and H streets in a building that could easily double as a tiny house.
Now his third place, his Downtown Gastropub, is on Ninth Street in a structure that used to be a hardscrabble locals bar with rooms for rent by the hour upstairs — allegedly. That new restaurant, which has taken over the short-lived The Burnt End space, debuts Sunday, Dec. 1, with a soft opening party to celebrate it and Bauer’s 66 1/2 10th anniversary.
Regular service will then begin on Tuesday, Dec. 3, with lunch being served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Bauer plans to expand to dinner service and weekend brunches by February, as well as add coffee service.
The popular Modesto chef has put his own, very local spin on the space. One wall has brick tile, an homage to the Bauer’s 66 1/2 brick walls. He has hung a series of paintings of Ninth Street landmarks by Modesto artist Jonathan Troxler. They include the J.S. West granary and the Southern Pacific depot, among others.
That gritty, local feel can also be felt in his logo and the mural painted on the restaurant’s exterior wall — a train. The new mural, which painted over The Burnt End’s former butcher diagram, is a replica of the historic steam locomotive and tender that used to sit in Beard Brook Park.
Bauer liked the imagery, and metaphor, of trains.
“Trains built towns, like this one,” he said. “And trains symbolize growth and progress. We’re like that, a locomotive, going full steam ahead.”
And, to further honor the town’s train connection, the gastropub will offer $1 off beers any time a train goes by — which if you have spent any time in downtown Modesto or got stuck behind one, you know happens quite a bit. The pub will have a dozen taps serving local craft brews from the likes of Modesto’s Contentment, Ceres’ Blaker and Oakdale’s Last Call, among others. Then in early 2020, the restaurant should receive its full liquor license, and be able to serve cocktails as well.
To start, the restaurant will have a limited menu featuring its three signature burgers — one with Angus beef, one with venison and one with elk. There also will be a rotating menu of salads from nicoise to smoked salmon and grilled Caesar, as well as other sandwiches, including duck confit and a barbecue chicken. Sandwiches and burgers, served with a side, will range from $15 to $17.
Bauer said you can expect the menu to grow through December as the restaurant finds its footing. And you can also expect Bauer’s big, bold flavors in all his from-scratch food — which helped to land him on celebrity chef Guy Fieri’s Food Network shows “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “Guy’s Grocery Games” in the past.
Once dinner service starts in the new year, you should see more wild game, a variety of in-house made sausage and lots and lots of steak. Bauer will be dry-aging his beef, from ribeye to New York strip and more. Also expect housemade and cured pastrami, pork butt, duck, lamb and other smoked meats.
Bauer plans to use his new downtown spot as a cooking (and smoking and curing) hub for his other restaurants. He took over the restaurant’s two large smokers, which he has already put to use. Still, lest you think the gastropub will only be a carnivore’s paradise, he will also have a selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes and make his own vegan sausage and other offerings.
He is running the restaurant with a small staff of five. The interior seats about 60, and an outside patio area should fit another 40. And to ensure that the eatery’s place on the edge of downtown, without much on-street parking nearby, isn’t a deterrent to diners, Bauer will refund anyone who parks in the adjacent outdoor city lot for the $1.25 parking fee.
Bauer’s new Downtown Gastropub, at 822 Ninth St., will be open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday for lunch. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/8229thstreetmodestoca.
Elsewhere around the Business Beat:
Tye isn’t the only Bauer with big, exciting new things happening this week.
The Modesto chef’s wife, Niccol Bauer, has opened a yoga studio. Her new business, Dharma Yoga, is based on the teachings of New York-based master yoga instructor Sri Dharma Mittra, with whom she studied. She will be offering classes for all skill levels at her Scenic Drive space.
Find Dharma Yoga at 601 Scenic Drive. For more information, visit www.instagram.com/dharmayogamodesto.
