Union Saloon

This Wallingford spot on a residential corner is a good time catch-all that shapeshifts to your needs based on the time. By night, the bar is dark, moody, and serves excellent bar snacks, as well as a standout caesar salad and open-faced sandwiches. By day, natural light wrestles in through windows while folks eat biscuits or braised pork cheek topped with a poached egg. That, plus a never-crowded woodsy space full of large booths, makes Union Saloon a great last-minute option that never feels like an afterthought.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Nate Watters

Chips And Dip

These are not so much chips as they are crispy potato paper—they're so thin that they bend, but still have the ability to stand up when shoveled into creamy caramelized onion dip. There are way more chips than dip to scoop them into, but the tasty seasoning shake on top makes them endlessly snackable on their own.

photo credit: Aimee Rizzo

Caesar

The base here is a blend of burly lacinato kale and some milder lettuces, with the occasional bundle of greens and parmesan shavings spackled together by an excess of creamy dressing. But what makes this bowl of Vitamin A stand out are bonito flakes that add a dashi-flavored smokiness and crumbly croutons repurposed from the house focaccia. Add some fried popcorn chicken on top for best results.

Brisket

All of the open-faced sandwiches are served on Union Saloon's focaccia, which is soft and bouncy, making it the perfect candidate for a fork-and-knife operation. While the brisket trends a little salty, a composed bite of silky pulled beef, BBQ sauce, crispy shallot, and mayo is a wonderful bar dinner alongside a cocktail.

Pork Verde

The forever-tangy pork verde is a celebrity at Union Saloon. Get it on an open-faced sandwich at night. Get it with a poached egg on top at brunch. Whatever you do, just get it.

Saloon Biscuit

The city's best biscuit. Fight us about it.