I think the ending of TIH with Stark in the bar was originally intended to serve as a nod to recruiting the Hulk for the Avengers, as Cartman stated.
It was retconned later to occur after IM2, where Stark has already become a consultant for SHIELD. SHIELD wants to bring Blonsky/Abomination aboard the Avengers because they're blaming Banner for the NYC attacks. Coulson purposely sends Stark to piss off General Ross so that he won't release Abomination to SHIELD to join the Avengers.
This is all explained in "The Consultant." You can actually find it online if you want to check it out. Fills in some gaps that I'm sure aren't addressed elsewhere.
I imagine the reason the whole scene was retconned was that the method for recruiting Hulk into the Avengers was altered to be explained during the Avengers movie itself. Can't confirm that, obviously, but seems to make sense.