The Front Bar
…is actually two rooms in one. It is full of hardwood birch, natural and stained, new ceramic tile and deco era fixtures. The floor is a mosaic that, aside from being an attractive collection of colors, also creates a topical scene. You’ll have to come in and try to discover it yourself. The tables were built by Paul’s brother’s father-in-law (say that ten times fast!). He did a great job, right from his garage, and the tables are as sturdy as they are beautiful.
The posters in the front bar are actually painted reproductions of WPA era travel posters. During this time, there was a big push by the government to get America traveling. Talented artists were hired to capture some of America’s beautiful scenery and some of its cultural highlights as well. The “See America” line in particular originated fantastic lasting artistic images that have been captured beautifully by local artist Chris Maylone and his friends. One of our personal favorites is the Puerto Rico "poster'. It looks terrific, and really makes sense when you’re sipping one of our Mango Martinis.
We get a lot of questions about our front bar. The actual bar, which we named McCormick’s Bar, is quite a piece. It came from the Bridgeport neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, and was purchased from a man named Ray McCormick. It used to serve the working class Irish that lived in that neighborhood through the middle 1900’s. The bar, we believe, was originally built by one of the beer companies that supplied Ray’s dad, the owner of the tavern. The bar was built sometime in the 40’s, and was use into the 70’s, when Ray’s father closed the place. It sat there, in the locked tavern, untouched, until 2001. Something of a time capsule, the many drawers in the back-bar yielded the common brick-a brack found behind many popular bars. Some of the more interesting pieces can be seen around Prairie Moon, such as the original Mayor Daley (senior) campaign propaganda that hangs in our Roadhouse Bar, and the old Cubs scorecard that announces scores for teams that don’t even exist today. We reshaped the front bar-top and bullnose to accommodate our front kitchen, and we added a little depth to change the former drink rail into a surface that will fit a Prairie Moon meal. But other than that, this well crafted deco-style piece looks pretty much as it did when it was built sixty years ago. And it is still a very cool place to enjoy a good drink.
The Dining rooms
…seat about 80 people and include a lot of personal touches. The oak floors were installed by Paul’s brother-in-law, Mark.. The birch-top tables were constructed by Paul’s brother’s father-in-law. The eight-foot Prairie Style hinged windows were designed by Kevin, our architect and friend, and stained and assembled by Paul’s brother, Tom. The paintings on the wall were gifted to us, on consignment, by the mother of our friend and part-time host, Bruce Mitchell. Bruce is a retired high school English teacher from Evanston. He’s the only one at the Moon who you’ll find in a tie (old habits die hard). His mother, now in her nineties, is an artist who has studied and shown her work all over the world, including little places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Her work is full of color and adds great character to the smaller of the two rooms. The larger of the two rooms is decorated with festival posters from around the country. Every month at Prairie Moon we celebrate a festival that is occurring somewhere in the United States at the same time. We’ve had the Kodiak Crab Festival, the Miami Mango Festival and the Klamath River Salmon Festival, just to name a few. And the California Crush, a celebration of the West Coast wine and produce harvest, comes up in September. We feature food, wine and drink specials based on the region and season represented by the festival. Invariably, some of these new creations end up on our regular menu. In this way, there is always something new happening at Prairie Moon. We get to hang the posters, too!
The Patio
…seats about 60 people and is one cool place to enjoy dinner or drinks in the summertime. The patio is set in back, away from the street buses and traffic, and features a bar window to the Roadhouse. Local artist Karen Dockery recently painted a picturesque mural on the north wall, that compliments the herbs that Phil has planted in the south window boxes. It is accessible from the dining room, the Roadhouse Bar, or the front bar. It is open as late as we are, and as the weather permits.
The Roadhouse Bar
…is the louder of our two bars. It is far more of a casual hang out than the front bar. Decorated in weathered wainscoting recovered from the construction process, the Roadhouse has two dart boards and a pool table, a hooked bar that seats about 13, and a garage door that opens to our patio bar, which seats another four or five. There are two very cool wall murals in this bar, one created by Eddie Love, who is a well-traveled outdoor wall artist whose work appears all over Evanston. The other was created by our friend who bartends down the street. Her piece was created over two nights (while we were open). She just put her headphones on and started creating, with a crowd of people around her the whole time. Live art is something we intend to continue in the future. Our next guest is likely going to be a sculpture artist from Galena who lives and works in Evanston. We also have live music back in the Roadhouse from time to time, and DJ’s as well. Check our upcoming events page for what’s happening soon at the Moon.
