The Surly Wench

Good stuff.

Only been here during the day so far, but was happy with it.  Hoping to get down here for a nighttime show one of these days but who knows when that will happen?!
On a whim the wife and I strolled in to grab a bite to eat. and a pint.  Excellent beers to choose from, as well as the hipster PBR that seems requisite for 4th Ave bars.
I can certainly see where service may be a turn off to some.  The bartender definitely seemed less than interested in us until I engaged him on things like different beers and punk rock.  After that, he was essentially a friend to us.
The food was better than I was hoping--certainly pub grub, but with a twist.  Being a Scooby-Doo fan since childhood, I had to try the Scooby Snack--jalapeño poppers on a bun under a bed of mushrooms and sauce (vegetarian, not vegan).  Definitely seems like something Shaggy would eat.  And honestly, delicious "junk food".  I just don't think my gut could take it too frequently!
The place is what you'd expect from other reviews--dark (essentially coated black) with a punk rock/pirate take on kitsch.  Pool tables in the back, air hockey, jukebox, although during the day the bartender had a punk/reggae pandora station streaming from a PC.  
Overall, I like it... a different feel for Tucson, even for 4th Ave.  Keep an open mind and you might be surprised.  
Now to get down there for one of the burlesque shows...

I'm clearly the odd woman out here, but I've been totally misled with this place. YES, I knew it was a burlesque bar, which I have yet to watch (and remain intrigued, but only happens on the weekends), but my foodie radar was highly triggered by several folks in town, claiming their bar fare is the "best" in Tucson and their vegetarian options are "not to be missed." After one dining experience I know that I do not intend on dining here again. Aside from the fact that their food is not very fresh (this I gathered from the clear view into the kitchen that one gets as they place their order at the kitchen) there is zero customer service. I walked in with a group of friends after deciding that being on a wait list at Lindys wasn't worth it and based on the recommendations I was excited to give it a shot. Epic fail. Walk into the bar and awesomely and nicely present myself to the bartender and told her how excited I was to try the food (her response was "yeah, it's super awesome!), grab a few menus and sit down at a booth with my friends....about five minutes later...no server, no water....the basics. I head back to the bar to ask about a server: "oh, yeah...we don't have servers." Given that I told her with excitement that it was my first time there and had heard great things, it would've been nice to have been told that you have to order food at the kitchen window and drinks, including water, at the bar. Ordering at the kitchen was even more painful. Again, trying to express interest the single person manning the kitchen, it was very clear our meal was going to be an adventure. Explaining a "bun less" burger was like a foreign language. Half an hour later I had to go back to the kitchen to ask about our food (two bunless burgers, one order of fried tacos and fries). Awkward much? Food came out and tasted of fryer oil that had not been filtered or changed recently. Ranch dressing 100% bottled. Not a single item was hand made. I'm hoping the lettuce and onions for the bun less burgers were at least hand washed. At a previous job, I trained customers on keeping their fryers clean, and this one tasted of old oil. Bummer. When a menu advertises that they have "Brew City" Onion rings, that essentially tells me that they're buying their goodies prepackaged. Yes, the patties, fries, veggie burgers, etc are prepackaged, frozen and hopefully defrosted. I can't speak to the "highly regarded" chili, since all I saw of it as I ordered from the  window at the kitchen was the frozen chili in a tupperware container as the cook held it in is hand and said "ugh.....I think it's still frozen."

Perhaps, I'll change my mind after a Burlesque show....but this foodie is less than impressed.