Humboldt Park

So Friday, some of my friends and I are going to Treat (1616 N. Kedzie) for an early dinner and was hoping someone had some good ideas of a decent bar in the area for drinks prior. There are some great places on Milwaukee I would love to go, but I would prefer things more around Humboldt Park so we don't have to park, drink, drive, then park again.

Thanks in advance.

Oh as well, if there is any place with local beer in the area, that would be a bigger bonus.

No fancy mixology, but Streetside Cafe on the corner of Kedzie and Armitage has a comfortable vibe and a good beer selection.

Revolution Brewing is only about a mile and a half away, which some would consider walkable. Might be crowded, though.

Revolution Brewing
2323 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 227-2739

nr706 wrote:Revolution Brewing is only about a mile and a half away, which some would consider walkable. Might be crowded, though.

Revolution Brewing
2323 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 227-2739

Tom, Tom, Tom. Tsk, tsk. Rootstock is only 1.3 miles away.

And it has cocktails, beer and wine. And a darn fine burger. Take your pick.

Ah, dear, sweet, poor little Wendy. You may be the world's greatest authority on Midwestern wines, but the OP asked for local beer, and there's no beer brewed closer to Humbolt Park than that at Revolution. It's worth the extra .2 miles.

Weegee's Lounge is only 1.1 miles away.

Weegee's Lounge
3659 W. Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
773-384-0707

nr706 wrote:Ah, dear, sweet, poor little Wendy. You may be the world's greatest authority on Midwestern wines, but the OP asked for local beer, and there's no beer brewed closer to Humbolt Park than that at Revolution. It's worth the extra .2 miles.

'Tis true, the beer does not get much more local than at Revolution (great place, BTW). There's also The Whistler (1.5 miles away), which has fantastic cocktails and some beer, I believe, which may be local beer, but not as local as at Revolution. (FWIW, Rootstock does have a nice beer selection, but I'm fuzzy on the locale of it, though.)

The Whistler
2421 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL‎
(773) 227-3530‎

Fujisan wrote:Weegee's Lounge is only 1.1 miles away.

Weegee's Lounge
3659 W. Armitage Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
773-384-0707

FTW!

Weegee's was my first idea, but we are looking to go somewhere around 3:30 or 4 (Get out early for work) and I believe Weegee's is not open until 5 or so. Rootstock is another great choice, but it's more of a restaurant than a bar, looking for a bar. Always wanted to try Whistler, will do research to see if it's open or not.

Now that I shot down most of the ideas (Revolution might be an option) anything closer to Treat that you guys can think of?

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm not sure when they open, but California Clipper might be the closest drinking establishment to Treat (haven't been there in a while, but never had a bad meal there, either). Great atmosphere, good selection, but a warning - some have critiqued their mixed drinks as not so well executed. They may still have music sometimes, I'm not really sure. (To be accurate: There is an old-school storefront bar on North a few blocks E of Kedzie, but there's nothing inviting about it, and I've never had occasion to enter.)

The Continental is a pretty generic 4 AM bar that is beloved of the fixie-and-facial-hair set, right next to the always excellent Feed. DJs and a late-night pick-up vibe. Chicago and California, I think. So probably second closest to Treat.

Tumbao is a fun Puerto Rican club/bar a few doors down from Streetside at Armitage/Kedzie. I think they have live music and/or DJs 3 or 4 nights a week. Great wing and beer special on Mondays, and run by cool people.

A few other places I like that are technically in Logan Square:
The Burlington is a faux dive, Whirlaway is a "real" dive - both attract the same youthful demographic, but there are generally pretty good DJs at the former and an excellent jukebox and old-school host at the latter - I forget her name, but the owner is very sweet and a real character - she's been running her joint since "81 or so, and is happy to tell a few stories of the bad old days. Good beer selection at both, but neither is terribly cheap.

Coles' (named for the owner, the bespectacled young guy usually behind the bar) is a new space just south of Whistler that does the usual, but does it well - good taps, pool table, fair prices, and often music or literary events in the back room.

The Two Way Lounge at Milwaukee and Fullerton is for some reason one of my favorite "dives" in Chicago - I dig the weird triangular layout, the very cheap drinks, and the often surly / harried bartenders. Kind of the anti-Whistler, in a good way.

Boni's Sports Bar has a 4 am license and late at night, will make any of these other places look like a kindergarten. Have a Long Island Iced Tea and try to remember the last time you were in an establishment that sawed off their rest room doors....

The Clipper opens at 8pm and have music on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 10pm (country-western/honk-tonk-ish generally and very good). They seem to fill up fast and are pretty hardcore about monitoring numbers inside. Unless you want to wait, I'd suggest getting there by 9/9:30. I will agree that the mixed drinks aren't the best, but they are cheap. Their in-house special is a Purple Martin: grape soda, coconut rum and lemon.

California Clipper
1002 N. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
(773)384-2547
http://www.californiaclipper.com/