pour house, 4041 fruitvale, bakersfield ca 93308

food: 3/5; price: $. although it's still open, absorbed into the bbq factory at the garces circle, we miss the old highland cafe in oildale. no partier these decades, i'm still a bar fly and love the darkness, the clinking glasses, the mirrors, the lights, the odor, the blinking tvs inevitably showing sports or country music videos, the jukebox tunes of these places... at the old highland, the bar atmosphere was absolute romance for me and my spouse... at the new location, the food's good, the service is nice, but, well, it's a restaurant.
we went to the pour house, where "guys from the oilfield go," i was told. the pour house, unlike the old highland, is more bar than eatery, but it satisfies the desire for dark and dingy... our stressed-looking waitress, dealing with her (seeming) boyfriend at one table and some jerk at the bar who told her to "stop throwing food at me," brought us the special, chicken fried steak, as well as a grilled cheese. we poured from what we thought was ketchup, but it was pepper. at least this made the waitress laugh... the food was good and probably the more we go here, the more friendly people will get. that's what happened at the highland, and it became one of our favorites...