Bar Guide 2015: Mad Sons Pub

1109 SE Madison St., 265-8531, madsonspub.com. 4 pm-midnight Tuesday-Thursday, 4 pm-2 am Friday, 11 am-2 am Saturday, 11 am-10 pm Sunday. 

There is no "I" in Mad Sons. This Revolutionary War-themed bar is a beautiful hardwood affair complete with 13-star flags, a hearth, a giant blue-felt billiards table and a picture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence burned into the wood of the bar's service gate. But this time last year it was Madison's Bar and Grill, an 18-year survivor of a bar that looked like a Denny's in West Virginia and attracted the same clientele. The interior makeover is more than cosmetic, however. The bar—owned by a multitude of bar and service vets, including a pair from East Side Delicatessen—now offers a fine selection of tapped local beers and ciders, plus house drinks with black tea or root beer. The classic Old Pal ($10, with Old Overholt rye, bitters and Dolin vermouth) has an agreeably firm handshake, and the food menu rolls between a beef-slab sandwich and root beer-flavored chicken nuggets (a treat at $5 during happy hour).

Happy hour: 4-6 pm Monday-Saturday, all day Sunday. Food specials.

Entertainment: Patio. Fire. Book-readin'. Pool upstairs.


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WWeek 2015

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