Knoxville520.com

After fifteen years in Knoxville I jump at the chance to go anywhere different. So this past Saturday some friends and I decided to check out the new kid in town, The Sidestreet Tavern. It’s location in the Homberg area is somewhat hidden (hence the name), but guided by the map which they wisely placed in their ad we had no trouble finding them. My initial reaction when I walked in was disappointment. The music was loud and hit a sour note in my ear, the crowd was generally older, and all drink specials had ended by the time we arrived. I leaned over to my girlfriend and said “Let’s just have one drink and go.”

I made way to the bar and was promptly served a $3 Shiner Bock draft. Then I actually looked around, a Jerry Garcia black and white abstract portrait next to Sinatra’s mugshot caught my eye. Next, I had to change the music. To my surprise The Sidestreet Tavern has the first “Internet Jukebox” I have ever come across. It literally has any song you could want. The only gimmick is that you have to pay twice as much if your selection has to be downloaded, but still very cool. So at this point my experience is starting to turn around.

After picking out some tunes we took a look around. The house-like tavern turned out to be much larger than expected with a dining room lined with booths and tables offset by a few large video games, all sports I believe. Then we ventured up stairs. The second level loft turned out to be the coolest part of the Sidestreet Tavern. Its like your own personal living room stocked with comfortable couches, two TV’s (you even get the remote), a foosball table, and the only shuffleboard table I’ve seen in Knoxville.
So we got into some mean shuffleboard action and totally lost track of time. That loft was definitely the high point of my experience. But then a group of suit clad business types came upstairs to claim their territory. One of them actually did a drunken jig and made some sort of barking or grunting noises. At that point it was almost last call and we decided to head home.

All in all I ended up liking but not loving The Sidestreet Tavern. Nevertheless, the shuffleboard and the online jukebox are enough to validate a recommendation that everyone in town go check it out for themselves.