While we are not probably doing much outside in the next few weeks, I did spend some time watching sports at the bar last week. And since there are no sports, this is the perfect time to talk about my experience last Friday. I joined my buddy Murph to watch Lakers-Bucks at Monica’s on Astor. If you’re like me and think of the ‘MOOOOONICA’ scene in Fast & Furious, you’re not alone.

Is this a sports bar?
Even though they have a ton of TV’s, it would not be classified as a sports bar. It is just a bar. That is hard to do in today’s society, but it is simply a bar. It is in the basement, and it has a basement-like feel. There is a big round bar. Couches and tables. Additionally, I believe they also have peanuts and popcorn (I realized last night that there will be no bar popcorn for the foreseeable future). You could call it a sports bar, but I don’t think they want you to call it that.

How is their TV Game?
Awesome. They had TV’s everywhere. Whenever you looked, there was a TV. That is how you do it. The only thing that sucked with their TV’s is since they’re in a basement, there are large pillars that block a few TV’s in your certain areas of the bar. They cannot control that, but it is definitely something to think about if you’re planning to watch a big sports event.

What was their variety of sports on television?
We’re going to kick out the local part because the Bucks were on every television. That makes sense considering the Bucks were playing their biggest game of the season to date. What stood out to me is the bar changed from ESPN to FOX Sports Wisconsin at 9:30 pm. The Miami-New Orleans game ran long, and Monica’s didn’t want to risk it. I give them a ton of credit for not waiting it out. So many bars would just wait it out. They also piped in the noise which is a nice bonus.

How was the service?
It got better as the night went on and the crowd thinned out a bit. At first, the bar was packed and service took a little longer than expected. But once we go in flow with the bartender, things were solid.

GRADE: B+
Like Dukes, this is a low-key spot to watch sports. People might not consider it for sports, but you can watch games here. The only issues that I see are the service lagged with big groups of people, and there are a few obstructed views.

Charlie.