Review of The Pony

Guys love sports bars. Sure we like going to a fancy dinner with our wife/girlfriend (not both), but then we have to dress nice and sit like a gentleman. At a sports bar though we get to show up in t shirts and baseball hats and scream at the TV like the players can hear us (they can)! I recently visited the Pony to catch a Cubs vs. Sox game and see if this is a sports bar worth hanging out at. So what makes a sports bar good and worth going to if you wanna watch the game? I have a checklist that I am sure most guys will agree with and we’ll see how the Pony stacks up.

Let’s start with TV’s, you need a lot of them and they should be in HD. Nothing annoys me more than a place having HDTV’s and they don’t have an HD signal. The Pony is wall to wall HDTV’s displaying a crystal clear picture! When I say wall to wall I mean even your table has a personal HDTV in addition to a TV every 2 feet surrounding the outer wall.

Next thing you need is a cool staff. A staff that talks to their patrons and actually makes suggestions on beer and food is a plus. Everyone we talked to tonight was cool and they seemed to know their regulars pretty well. When trying to decide which taco to order we yelled over to the bar and the bartender yelled back his preference. Try yelling to the bartender next time you’re on a date…good luck getting a second date!

Now we need to talk about food. Atmosphere is one thing but the food has to be at least decent for you to ever come back. Because I am a trooper I sampled 6 different menu items to help you decide if you should hang out here. First up is the Clydesdale, a 16” grilled cheese on wheat that is stuffed with 2 types of American and cheddar cheeses and served with a spicy tomato basil dipping sauce. This giant cheese sandwich is good but what makes it is the spicy tomato dipping sauce! Next we grab the jumbo Buffalo wings. The wings are crisp with a medium level of spice and are good but a choice of great options would be nice.

Pizza is great food to share so the Pony pizza arrives. The matzo thin crust is topped with sausage, Canadian bacon, green peppers, and mushrooms. The sauce is thankfully not sweet and the toppings are of high quality but I like the crust but don’t love it. Calamari is next and it is done very well! Not chewy and these tender rings have a nice breading and are drizzled with a roasted red pepper sauce that works nicely.

Pulled pork sliders were recommended and they don’t disappoint. The tender pork isn’t a glob of mush that some places give you but has a few pork nuggets still intact to give great texture. Topped with some solid chipotle and apple slaw makes this the standout dish of the night. You hope to finish the night on a bang but unfortunately the least satisfying dish was the steak tacos. I think the meat was good but I honestly had a hard time finding it. The tacos had so much corn on there that it masked the steak flavor. With tacos less is often more.

Overall the Pony passed the sports bar test. Tons of HDTV’s, good food, comfortable atmosphere, and a staff that actually talks to you make this a place worthy of bringing your crew. Most food items are around $10 so your broke friends won’t be crying either.Overall rating *** and ½ (good) out of *****.

*Hungry Z was an invited guest to the Pony*

Follow me @hungryz

Location

1638 W. Belmont

Chicago, IL 60657

theponychicago.com