Ordinary Bar in New Haven Unveils its “Clue”-Themed Pop-Up

What are those funsters over at Ordinary up to now? I’ll give you a clue: It is a new fan-boy treatment, and it involves candlesticks, 1940s-style cocktails, Mrs. Peacock, ropes, a mysterious library, lead pipes, and a real-time crime-cracking challenge. 

Ordinary, a modern cocktail bar and restaurant housed in antique oak-paneled splendor, has become known for periodically revamping its decor and its menu, based on a favorite theme. Over the years the place has been temporarily staged as a vintage circus, an homage to Twin Peaks, and, most recently, the films of Wes Anderson, complete with “Moonrise Kingdom”-tented tables and a “Life Aquatic”-decorated men’s room. The pop-ups stay put for months – sometimes a few, sometimes several.

“We like to have a really cool premise,” explains Ben Zemke, who is the long-time manager of this New Haven eatery and drinkery. “It’s a summer promotion to get people to come to the darkest bar in town.” Why Clue? According to Zemke, it’s a fertile subject to mine.

“The game was invented following WWII when murder mystery parties were popular,” he explains. Cluedo, as it was called when first published in 1949 (and still is, in England), introduced the world to color-themed characters, including Professor Plum, Mr. Green, Mrs. White, and Miss Scarlet, along with various weapons and mansion-worthy spaces, such the billiard room and the conservatory. Fast forward to the 1985 movie, which offered three different endings (actually four, but we’ll get to that). “It had an all-star cast and became a cult classic,” says Zemke. And so, the Clue environment at Ordinary embraces both eras. Over the bar is a stunning chalk portrait of Tim Curry in his film role as The Butler, rendered by artist Jaime La Jones (see photos for more of her creations). Curry watches over cocktails inspired by 1940s classics. When asked why he chose not to copy 1980s drinks, Zemke hung his head. “Those were dark days for cocktails,” he said, recalling with a shudder such horrors as the Alabama Slamma’.

The mixologists at Ordinary are known for shameless maximalism. And so, the drink called Under the Sheets (inspired by Between the Sheets), is described as a “vegetal in a bloody fruit garden” and includes a list of brand-specific ingredients, including Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin, Copper & Kings Apple Brandy, Meletti 1870s Red Bitters, and Angostura Bitters, along with lemon juice and orange blossom water. The Singing Telegram, a riff on the Airmail cocktail, is made with rye, lime, and sugar over a chimney ice cube, topped with bubbly, and finished off with cherry syrup for that freshly-stabbed look. 

Perhaps the deepest dive into Clue culture comes in the form of a drink called The Fourth Ending. This, explains Zemke, refers to an alternate ending to the Clue movie that was never released. The first three endings, now available for viewing on DVD, each have a different victim and killer. In the unseen ending, one character attempts to murder the whole gang via poisoned champagne – so it’s apt that the cocktail is described as “Bitter, nutty, smoky poison.”

Ordinary is an ever-evolving creation, kind of a living museum where you can eat and drink, or perhaps an interactive-optional theater where you never go hungry. When the Twin Peaks décor was up, “people came in every day dressed up,” recalls Zemke, and says that he served several Laura Palmer look-alikes – some wrapped in plastic, some not. This time he’s hoping for a steady stream of Clue-clad customers (joining two already Clue-clad mannequins, courtesy of Fashionista Vintage & Variety). They will be invited to tackle some insider trivia, play vintage board games, and come early August, try to solve an onsite murder mystery set up by Matt Fantastic of Elm City Games fame. 

“We’re going to have a sheet where you can find clues, kind of like a scavenger hunt,” explains Fantastic. “The clues might be in the physical space, or on the menu, or disguised.” He promises that the mystery will change regularly, and yes, there’s a prize: When you solve the puzzle, you can bring your completed Clue sheet to Elm City Games for a 10 percent discount. Fantastic will also be hosting Clue Game Nights and a Clue Costume Party. “Dress up and come play Clue!,” he enthuses, sounding like a carnival barker.

As for the kitchen, it is currently being refreshed by Skyller Melton, who most recently manned the pans at The Cannon. By request, he is bringing back some Ordinary classics – beer cheese, candied nuts, candied bacon – as well as the PB & J Burger, which devotees have never stopped talking about, according to Zemke. Chef Melton has a way with sweets, and so there will be dessert specials every week, including chocolate chip cookies, as well as a steady flow of seasonal items added as inspiration strikes. Let’s just say it will be a menu to die for. 

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