Sidetrack — Restaurant in Lake View Township

I have been to sidetrack 3 times and the actual venue is really cool. However I went to take my friend for her 21st birthday here and the bouncer scanned MY out of state id that I've had for 6-7 years and it somehow came up as fake in their system or "not valid"? The bouncer made sure to let everyone around know "it was a fake" and to low-key embarass me and genuinely I didn't know what to say because it wasn't fake. It's also pretty gross when gay people are rude and disrespectful to other gay people in what's supposed to be a safer space. I'm 25, and I went next door to splash and then scarlet and they scanned my IDs no problem. I even told the bouncer I literally went to sidetrack the week prior with the same exact ID. To be fair he asked if I had a second form of ID to prove it but like, no... I graduated college 4 years ago and I'm not sure what other forms of ID you'd have. Also I think his attitude partly was because he believed I may have been drunk when I was embarrassingly sober, so he didn't care to be professional and maybe try wiping my id to try scanning it again or just speaking kinder. Like I'm not sure what they want the customer to do when their broken system is somehow saying a real ID is fake when every other establishment on the block is able to scan it and It's being used for TSA getting on planes.... it's bizarre and honestly I don't care about coming back as I come maybe once or twice a year (now it isnt even worth that), but maybe be more professional and look into your system. I wish they tried confiscating it so I could call the police lol 😆. Like it's supposedly fake but you're just handing it right back? Sure buddy

Anyways only writing such a long negative review because this certainly turned my friends 21st birthday sour with the error and poor employee attitude for a safe space. The irony of a newly 21 year old getting let in but a 25 year old getting turned away for a "fake id" when he was there last week. You have to remember people come for special events too maybe once a year, and so a one time incident is...

I used to love this place.It was my favorite bar in the area for years.We moved away from the area and for the first time in like 5 years I went their with a friend who had a big purse not a back pack or anything and security would not let her keep the purse and insisted she had to check it. She had an asthma inhaler, hair brush,reading glasses,make up and other things she wanted to keep with her so that would not work as my friend had no pockets in her outfit. So saying you can keep your wallet did not make sense . She opened her bag to let them search it but the arrogant door security people said no you have to check it with no reason given why. If you do not like our rules you do not have to come here is what we were told.That was the only place out of like 8 bars we went to that night that make women check their purses. I can understand maybe wanting to search the purse that would have made sense but not letting you keep it at the bar? We went to this bar with a similar size purse for over 15 years and never had a issue before. We ended up not going in. Is this bar just trying to make it difficult for ladies to come to the bar or what? This great bar is not a great place any more sadly.came back on my birthday to try your bar one more time only to be frisked by your, security guard pretending to be a cop. So you check purses and frisk all men rudly like, I am acriminal. I will not be coming back. Other bars treat birthday customerd better for sure!Try to have coffee also available, like you use to. We had to wait 20 minutes for your staff to make...

Sidetrack, the first gay bar I went to as part of the Chicago Bar Bracket, an NCAA style tournament to find the best bar in Chicago.

My only complaint about Sidetrack is that it is more of a club/lounge than a bar. Well, I guess I could also complain about not enough woman, but I was the one coming to the gay bar, it's not like anyone forced Sidetrack on me.

Anyways, the bartenders here are great: attentive service and know how to make their drinks. The house speciality, a Purple Slushie aka Ketel One Krush - or as I like to call it, K.O.K. - is tasty, but a bit too sugary. In general, if you leave your drink choices up to the bartender they seem to lean on the sugary stuff a bit much, but maybe that's just because they're so sweet (#awwww).

The bar itself is huge, composed of multiple patios, bars, lounges and rooms. I highly recommend bringing a cartographer with you to Sidetrack so you don't get lost.

While a gay bar may not be where I choose to go on a random night, I can see why all of my friends, gay or straight, said that Sidetrack is an awesome bar when I would bring up my upcoming visit for the bracket. Also, with how welcoming and well done the bar is, I would not hesitate to make a return trip, but like my friend Mimizi said, it helps to have a "gay Sherpa" with you. I did have several gay friends with me, but I doubt that really made a difference.

Anyways, Sidetrack faced off against Twisted Spoke in the Chicago Bar Bracket, beating the Spoke by a vote of 4-2 and advancing to the round of 32 in my efforts to find the best...