by Maggie L. on I really have nothing bad to say about Sidetracks. It is the only decent sports bar/ martini bar in Sunnyside. The waiters and bartenders are ridiculously nice and accommondating. The food is diverse (from pizza to roast beef dinners) and good. There is always some good people watching opportunities. I don't know if I would go out of the way to go to Sidetracks but I'm happy that I don't have to.
by Elena G. on Visited April 2008. Looks like most people who write about this place are regulars in such clubs. Let me write from the opposite perspective. During another business trip to LA we wanted to experience something very LAish. I considered visiting some underground dance/music club in one of those neighborhoods which tourist books highly recommend to avoid. But at the last moment I chickened out and picked one from the top 8 comedy clubs (from about .com - very unhip, I know). So for people who are as clueless as I am about all this live comedy scene - visit it once. I don't think I will be a regular, but I am really glad we went. We arrive at exactly the wrong time - 8:30PM. Too late for the 8PM show and way to early for 10PM. So the cashier talked us into eating at their restaurant first. The selling point was 'if you eat a dinner here you will get preferential sitting before the show. The food was ok - boring but safe. Right next to us were sitting a few groups of regulars who ordered minimal amount of food to pass it as a 'dinner', chatted with comedians who we would see later on the stage. Nobody even tries to pretend that they come to eat there. At the end of our fake dinner the waiter came and asked where we would want to sit. Given our complete cloudlessness we picked the front row. Btw - don't do it unless you love being made fun of by professional jokers in front of 300 strangers. The show felt pretty much like TV comedy show - just much more swearing, in-your-face political incorrectness, rudeness and other expectable attributes. Probably 90% of all jokes were centered around reproductive organs with remaining 10% focusing on the products of the lower parts of digestive track. Personally I don't find this topic that funny - if I was at home and that show was on TV I would most definitely change the channel. But there I couldn't do that - so I stayed and watched and listened until I wound myself laughing to tears... Go figure... Half of the comedians appeared to be quite drunk or otherwise 'enhanced'. The other half managed to hide it better. They also served drinks. Don't order B-12. It supposed to be a coffee, but it arrives almost cold. All in all it worth going once.
by Suzan Mandt on This place is overrated as a club. I can't speak for the food since I only went there to celebrate a friend's birthday over a few cocktails. This is a wanna be upscale club but the execution isn't there. The place looks pretty nice especially the patio area & the tall canvas 'sails'. The view though is ruined by the freeway below. What disappointed me the most is that when you go to a very classy place, the way how the staff treats you is paramount to the overall experience & they didn't go out of their way at all to give that 'star' treatment (only the bartenders were OK). The staff isn't all that knowledgable or helpful whenever I asked about something. It didn't feel 'friendly' or 'inviting'. Since it portends to be upscale, they charge accordingly. They charge a $20 cover (it was discounted to $10 since I mentioned I'm on a 'guest list' & the cover applies for guys only, ladies you get in for free). The drinks range from a $5 bottle beer to $12 mixed cocktail. I can think of other places I rather be with these kind of prices. There was a band playing punk and new wave out in the outdoor patio, that definitely saved the night for me. If that doesn't suit your music taste, there was a dj spinning dance tunes in the dance floor area located on the other end of the building. I overheard a guy in the line getting in saying he came here because he heard great things about the place. I came away quite disappointed.
