Sidecar 11: Old Joy

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.

Willamette Week's journalism is funded, in part, by our readers. Your help supports local, independent journalism that informs, educates, and engages our community. Become a WW supporter.