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TONGUE-CUT SPARROW BOBBY HEUGEL H onus Wagner, the greatest baseball player of the early 20th century, was once asked by a sportswriter for the secret to his abilities. Wagner replied, "There ain't much to being a ballplayer, if you're a ballplayer." In talking with Bobby Heugel one morning over coffee, I keep hearing echoes of Wagner. At one point, Heugel tells me he is in the bar business because "I like the exchange with the customers that happens across the bar." A little later, he observes, "Cocktails are not that hard to make. Three or four ingredients are enough. Bartenders that claim it's difficult are doing it out of ego." At 34, Heugel has already opened, closed, traded, and inspired enough bars to satisfy a lifetime's worth of thirst. It all started with Anvil Bar & Refuge, which he started with money from investors he met while tending bar at Beaver's, and which he renovated himself. That was 2009. Since then, Huegel has participated in partnerships that opened Underbelly restaurant, Hay Merchant craft-beer bar, Blacksmith coffee shop, Julep bar, The Nightingale Room, and the OKRA charity bar, which "reached the $1 million mark in donations to charity in less than five years," Heugel says. He's been involved with two old-time Houston institutions, Ninfa's on Navigation and Antone's. And all the while, Heugel has traveled the world for research, visiting over 300 distilleries, by his estimation. Currently, Heugel is involved in four bars: his original Montrose establishment, Anvil, which was recently remodeled; his temple dedicated to artisanal mescals and tequilas, The Pastry War, begun with another Houston bar biz powerhouse, Alba Huerta; Better Luck Tomorrow in the Heights, with food created by partner Justin Yu of Oxheart fame; and the most recent, Tongue-Cut Sparrow, reached through an unmarked door at the back of Pastry War. Tongue-Cut Sparrow's name is derived from an old Japanese fable about a bird taken in by a kindly old man whose greedy wife mutilates it to drive it away. The moral of the story involves the importance of friendship, rather than cruelty to animals — a fact I learned with some relief. Heugel, a sixth-generation Texan from Rosenberg, has been taken with Japan and Japanese culture, visiting several times over the last two years. The bar is his homage to that country and its devotion to beauty, craft, and attention to detail. The place seats only 25 patrons and offers reservations for half of the capacity; the rest is held open for walk-ins. It opens at 4 pm for only four days a week, Wednesday through Saturday. Every detail, from the bartender's formal dress to the brands of barware and the type of water mixed with the Japanese whiskey, has involved much thought and testing. This is not so much a bar as a shrine to the idea of what a bar should be; a visit is a sort of pilgrimage. Food ARTS (continued) 89