Inside: Simone's Bar

Photos:

Russ and Desiree Grant have done their part to colonize the city’s Northwest Side with trusty neighborhood hangouts: Street Side, Northside and Logan Bar & Grill. Street Side and Northside helped lead the gentrification charge in Humboldt Park and Wicker Park, respectively. And Logan Bar & Grill, while late to the Logan Square party, has been met with open arms by the neighborhood.

For Simone’s Bar, the Grants’ brand-spanking-new venture, the duo has headed south to Pilsen, which has been teetering on the edge of gentrification for years. It appears their forecasting skills are as sharp as ever. Pilsen will soon have two other new spots: Ristorante Al Teatro in the historic Thalia Hall in late April and a sibling to Lula Cafe in May.

The Grants have joined forces with restaurateur Michael Noone (Danny’s, Francesca’s) to venture into this part of town, and it appears Noone may have helped them buck their trend of cookie-cutter interiors, breaking the mold to better fit the neighborhood. They enlisted local graffiti artists to paint the walls, stacked the menu with cheap and trendy beer picks, and hired a design firm to build the place out of salvaged materials, resulting in a jaw-dropping interior that’s nothing like we’ve seen elsewhere in the city. We stopped in opening weekend to take the temperature on this new spot.

THE CROWD
Even on the second night open, Simone’s already had corralled a crowd from throughout the southwest side, a true indication of how starved the area is for nightlife. It’s arguably the hippest option for denizens of nearby University Village, where sports bars like Junior’s and Morgan’s dominate, but if you’re hoping to catch the latest game, this is not your scene. The only TVs play black-and-white movies and the artsy folks here are more likely to discuss the bar’s soundtrack of loungey electronica than March Madness predictions.

THE LOOK
Ever wonder what it’d feel like to be inside a pinball machine? Design firm Alter Ego pieced together the interior from a menagerie of salvaged materials, resulting in an assault of lights, bright colors and kooky fixtures that bounce your eye from one thing to the next. Booths are built from actual pinball machines and church pews, and massive wooden columns flank benches woven from seatbelts. The back room takes on a mad-scientist vibe, with tabletops cut from science lab countertops covered in scratchitti and test tubes artfully arranged around a lecture hall-style sliding chalkboard. Even the menus are clever, printed on paper fastened to funky file folders with oversized paperclips.

>>Outdoor seating update: Simone's hopes to add sidewalk seating by this summer.

THE EATS
Giving a nod to the neighborhood’s Mexican culture with an American bar food menu peppered with Latin touches is where the concept takes a stumble. Some attempts at providing authentic "Pilsen" flavor are hits (like bringing in tres leches cake from nearby Kristoffer’s Bakery), while others are pretty watered down. We hardly detected any spice in the guacamole, jalapeno and chihuahua cheese-topped Pilsen burger ($9), and though the empanadas ($7.50 for six) were properly flaky, the chipotle-chicken filling had hardly any heat. Ample vegetarian and vegan options, which plenty of bars overlook, are a big redeeming factor.

THE DRINKS
The solid beer list is part microbrew, part low-brow. You can swig $2.50 Old Style and PBR tallboys or choose on-tap picks from the likes of Ska, Dark Horse, Bell’s and Three Floyds. Cocktails range from the classic pisco sour to the gimmicky Double Bubble, a Pop Rocks-rimmed mix of pear vodka, orange juice and champagne. Ordering the Tradicional ($9), a tweak on a paloma, made with tequila, grapefruit juice and pomegranate liquor with a salted rim, prompted a check-in from the bartender, admitting he was still messing with the recipe.

BOTTOM LINE
Some will never be able to get over the inevitable "Northside coming to the South Side" stigma, but in a neighborhood with few nightlife options, most will find a refreshing change of scenery in Simone’s. It’s also worth a visit just to ogle the beyond-cool interior.

What's your take on Simone's Bar? Write your own review.

Add a comment