A new bar, The Magpie, is now open on Park Avenue in Rochester, in the former location of the First Taste grill. We checked it out last night and mostly liked what we saw. The theme is pseudo-classy, with lots of warm, dark wood tones. The narrow main room is dominated by a bar with full liquor shelf and 15 taplines. Owner John Dimetopo…Dimetoupo….John told me he was encouraged by the early flood of custom. Apparently the place is getting a white-collar professional crowd early and a somewhat younger set later in the evening. On the night of our improptu visit, the ratio of females to males was encouraging, if you’re a dude.

There’s nothing overly exciting on the draft line yet, and John made it clear he’s not trying to be a Tap & Mallet clone. The best beer on is Brooklyn Brown Ale. The very cool wood and glass-fronted cooler had some decent bottles: Leffe Brown and stuff like that.

The place is still feeling its oats, and we’ll see who gravitates to The Magpie. My feeling is that it’s going to be a comfortable, social watering hole until about 9pm, at which point the meat-market Hollister-wearing white-capped Dave matthews Band-listening Retar…er, young men and women… will take over.But for now, it’s a pleasant place to grab a decent brew and watch the Yankee game.

-Mark