Four Moon Tavern: Really Good Bar Food

I've been to the Four Moon Tavern more times than I can even count and yet never once thought to write it up here or on any other venue. The reason is simple. It's not a destination place, nor is it really even a restaurant, it serves bar food - ah, but what bar food it is.

Four Moon is a quirky little bar located at the corner of Roscoe and Wolcott, Roscoe Village. I had been to it once long before TPA and I moved into Roscoe Village when it had been described in a pull out section on bars in the Chicago Magazine. An enjoyable evening it was: beer, Paulina brats and fun with the jukebox as the bartender/owner fed me quarters as long as I promised not to play any Frank Sinatra (overused selection in the 4 Moon).

Neither the mood nor the food has changed much over the years. The main room is dominated by a blue felt pool table. There is room in the back with tables, tables outside and bar tables in the front. My favorite items of decor are a painting of a mermaid and a Duff beer can. The menu involves really well-prepared bar food. The burgers are excellent as are the onion rings. The chicken gyro is one of my favorite items on the menu. Sliced chicken served on a soft pita with grilled onions and a flavorful cucumber sauce. The appetizers are also excellent. We had the quintessential bar food this weekend, perfectly appropriate for a very besotted evening that ended at the employee lounge at Tournesol (otherwise known as the back alley): nachos and chicken tenders. Maybe my palate had become a pallet after too much drinking, but these were really good. The nachos involved real cheddar cheese, housemade chili and guacamole. The chicken fingers (TPA's choice) were perfectly fried and served with a buttermilk ranch. On the topic of drinks, the wines are serviceable and the bloody mary's impeccable.

One of my favorite features of the 4 Moon are its daily specials. Pulled pork one night of the week, tuna steak another. The best of the bunch and worth the trip is Spaghetti and Meatballs. Yes, the pasta is overcooked (or more accurately cooked for an American palate), but the meatballs are divine. Perfectly sized, pink in the middle with a hint of lemon zest and parsley, they are served with Marinara and a ton of parmesan cheese. The cheesy garlic bread is a guilty pleasure. There is something so retro, so very homey about the dish itself, which is only enhanced by the fact that it is served the same day every week.

From my recollection, the Four Moon is so named because there are four owners, one of whom is the cook. It's a charming bar that exudes an artsy corner bar kitschy charm. For an evening of simple pleasure, I highly recommend it.

Four Moon Tavern
1846 W. Roscoe St.
773-929-6666
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MAG
www.monogrammeevents.com

"I've never met a pork product I didn't like."

MAG,

Good bar food is a rarity. It seems like such a natural, too, and it's surprising (at least to me) that more bars don't try to put a little more effort into their food (my guess is that the added expense of kitchen/staff, plus the lack of a compelling need to serve more than bad pizza, discourages most bars from beefing up their solid food offerings).

My favorite watering hole in Oak Park is Philander's. The associated restaurant is actually not great, but it's nice to sit at an old-timey circular wooden bar and be able to order oysters rock (even if it's not a four-star preparation). After a few drinks, of course, I'm fairly easy to please.

Hammond

One of the reasons that Four Moon's food is so so good may be its split clientele. There is the young single crowd that shows up later; there is also the neighborhood guy contingent and then, mainly in the summer due to its outdoor seating, families.

MAG,

You know, I just realized, I've been in the Four Moons. I forget which event we were attending, but afterwards, The Wife and I were walking by the Four Moons (I remember the sign now) and decided to stop in. We didn't stay long; we came during the late evening "young rush" and, as we both had dates, there was no reason to hang around.

Hammond

We ate at Four Moon only once, but the food was surprisingly good, and the place as a whole greatly impressed us. Very friendly, comfortable, reasonably priced, great food. It's far enough from us to not really be convenient for regular eating, but if we lived closer would probably fill the role that Jury's occupies currently, though unlike Four Moon, Jury's is certainly more restaurant than bar.

Another bar with very good food (though it's been a while) is Chief O'Neill's on Elston.

Cheers,

Aaron

though we haven't been in awhile, the weekend brunch is pretty great, too.

specifically, the biscuits & gravy are very tasty, extremely reasonably priced and such a laid-back environment. with this weather slowly turning cool, sounds like we may have to get over there again soon.

miss ellen

The kitchen is run by a former co-worker of my wife's (and by extension, myself, as I now work in the same job my wife vacated when we adopted). She got into catering while still working here in corporate graphics, and was then tapped for this enterprise when the partners were starting up.

The partners are theatre-related folks and much of the demographic is Chicago actors, which also accounts for high appreciation of good bar food at reasonable prices. (I think her fries are terrific.) Haven't been there in a while as it's hard for a carless Uptown denizen to stagger home from there in good time, but it's a great place.

Glad to see it written up.

The Thursday night special, a homemade burrito, is excellent. On any night, the sloppy joe is pretty darn good.