Having only been to the Velvet Taco in the 7th street area in Ft Worth, we had high expectations for the Pop’s Safari adventure. Almost too high. There was no disappointment to be found on the streets tonight, only delivery. It quickly became apparent why Pop’s is on every list of top cigar bars in the metroplex. Quaint, old school, dead animals on the wall, large soft seating, speaking volumes of comfort.Because Pop’s is a no BYOC (thank heavens the website referenced this to begin with - otherwise we would have been caught off guard), it leads one immediately to selection. We had another friend of the group join us early for the event. Announced as a cigar rookie, Pop’s took the best care, showing him selection and explaining the different flavors and types of cigars. A quick 15 minutes of guidance, gave him confidence in his choices. Dollars are not this sign of a good cigar. A wine steward once told me, the selection of wine should never be judged on cost. If one enjoys a wine, enjoy. The same could be said of cigars.
Asking for something different, Wendy lit up with joy, explaining their “Don Gonzales” collection. Apparently Don builds the internals of the cigars and then has an imported Cuban wrap the final product. Say What? The gentleman literally has the cigars wrapped on site by a Cuban visitor, named Angel. A reasonable price and a journey to a new taste, we all jumped at the chance to try something different
Fantastic! - forget snobbery, forget brand - we were all in. What a fantastic cigar. Great draw!, great taste. Literally worth the journey. We all purchased cigar’s to go to enjoy elsewhere. Cigars and libations in hand we headed to the patio to enjoy. We had the patio to ourselves for most of the evening. Just good friends and great cigars.Next on this list is Javier’s Bar & Cigar Lounge in downtown Dallas. Another top recommendation and a favorite of a new friend I hope joins us this evening.
