Bit Bar
You know, on Phantom Gourmet we show you a small, quiet, intimate date night spot. You look at your girlfriend or your boyfriend and say, Let's go there for a special night. Well, you may want to go to Bit Bar in Salem for a special night, but it's not going to be quiet. When you walk in this place is just super fun. You've got the high ceilings, dozens of games. I'm talking video, pinball, air hockey, a great bar, those long communal tables. I mean, it would take you a lifetime to notice every little thing that they have in this restaurant.
“What we want them to experience is just how cool this place is and the visuals here are amazing. We have some incredible interior design. We have these great warm lights on all these games which say a really inviting place.”
Gideon Coltof is the owner. This man knows food, drinks, video games and hatwear.
“Here we have around 50 odd arcade games that are here, pretty much on permanent display, and then we have several more, which we rotate in and out. So we have all sorts of great stuff.”
A place this fun needs great, shareable appetizers, so I recommend the Tetris tots, named after the video game classic. It has house made beer cheese, scallions, bacon bits and that big dollop of sour cream.
“Biting into those Tetris tots like a fully loaded plate. It's just an amazing experience. It's got the great creaminess and the crispiness that you would really hope to have for a great bit of comfort food.”
The wings here are known as Angry Birds, and they're big, juicy wings. They have a lot of flavor and texture because they're smoked and then fried.
“It's meaty, it's flavorful. It's a savory taste. Every time they're just fantastic wings.”
Instead of doing a fried chicken sandwich, here they do a crispy chicken. BLT, so you do have the big white meat fried chicken, but then you have bacon, lettuce, tomato
“You take a bite, and it's an explosion of flavor. It really fills your mouth and it fills your nose with flavor. It's really an amazing thing.”
If you're a Phantom Gourmet fan, I think there are two things you absolutely have to do at Bit Bar. One, play the video game Burger Time, and then when it's time, order a burger. Just look at how juicy that burger is in the brioche bun with garlic aioli, arugula, cured tomato, fresh mozzarella, balsamic glazed caramelized onions and roasted cremini mushrooms.
“So our Goomba burger is an interesting take on a smash burger. We get two patties and some of our special sauce. You have the arugula in there flavorful sandwich that also just explodes in your mouth.”
I think the most interesting item on this menu is the Chicken and Waffles. Waffles is big in the south, and this is a big waffle. It's got cream cheese inside, Mike's hot honey on top. But the deliciously different twist here is that it has a kimchi slaw. Instead of a big piece of chicken, you can get tenders or wings with a Korean barbecue sauce.
“And it’s presented in this gorgeous way. We have these beautiful waffles, and then the chicken wings are kind of arrayed on the waffle in a really creative way. It makes a huge impression when it comes out. And everyone loves it. Turns heads.”
If you say, Beetlejuice three times, the Beetlejuice cocktail will magically appear. This drink has Midori, which is a Japanese melon liqueur you don't see that often, Absolut Raspberry, Blue Curacao and cranberry. That is one colorful cocktail.
“The Beetlejuice is a sweet drink. It's tall, it's attractive in terms of flavor profile. It fills your palate. It really doesn't just hit you right with the sugar right up front. It kind of fills your taste buds, and really lets you enjoy the whole thing.
If you're a Ms Pac Man fan and who isn't you may want to get the Ms Pac Man cocktail. This has Malibu rum, vodka, pineapple juice and grenadine.
“We've had it on the menu since the first day we opened back in 2016 and it's great. It's served in martini glass, it's red, it's yellow, it's really cool. And people love that.
As you can imagine, this place hosts tons of birthday parties for both kids and adults, and you've got to get this birthday cake showstopper. It is five layers. It's crusted with Fruity Pebbles, one of my favorite childhood cereals, and it's got strawberry and whipped cream. It's not my birthday, but I'm going to make a wish that somebody takes me to Bit Bar.
“Birthday cake, it's a tasty, sweet delight. You finish your meal and you just want to cool down from some of the spicier stuff. The birthday cake is a great option for that.”
So I say, get yourself a roll of quarters. Grab a bunch of friends who love fun and 80s nostalgia. Come here, have an arcade Olympics and loser has their house to buy the food and the drinks at Bit Bar in Salem.
“ I recommend everybody come and experience our fun and unique take on drinks, our new and interesting food, our barbecue, all of our great things there, our video games, and really just bask in the atmosphere. It's a super fun place to be. And I highly recommend everybody come check it out.”
