Ponyboy's 'Miracle' pop-up brings Christmas magic to 23rd Street
Imagine your favorite neighborhood spot for drinks transformed with lights, tinsel and the joy of the holiday season, and paired with specialty libations and food options.
That's what you'll get if you visit Ponyboy in Oklahoma City's Uptown 23rd District right now. The bar has been transformed into "Miracle on 23rd Street," a pop-up Christmas cocktail bar until Dec. 30. Reserve a table online for larger groups, or walk-in and sit at the bar, or check availability at the door for smaller tables and enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of Christmas.
"We wanted to do just something fun and uplifting, and that was a little bit different from our normal, like, moody bar,” said Alex Larrea, food and beverage director for Ponyboy. “We love themes and we love dressing up, so the idea of dressing up the whole bar was a really easy fit for us.”
Ponyboy is one of more than 100 bars nationally and internationally who are partners with "Miracle" pop-up purveyors Cocktail Kingdom this year. Though the bar serves as the sole Miracle location in Oklahoma, Ponyboy is not the first to provide space for Cocktail Kingdom's pop-ups. The now-closed Rockford Cocktail Den and another location in Edmond both housed the pop-up pre-pandemic. Additionally this year, Saturn Room in Tulsa is taking part in a separate pop-up called "Sippin' Santa."
"What we're really after is just showing people a little bit more of the higher touch hospitality that we do here at Ponyboy, highlighting the food program and then highlighting our bartenders behind the bar with more complicated drinks than somebody might just order if they're walking in,” Larrea said.
Wondering what those drink options are? In addition to the bars regular menu of beers, ciders, seltzers and wines, more than a dozen themed cocktails await you.
They range from the Snowball Old Fashioned and Christmapolitan to the Grandma Got Run Over By a T-Rex, or your choice of Naughty and Nice shots. There are even two warm options to help cut through the cooler temperatures.
Larrea said the specialty cocktails were an easy fit for Ponyboy, which was already accustomed to seasonal offerings with unique ingredients, but the pop-up elevates it to new levels.
"Everything is going to come in really cute glassware that's curated for that type of drink, and it's more than it just being like a cute style of glassware, but the glassware actually is built to enhance that specific format of cocktail,” Larrea said.
Ponyboy's regular menu fare is still available, so wings, fried brussels sprouts, sandwiches and the other items visitors know and love are up for grabs. But in keeping with the theme, the bar is serving seasonal options — a pot roast served with cheesy jalapeno cornbread and a Thanksgiving leftover sandwich.
The pot roast is being made fresh daily and Larrea said it's been a sell-out nearly every night.
The sandwich is exactly what you'd imagine — sourdough bread stacked with turkey and stuffing, smeared with cranberry sauce and topped with crispy fried onions — a true handheld holiday bite. On the side is a rosemary gravy meant for dipping. A personal tip: order a side of fries and dip those in the gravy, too.
Ponyboy is decked out in lights and the aforementioned tinsel, with framed black and white photos from christmas movies lining the walls downstairs. Upstairs, the staff has added trees, nutcrackers, ceiling decorations and more to the space. Larrea said every day it seems like they find a new place to plug a strand of lights or add more to the walls. Staff are personally involved as well, donning festive shirts, hats and sweaters for the season. Larrea said the response has been positive from both regulars and newcomers.
“The bars that are doing the pop-up are allowed to have their own attitude about it, and they're allowed to have their own style. Miracle looks really different in every state you go to,” Larrea said.
"Whenever you have a space like Ponyboy, it does become like home to a lot of people, and so the fact that we dressed up home like a fun Christmas bar, I think has been really cool for some people.”
It's not just the food, drinks and decor at Ponyboy taking on a festive flavor. The bar is weaving the Miracle pop-up magic into it's regularly occurring musical events, trivia and other themed evenings, while continuing the dance nights and concerts it's known for. Larrea said the goal is to help expose those coming to Ponyboy for the first time because of the pop-up to the things that continue throughout the year in hopes that they'll keep coming back.
"Instead of putting a giant Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in the middle of the bar, our tree is kind of like the entertainment that we normally do," he said.
December entertainment at Ponyboy
All events free unless otherwise noted. For more information, including additional events, or to reserve a table, visit Ponyboy's website at ponyboyokc.com.
Dec. 14: Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Red Dirt Poetry Open Mic, 8 p.m.
Dec. 15: Music at Miracle: Harp with Oklahannah, 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 16: Music at Miracle: Harp with Oklahannah, 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 17: Dance Party, 10:30 p.m. to close
Dec. 20: Doors open at 7 p.m. Holiday Trivia with John Souders, 8 p.m.
Dec. 22: Music at Miracle: PB & Jazz, 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 22: Gift Raps - Hip Hop Charity Show benefitting OK City Center presented by Jabee. Free entry with donation of unopened toy, gloves, socks or non-perishable food items. Doors open at 9 p.m.
Dec. 23: Not So Silent Night Dance Party, 10:30 p.m. to close
Dec. 24: 'Twas the Bump Before Christmas Dance Party, 10:30 p.m. to close
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ponyboy brings a 'Miracle' to Uptown 23rd for the holidays
