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Thursday, August 28, 2008
This judge rules in favor of SideBar
Last night I got a sneak peek at the new wine bar and cocktail lounge called Sidebar that we wrote about last week and which opens at 4 p.m. today (8-28-08) in downtown Dayton at 130 W. Second St., across from the Schuster Center parking garage.
This is an impressive addition to the downtown nightlife and entertainment scene, and patrons of the Schuster Center especially should take note. (For pictures of the place and an assessment of the cocktails list, check out my colleague Alexis Larsen’s Lounge Lizards blog.)
I wanted to see whether Eric Jerardi would back up his claim that he has put together “the most affordable, well-rounded, hippest wine list in the state of Ohio.”
Hyperbole? Without a doubt. But there are some fun, interesting, impressive wines on the list, which the legal-themed SideBar calls “The Docket.” And some of the wines do indeed appear to be very attractively priced.
Jerardi shows his mastery of Italian wines with the inclusion of two fine Italians on the “by-the-glass” list: the 2006 Batasiolo Gavi ($9) and the 2005 Annunziata Barbera D’Alba ($8).
The bottle list includes offerings such as 2007 Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc ($25), 2006 Chat. Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling ($35), 2006 Cakebread Chardonnay ($55), 2004 Markham Merlot ($35), 2005 Pierre Andre Savigny Les Beaune Clos Des Guettottes red Burgundy ($40) and 2003 Marengo Barolo “Brunate” ($65). For those of you who get out more than I do: How do you think these prices compare to other restaurant/wine bar price lists?
SideBar and Jerardi also deliver some trophy wines on the reserve list, including 2005 Antinori Tignanello ($125), 1999 Penfolds Grange ($300), 1998 Lafite-Rothschild ($600), 2003 Mouton-Rothschild ($600) and the 2001 Chateau d’Yquem in half-bottle ($400).
The inside seating space is attractive, though it does seem to be built for parties of two moreso than for parties of three or more. Bartenders enjoy ample space behind the bar, but on the customer seating side, servers will be doing the limbo and the hurdles to get to tables if several parties of more than two people congregate. The outdoor patio should be a real winner, though — it’s a shame SideBar couldn’t have opened earlier in the year to get full summertime use of it. During this fall’s Indian Summer nights and next spring, that patio should be an attractive gathering place.
One question mark is the food. Jerardi said last week the details on SideBar’s final food menu were still being ironed out. With wines and cocktails of this quality, a great food selection would be a real plus. Perhaps someone involved with SideBar could let us know here what their most recent plans are.
Overall, Sidebar is an impressive debut, very much worth checking out.
