Joker’s strives to be ‘good neighborhood bar’
It's an unseasonably warm Friday afternoon, the doors are open, a breeze flows in and so do the regulars.
Joker's, 1631 N. Decatur Blvd., is a neighborhood bar -- you see it in the way an older gent in a ball cap dissects a recent basketball game with the bartender over a bowling-ball-sized burger or how quickly the tattooed couple playing pool have a fresh pitcher of beer waiting for them as soon as their current one runs out.
But the welcoming, modestly lit bar doesn't have the look of the typical locals-only tavern: a mixture of exposed brick walls and a brightly painted red and orange decor, plush booths shaded in deep earth tones and an array of flat-screen TVs gives the place a more polished, refined look than many other hangouts of this nature.
As such, there's an equally fresh and familiar vibe about the place.
Joker's opened last October, though the building has been around for years, having undergone extensive renovations of late.
"It needed a lot of work, it was kind of a rundown establishment before it closed -- and it had been closed for quite a while," says owner Jim Watson, who used to run his own vending company before launching Joker's.
"We'll never be huge," he adds, "but a good neighborhood bar is kind of where we're headed."
This is due in part to the 24-hour kitchen, which is run by Bianca Freeny, a California transplant and culinary school graduate who has worked as a saucier at Bally's, a sous chef at Paris Las Vegas and overseen marketing at Whole Foods' California stores.
Freeny makes most everything here from scratch, including the chili, pulled pork and brisket.
"A lot of these bars around here do everything out of a can," Freeny says, "I wanted to make it where it was still homey bar food but as home cooked as possible."
Freeny plans to open her own bistro in the near feature, but in the meantime, she's making sure that Joker's menu is, well, no joke, with offerings far better than our puns. Catering also is available.
Specialties: Monster burger (double beef patty with chili, cheese and fried egg), $10.99; biscuits with homemade country gravy, two sausage patties and two eggs, $6.99
Appetizers: wings (10) with fries, $9.99; nachos with homemade tortilla chips and chili, $8.99; sliders (3), $7.99
Salads: Chinese chicken salad, $7.99; barbecue chicken salad, $7.99
Entrees: brisket, $8.99; pulled pork, $8.99; $10.99 for a plate of either with two sides
Dessert: Brownies a la mode, $6.99
Information: 834-7488
By JASON BRACELIN
