A new bar opened on Main Street – The Black Pearl. It was such a nice night last night, and Keith was itching to go out, so we gave them a try. Not bad for their first weekend of being open!

We each had a martini: I had something they called an ‘Ann Arbor Cosmo,’ a regular cosmopolitan with the vodka switched out for Patron. It was ok; different, I suppose. Keith can’t remember the name of his (something with elderflower???), but it was tart as all get out. Like a Sweettart candy. Both were ok; neither filled to the brim (Keith’s especially was well below full) and neither had any garnish of any kind (no twists, no nothing). They were each about $12 and came in a large glass (8-9 oz-ish).

We each had a sandwich: I had a sesame tuna sandwich, he had a fish sandwich. Both came with fries which were nice and thin and had some kind of seasoning to them – but not what you think when you hear ’seasoned fries.’ Way more subtle. They were nicely crispy and I enjoyed them – they didn’t need a ton of salt or anything.

My sandwich was good – I asked for the tuna medium rare and that’s exactly how it was prepared. The tuna was coated in sesame seeds and it came with some kind of coleslaw garnish – my only complaint here is that it could have used a little more seasoning, maybe even just some salt. I think the chef may have been counting on the slaw for some flavor punch, but the fish itself needed just a little something else. But it was not a bad sandwich, by any means, it was tasty and the bread was very good.

Keith seemed to enjoy his sandwich. He said the fish and coating were just fine, cooked properly – but there wasn’t near enough bread/bun to actually eat it as a sandwich. He ate one piece on its own and made a sandwich with the remaining piece. The bread was shaped something like a hot dog bun; it would have been nice to have two so each fish piece could have some bread.

The service was good. The young woman serving us (an art history major who liked my Ze Frank/Magritte t-shirt) was attentive and very friendly and did a fine job. We were at the middle table of the 3 two-tops along the railing on the sidewalk; it was way too close to the other tables. Getting in and out was a trick, to say the least. Both our chairbacks were touching the other diners’ chairbacks through the whole meal.

As we ate, we watched the line for the Ark grow and grow down the sidewalk. By the time we left, it was down to the corner of Liberty, which meant we had to part the line to leave the outdoor seating area. The servers weren’t faring much better trying to get through. Now that the Pearl has cordoned off part of the sidewalk for seating, the line also left little room for other passers-by to make it down the sidewalk. This is an issue that they are going to have to address; it was kind of a mess for everyone involved.

All that said, it was a very pleasant evening out, the fare was good if not great, and I do give them extra marks for being a solid ‘good’ on their second day open. I’m curious to go back in a few weeks to see if they’ve worked out some of the details.