What bar has good TVs and good food?

Also, preferably Trixie-free. We are looking to go out and watch the ballgames this evening and want to eat well. Any recs?

Kuma's Corner sounds perfect for you. Lots of TVs that will most likely be tuned to the games; good tavern/comfort food; and NO Trixies (O.K., there can be no guarantees, but I think the punk style of the servers and Avondale location are probably pretty good Trixie-repellents; the irony of course being that the service at Kuma's is some of the friendliest I've encountered anywhere in Chicago).

I have to ask: What is a Trixie???

grant wrote:I have to ask: What is a Trixie???

Unfortunately, the best reference to answer your question seems to be down for remodelling (lptrixie.com), but you'll find a description of the Lincoln Park Trixie Society here (link).

z

I know this is a day late, but I like John Barleycorn on Clark St. 1 block S. of Addison, on the west side of the street. Good bar food and lots of large screen TV's (probably plasma).

But I think that John Barleycorn is the HQ of Trixies and Chads, the absence of which was the preference of the OP.

I agree with the Kuma's Corner recommendation -- the Map Room during the day is also a good place, but alas, they do not serve food.

if you're looking for something a little "different" ... Crew Bar in Uptown is a good sports bar.. though its a gay sports bar...

they're showing all of the games, and have HD screens all over. Food is above average for bar food, and its not smokey... it can be crowded, but if you get there on time you'll be ok... the crowd is a decent mix of people, with few (if any) obnoxious trixies.

Crew Bar + Grill
4804 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 784-2739
http://www.worldsgreatestbar.com/

Grizzly's -3832 N. Lincoln - is a neat spot, good food... wild game. Also the Map Room - 1949 Hoyne -has a decent Bloody Mary bar.

aschie30, my experience at the Barlycorn on Clark St. has been different than yours. About Crew - that suggestion is a joke, IMO. Not a very nice bar, nor food, from what I tasted on two occassions. It's a gay bar, with few straights from what I observed. No trixies, though. Then again . . .

Bill wrote:It's a gay bar, with few straights from what I observed. No trixies, though. Then again . . .

WTF?

E.M.

So, I don't get why the Crew suggestion must be a joke...it seems to fit the criteria of the OP. Are you saying it's a joke because you didn't like the food? In that case, it might just be a difference of opinion, because it sounds to me that dddane was recommending it sincerely.

I generally loathe sports bars, but found Crew bar to be very nice. The bartender was really great, there were tons of tv's, and the snacky foods were above average. And after the sporting event (whatever it was, I was not there to watch sports) was over, they had a mix of fun 80's videos.

I could not tell what percentage was queer vs non-queer, but I was not there to get some "action", so it was irrelevant. I didn't think it was "a joke", I thought it was a sports bar. Maybe Bill thinks the idea of a queer sports bar is "a joke".

I thought bill was saying it was a joke because he didn't like the food or atmosphere. Dunno.

my suggestion of Crew wasn't a joke... if any post here was a joke, it was the suggestion of john barleycorn's when the OP was looking for a "non trixie" establishment, among other criteria... the "non trixie" criteria would seem to eliminate just about any bar in lincoln park, lakeview, wrigleyville, etc that caters to a straight crowd... the crowd at crew probably varies a lot based off of what events are going on at the time, but i can assure you its never a "trixie" crowd... and i know plenty of straight people who go there, even without having gay companions (mostly female though.. but btw the OP seems to have been female).

As far as him not liking the food (if this is what he was saying even)... to each his own. it is a bar. so it is bar food. bar food isn't usually anything to write home about, i just said its "above average" bar food in my experience. i've been to plenty of lincoln parkesque bars and had plenty of food that was much, much worse. i've actually had a few things at crew that were quite good. my favorite item though, is the pulled pork nachos... http://www.worldsgreatestbar.com/menu.htm they also have interesting drinks (the beergarita seems to be a signature, though i've never actually had it)...+ they have daily pitcher specials. And the service is good.

Besides, it couldn't have been that bad "Bill" ...you went back a second time?

as a straight married male, i'd also recommend crew. "gay bar" satraight bar" -- it's all a bunch of nonsense to me, and i certainly have never felt uncomfortable. it meets all of AngrySarah's requirements, and the food is, as described, "above average" bar food, although that's admittedly not saying a lot.

and, in my experience, trixies and chads think the world ends (going north) at waveland, or at least that there is a black hole between that street and evanston, so with crew, you're likely in relatively trixie-free territory.