“The Pony- Good Food,Cold Beer”

[rating=4] Lincoln, Belmont, Ashland- one of the six-corner shopping areas of Chicago! Yes, we have several well known: Milwaukee/Irving/Cicero and Diversey/Kimball/Milwaukee are the other North side 6 corner areas. Back in the 1950’s I worked in a store at Lincoln/Belmont/Ashland called Jack Lord menswear. We also had another store, just a few doors to the north called Bedford Shirt Company. The area was thriving and besides all the wonderful shops and Wieboldt’s Department Store and Goldblatt’s Department Store, there were many restaurants and bars. The area was heavily populated by Germans. Most of these hard working men could be found at one of the local saloons/bars pretty much every weeknight. My manager, George went to a bar on Belmont located at  1638 West Belmont ( just west of the Lincoln and Ashland  Avenues . I may not recall the name as it has been several different names since that period.

Today, Jane and I were joined by my son, Cary and his spouse, Cari ( yes they are both Cary/Caris) at 1638 West Belmont. The name of the bar is ” The Pony “and they are a jumping joint. It is a bar, so the menu is pretty typical bar food but their kitchen under the influence of  Chef Luis turns out more of a meal than a snack. For starters, Jane and I selected their homemade chips and guac ( made fresh in-house)- just right! Then we had to try their specialty, the Clydesdale: a 16” grilled cheese sandwich made on pullman wheat bread and American cheddar cheese and Chihuahua cheese. You know I am a sucker for a grilled cheese sandwich and this one is very special. If you use the  tomato basil dip- it shines. For those who love bacon, you can add Hickory smoked bacon.

Jane and girl Cari did the salads- the Santa Fe Salad is a delight: mixed greens, tortilla strips, blackened corn, black beans, tomatoes, cheese and red onion. Options- you can add chicken , steak or shrimp. we also ordered the Waffle Nachos- wow! waffle fries, smoked chicken, chili, cheddar and chihuahua cheeses, house pickled jalapenos, lettuce and tomato and of course sour cream. This was amazing!

The filet Mignon sliders were as good as one might expect at the best steakhouse in town. There were three grilled steaks served on croissants. They were glorious  and considering the price charged a true value meal.

The shroom- mushroom tacos were divine- charred oyster mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, toasted papitas, spicy chimichurrim arugula, on a corn tortilla- terrific  and as you know, mushrooms are not high on my list) Tasty!

The menu is much larger than only four of us could handle. The burgers looked terrific and while they are NOT known for their pizza, what I saw looked pretty tasty.

The kids just had diet cokes, Jane had a Bloody Mary and I had my new favorite bar beverage, the old fashion ( made just right).

Our server today was Abigail who helped us make the choices we made and was right on. It is always a pleasure to have a server truly explain why certain foods will be more appealing than others. She was perfect.

The Pony is a friendly, neighborhood bar. In many ways I felt at home and meeting GM Dan McCarthy  was a treat. He gave us some history on the bar and its years of changes with the area. He explained that they have become a true sorts bar with loads of TV’s on the walls and games galore. We left and gave up our table to college alumni who came to watch the basketball game. This being “the bog game” week-end, they are set for a party upstairs ( a very cool room that you can only get t by climbing the stairs) and that they were taking walk-ins.

The phone number at The Pony Inn is 773-472-5139 and the website www.theponychicago.com/

The same group owns another neighborhood bar, Lotties. If you are a Chicago Fire watcher, this is the bar that they used to start this bar owned by fire-fighters. A very cool story indeed.

I can tell you that The Pony is a great place for watching sports, having a great meal ( or snack) and a drink that they do not water down. They also have a great selection of beer. For you theater people, if you go to Theater Wit and Stage 773 ( when it comes back) or the other smaller venues on the north side, this is a great place before or after. Metered parking in the area.\, but some of the side streets are free parking. Enjoy! I know we did and we are going back for the burgers and the pizza.