Recent articles & reviews in the media

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Review from Hill country Sun, "The Friendly Bar Bistro Adds A Bit of European Flair to Johnson City", by Kelly Carper Polden, June, 2008 edition.

Imagine a delightful afternoon browsing through art galleries and taking a leisurely stroll down the street to a nearby bistro to enjoy a glass of wine and a serving of crostini appetizers. This vision likely brings to mind a trip to Paris or Rome, but it takes place right here in the Hill Country in the up-and-coming art community of Johnson City. Johnson City has a growing number of art and sculpture galleries and is home to the Friendly Bar Bistro, owned by Tom and Cindy Talcott. Tom is a retired Air Force colonel. Cindy recently retired as a child psychologist with the University of Texas at Austin. Both are wine, food, music and art enthusiasts. "After touring local shops and art galleries, the Friendly Bar Bistro provides the perfect place to unwind with a glass of wine and a plate of delicious bistro fare," Tom says as he pours glasses of wine for his customers on a recent Sunday afternoon. "On one of our many trips to a Johnson City art event, Cindy and I decided to buy the vacant Friendly Bar building. We wanted to create the type of venue that we enjoy. The Friendly Bar Bistro offers good wine, excellent food, and a variety of top-notch musical talent, all in a comfortable setting."

The Talcott's spent several months renovating the old Friendly Bar, being careful to restore the antique tin ceiling, the original 1870s-era mirrored bar, and the famous mural of local characters that includes an image of Lyndon Baines Johnson. "Renovation took a lot of time and effort, but it was well worth it," Tom explains. "Some people collect and restore Model T cars. In my case, I restored one of the oldest saloons in Texas. It is truly a one of a kind find." Founded in the 1870s as the Palace Saloon, the Friendly Bar became a favorite meeting place for locals, ranchers and cowboys. Today the Talcott's host Johnson City and Hill Country residents and welcome visitors from all across the state.

As avid wine enthusiasts, the Talcott's carefully select a variety of wine offerings from Texas and around the world. In addition to standard, domestic beers, the Friendly Bar Bistro features local craft beers from Real Ale Brewery in Blanco. Wine and beer offerings are paired with a tantalizing, gourmet food menu, created by chef Gary Madrid, who joined the Bistro in August 2007. The menu changes seasonally and may include classic French dip and Italian-style Panini sandwiches, chicken cordon bleu, and even roasted quail. "Gary is a gem. In addition to being a trained chef, he trained as a wine steward in France," Tom explains. "With Gary's excellent food and the ambience that Cindy and I have created, we're making the Friendly Bar Bistro a real attraction here in the Hill Country."

Sunday nights are known as "Picker's Night" where anywhere from 12 to 15 musicians get together for a jam session of jazz, country and Tex-Americana tunes. According to Tom, Sunday is one of his busiest nights, drawing regulars from Johnson City, Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, and Fredericksburg.

The Bistro promotes local talent in both music and artwork. Each month the Bistro features a local artist's work that decorates the walls around the stage. Tom said it helps create an interesting setting. "We're having a great time bringing a bit of upscale, European flair to the Hill Country. We encourage everyone to come out and have a good time in Johnson City," Tom says with a big smile.

FYI The Friendly Bar Bistro is located at 106 North Nugent in Johnson City. The Bistro is open Thursday though Friday from 3 pm to midnight, Saturday from 3 pm to 1 am, and Sunday from 3 pm tom@friendlybarbistro.com or visit the web site at www.friendlybarbistro.com.

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Review from The Texas Wine & Food Gourmet.com, by Terry Thompson-Anderson, reprinted below. To see on-line article, click: Article

The Friendly Bar Bistro - 106 North Nugent, Johnson City, Texas 78636 (830) 868-2182. Now, here's a wine bar with a smoky history! Originally opened in the 1870's as the Palace Saloon, the building has seen its share of cowboys, ranchers and Texas characters. The great mirrored back bar, which still remains, was added in 1883. The name was later changed to Friendly Bar and had a score of owners over the years. The years built up a patina of cigar and cigarette smoke as the town of Johnson City grew around the free standing building. In 1995 the owners commissioned Nathan Jensen to do a huge panoramic mural which they titled "Friendly Bar Customers Past Present and Future". When Tom and Cindy Talcott bought the bar in June of 2006, they set to work removing the smoky patina, down to scrubbing the original tin ceiling, but decided to leave the mural as a visual history of the place (and perhaps the town). The Talcott's renamed the bar "The Friendly Bar Bistro" and completely renovated the interior. The great original bar remains, refitted with comfortable stools. Individual groupings of sofas, chairs and tables and chairs provide intimate seating areas for enjoying the fruit of the vine or a cold beer, with choices from Texas breweries.
The wine list is small, but varied and Texas wines have a good showing on the list. Cheese, fruit and bread plates prepared by Temptations Bakery of Johnson City are available. With a nod to its former incarnation, Friendly Bar Bistro has a back patio with dart board, pool table and seating. In true Texas tradition the bistro will offer various music venues such as blues, country and jazz with occasional chamber music. Noted Texas musician Johnny Greenberg (Texas Music's top producer for 2006) actually got his start at the old Friendly Bar during a "hot mike" session. Greenberg even wrote a song about the bar - "The Too Damned Friendly Bar". (See www.johnmgreenberg.com/home.) The Talcott's will keep the open mike tradition alive at the Friendly Bar Bistro. It's a great little place - definitely not your average wine bar! If you're on your way to Fredericksburg on a Friday afternoon, stop in for a wee libation to jump start your weekend, a little tete a tete with some friendly folks and lots of local color in the land of LBJ. www.friendlybarbistro.com.

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Review From The Johnson City Record Courier, "Salsa Dancing + Salsa Tasting = Friendly Bar Bistro", By Ruth Ann Marshal, September 13, 2006.

While there was football going on inside, there was something much more exciting going on outside! This past Sunday, Selah Simpson and her trusty sidekick/sister Dannon were on hand in the beer garden to teach salsa dancing. Selah comes to us from Alice's Dance Studio in Austin and has been dancing many genres for a number of years. They taught participants the basic salsa dance steps as well as a few not so basics. After getting the essentials down, participants learned the "hair brush" and even the 'double hair brush'. Sound intriguing? Do you want to know more? The music was entertaining, and to go along with the unique atmosphere, there were plenty of chip dippin' salsas and snacks to keep the body fueled while dancing. If you missed it last week, don't despair! The response was so great that Selah agreed to come back again next Sunday, September 17^th from 3-4pm [Ed: Next is Sun Oct 8 at 5pm]. Admission is free, so come out and dance the afternoon away with your favorite drink, fun and food! The fun will be out in the beer garden, with more salsas and snacks to enjoy. So get your dancin' shoes on and come join the fun. Don't forget to check www.friendlybarbistro.com for more fun events coming up.

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Review From The Johnson City Record Courier, "The Friendly Bar and All that Jazz", By Heather Hogan, August 24, 2006. 

The soulful sounds of blues artist Patsy Thompson spilled out into the streets of Johnson City from the Friendly Bar Bistro Friday night. A native of Canada, Thompson's sound shows all the colors of her influences who include Bonnie Raitt, Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, and Willie Nelson-but with a decidedly Texas flair. Though not appearing with her usual band members, the skilled players who joined her meshed together flawlessly for an incredibly smooth, entertaining show. The band filled the Friendly's classy but comfortable room with a mix of jazz and blues, covers of classics by Patsy Cline and others, and Thompson originals like "Sweet Blanco Rose." While still in college, the now Texas-based Thompson and Wailin' Walker and the House Rockers made rock and blues for biker dances and parties around British Columbia until she felt the stage had gotten too small for both of them. Thompson has been entertaining Texans since 1992, when she first played Austin's South-by-Southwest music festival.

Friendly Bar Bistro owner Tom Talcott's plans are to continue providing Johnson City with a variety of musical guests in the newly reopened Friendly. With a variety of award-winning Texas and international wines and beers, Talcott aims to create a clean, conversation-friendly atmosphere in the newly reopened bar. While accommodating smokers with outdoor tables and the soon-to-open beer garden, Talcott has designed the indoor wine bar/bistro to be a smoke-free atmosphere to provide all customers a relaxing, "friendly" venue. With its eclectic decor, cozy but upscale furnishings and such acts as Thompson, the new Friendly is a classy, intimate alternative for a weekend night in the Hill Country. Patsy Thompson's band will be appearing at the Friendly again in September. Information on future events at the Friendly Wine Bar Bistro is available at www.friendlybarbistro.com.

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