Meeting with friend for drinks in the new bar area at Pigalle didn't start off very well. The new and improved bar seems to be barely either. They may have increased the seating at the bar but there are at most 8 stools and it is very tight. I quickly grabbed the two seats at the end where the servers place their orders for the dining room since those were the only two available. Then the bartender ignored me and ignored me and ignored me some more. A simple nod of the head would have been sufficient. My friends arrives and we finally get menus and a "What can I get you?" I start my usual spiel. What kinds of bourbon do you have? Do you have any unblended rye? She hands me one of the 3 menus for the list of whiskeys. I have to say this is a pretty extensive list but Death's Door (White) stops me in my tracks. I tell her Maker's Mark is my default. What is Death's Door like? She offers to do a taste test and I see her pour the Death's Door. Oh, it's white. She instructs me to close my eyes which promptly changes my mind about her and I comply. She puts one drink in my left hand, one in my right. I smell, I taste, I guess correctly, I order the Death's Door. Death's Door is a Wisconsin brewery which makes this whiskey, a gin and a vodka. Does it have a hint of almond smell and taste?

As we look at the food menus, I see what is different about Pigalle bar area. They have a bar menu with a burger and fish and chips. But I settle on Grilled Baby Shrimp "matignon" of vegetables, creamy caraway polenta, whole grain aïoli & red wine sauce. My friend gets the clam chowder. Expensive at $17 each but we're here to use a groupon. We do see the angus burger (with sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, fried onions, house made condiments & fries) pass us and it's about a mile high and $12. We settle into our drinks (Bombay Sapphire martini for my friend) and happily await our food which is, as expected, delicious. For dessert we have lemon merinque tart (rosemary & almond tart, lemon curd, candied beets, brûléed meringue & fried mint) for $9 and Chocolate Stuffed Poached Pears (ricotta crema, peach sorbet, cocoa nib & red wine reduction) for $8. Poached Pears were better; lemon curd in the tart was very loose and candied beets? Don't recall seeing them or the brûléed meringue.
By the end of the night we were on a first name basis with Bernadette, the bartender. Biggest surprise was that the drinks costs $10 each; a bargain anywhere probably but especially in Boston.