Philadelphia - May 20, 2009

Varga Girl

Varga Bar Opens

What do scantily clad women and delicious food have in common?

We don’t know, either.

But ask R. Evan Turney (Valanni, Mercato) as he marries the two with his latest endeavor, Varga Bar, opening tonight.

There’s a no-nonsense, pared-down interior in burgundy, violet, and gray, but things get sexy over the bar with the ceiling mural of Alberto Vargas’s pin-ups.

The all-American comfort food uses exclusively domestic ingredients. Try truffled mac ’n’ cheese, rigatoni with meatballs and sausage, or Not My Mom’s Spam in a Can (Country Time Farm ham with orange bourbon brown sugar glaze).

Classic cocktails like Whiskey Collins, daiquiris, and Cadillac Margaritas are nothing to sniff at. Nor are hard-to-find bottle and draft beers like Bell’s Oberon, Founders Backwoods Bastard, and Stone Ruination IPA. You can also take home select brews in signature growlers.

Just be sure to keep your clothes on.

Varga Bar, 941 Spruce Street, at 10th Street (215-627-5200 or vargabar.com).