Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/205938
great tastes ~ The Office Star of Excellence 2013 The Office Bistro By Jean-Marc Aubuchon "Honey, I'm still stuck at The Office, I'll be home soon." We've all said this to our significant others one time or another, in this case you're just having more fun. Welcome to "The Office Bistro" located in the beautiful historic Plymouth waterfront. Take a seat at the imported Portuguese cork bar and rest your arms on its beautiful layered clear finish; this is the bar to end all bars. You've entered into the "the office" side, adorned with leather barstools and exposed wooden beams from the early 1800's. The building used to house a past wool mill complex including an office. The lighting is perfect, you gaze across the mirrored bar to the other side of the restaurant, you notice softer toned walls with crumpled straw carefully melded into its structure. That side is the "warehouse" side of the restaurant where much of the sit down dinners are served. Owner Loring Tripp said, "the building used to be Mabbit's Wool Mill back in the 1850's; I've reconstructed the bar area to resemble the 'office.' that the shipping coordinator would sit and conduct his business. I kept the opposite side of the restaurant to represent the 'warehouse' side of the business." Time for a drink, it's been a long day at your real "office." Ten draft beers, plus fifteen craft and import bottles with rotating options such 110 as Samuel Adams, Allagash, Dogfish Head and Kentucky Bourbon Ale as the highlights. Wine bottles range vastly from twenty to two hundred dollars and are sure to impress your wife or even the boss. Sometimes those are interchangeable. There's a full liquor license here with a focus around martinis and hand shaken cocktails. Bartender Jillian served me the "Ginger Kiss"—a heavy poured lime green colored martini made with gin, simple syrup and muddled with fresh ginger and jalapenos. The music is live, but not overbearing and plays 6 days per week mid-summer, winding down to 4 days per week in the winter season. Tuesday night is popular showcasing a five-piece country band using a pedal steel guitar. Owner Loring has wired acoustics throughout the restaurant to allow for mellow tunes to be heard, but not to drown out the patron's conversations. I gaze through the bar, noticing plenty of seats, 87 to be exact. Locals tell me there are plans in the works for 20 more seats outside on the street side looking over the water when a giant outdoor couch is installed this fall. Handicapped access is through a separated side door with easy bathroom access in the warehouse side of the restaurant. Lighting is accented through wall hanging mounts and tea dropped lights that hang above each bar stool. Natural light is plentiful in the day time, with six large windows that allow the oceanfront to drip into your view. I call over one of the servers for a food suggestion. Their experience ranges from five to thirty years in the restaurant biz. The Office offers fully portioned dinner menus from seafood to steak. I choose the Kentucky Bourbon short ribs made with Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, cooked for six hours, braised and topped with Kentucky BBQ served with gorgonzola cheese parsley mash and a corn muffin, sign me up.