Even though former Joffrey Ballet dancer Sam Franke took over this neighborhood joint in June 2008, the goal of original owners Craig Fass and Mandy Franklin to have a pub with good grub and an ever expanding beer list remains…

A post-work, loosened-tie set love to happy hour at this River North wine bar that side-saddles the House of Blues…

We know, we know: The last thing Chicago needs is another Irish bar. But once inside this sprawling (yet somehow still inviting) space—which has separate areas for eating pub grub, watching the game from the bar and even reading (in the cozy "library")—you just may find yourself wanting more.

Adjacent to the Heartland Café and claiming the same delish kitchen, the Red Line Tap books small-time but usually endearing rock, folk, country and punk bands. And when they’re good enough, you don’t even notice the CTA’s Red Line roaring overhead.

At first glance, this place looks like your typical yuppie sports bar, but the vastly male clientele, plum and ochre walls adorned with abstract art, and Kylie Minogue soundtrack reveal it to be Rogers Parks straightest-acting gay bar…

You’re supposed to eat fish and chips in a musty pub for ultimate authenticity, right? Not come summer, and not when this Irish mainstay has a patio that’s a dead ringer for your rich friend’s parents’ place in the ’burbs with patches of grass that just beg for your toes…

Soda bread? Black-and-white pudding? Not so much. This Irish bistro serves food you’d find in modern-day Dublin, which means Guinness isn’t just on the epic beer list, but also in a rich onion–and–white cheddar soup. You’ll also find it in the beef stew, along with chunks of parsnips and carrots…

If you’ve been in a train’s dining car recently, you know the menu ranges from Doritos to Ruffles and most of the clientele is passed out with cans of Bud Light at their feet. Thankfully, this dining car is nothing like that…