Sidecar 11: Old Joy

By Casey Jarman

The term "Prohibition-style cocktails" is troubling. Do the cocktails come sans booze? Do they carry little tommy guns? At Sidecar 11 (3955 N Mississippi Ave., 208-3798, sidecarpdx.wordpress.com), a new "speakeasy" on Mississippi Avenue, "Prohibition-style" apparently just means "real good." The club's marquee drink, a murky-looking sugar-topped citrus concoction called the Mississippi Sidecar ($7), is as tasty as it is pretty. The mint julep-esque Gin Gin Mule (also $7) comes in a half-empty glass, but a startlingly strong first sip proves that the cup is really half full. The hallway-shaped room, like Sidecar's drinks, is sparsely decorated (out of necessity, as it is a tiny space). That makes it a low-key escape from an increasingly bustling neighborhood. Also, the already cheap appetizers are half off for happy hour. Maybe Prohibition wasn't all that bad.

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