Sidebar is def my favorite bar in town for when you want to sit back and enjoy a great conversation with good music and some people watching. Too bad I have to live so far away from it.
The bar itself is modern in style with retro furniture and exposed brick walls. It's actually a pretty small bar and anytime they get more then 30 people in there it tends to feel crowded.
Speaking of the crowd, the scene at Sidebar is one of the better things about it. Your never sure what kind of people to expect when you walk up the steps. Sometimes it's the art crowd, others the grad school kids. Luckily, it's never the Affliction, wind resistant hair crowd. Hopefully this post doesn't jinx it.
Most nights there's a random movie playing on the tv. I've seen everything from 300 to Devil women from mars and it's a wonderful life. Usually there's no sound so the cheesy B movies are great conversation pieces when you want to fill in your own words.
Music is mostly funk/dance/trip/jazz and suits the atmosphere well.
The staff there is great. The bartender's all seem to really enjoy their work and have no problems telling you what they like and dislike on the menu and make some great recommendations if you tell them what your looking for. The white rabbit is there staple martini, it's worth trying at least once.