Fractured and Flawed :: Sidebar

SideBar has a personality problem. The Top 40 blares at top volume here, and the bar itself is as reluctant to commit to an identity as its MacBook-playin’ DJ is to spinning an actual vinyl record. SideBar is painfully unsure: afraid to decide if the gray and glass space should be a sports bar for dead-eyed frat boys drinking away their Lehman Brothers past, or a pseudo night club for new students yet to learn that the Meatpacking District is on the other side of Union Square. What a choice. After spending an evening in SideBar trying to watch playoff baseball, I’d wager that anyone who frequents this mainstream, personality-less bar might know more about masochism than even a Mets fan could.

SideBar is the unfortunate offspring of Mike Sinensky and Sean McGarr, the same team behind the infinitely more enjoyable Village Pourhouse, located just a short trek to the south and east. There are worse things than walking another five blocks for a beer.

With its shoddy blend of Circuit City electronic displays and cheap Ikea bookcases, SideBar’s design evokes a lazy bachelor’s first attempt at nesting. There are the standard beers on tap, including Guinness ($7) and Bud Light ($5). The more impressive liquor selections are housed in cubbies out of the bartender’s reach. Don’t be surprised to find you can’t have a Four Roses on the rocks, simply because the lady manning the bar just happens to fall under 5’7” and, for all her bar training, hasn’t yet learned to climb a ladder.

SideBar is not entirely without merits, though. The impressive menu would make the place a destination for its bites regardless of the brews — if only a waitress would show up. Assuming an order can actually be placed, the sliders are truly memorable — try the lamb with mint (2 for $10 or 4 for $16) and forget, for a minute, the horrific space you’re in. Salmon nachos are another standout (seriously) and the French fries are graced with a delicious drizzle of aioli.

Late on a Friday night, once you’re well liquored up from a place that actually knows how to serve a drink, SideBar could provide a tolerable-enough end to the night. The music is made for dancing, even if the crowd is not. And who knows — maybe if the Red Sox lose (they’re still alive, as of this writing), SideBar’s standard-issue Yankee fans might even bust a victory move or two.

SIDEBAR :: 120 East 15th St. at Irving Pl.