Great Dive Bar Food?

Upon recommendations we went to Toons and enjoyed it. Embarrassed to say that it was so long ago I don't remember what I had, that and my inebriated state at the time has clouded my memory. We're doing our Dive search again and wondered what the opinion of Big & Little's is lately. Also, has any one recently tried Side Street Saloon on W. George at Greenview or Flub a Dub Chubs on Broadway. I've heard they are good dive places with great burgers.

My co-worker swears by Side Street Saloon, specifically their pizza. I haven't had the pleasure of going their yet.

My personal favorites are Skylark and Cobra Lounge. Skylark has a good burger and you can't beat the wings at Cobra (plus the veggie chili is pretty good too).

Side Street Saloon
1456 West George Street
Chicago, IL 60657

Skylark
2149 S. Halsted
Chicago

Cobra Lounge
235 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago

When I lived in the neighborhood, I always loved the Edgewater Lounge. They have a nice sidewalk patio and a Friday all you can eat fish fry. I was also a fan of the pork loin sandwich on rye. They also have great beers on tap.

Edgewater Lounge
5600 N Ashland
Chicago

I'm a huge fan of Flub a Dub's. The Roe burger is the way to go there, IMO.

Not sure it's really a "dive" though. It is below street level, but the inside is bright and clean. More of a small, neighborhood joint than a true "dive".

figmolly wrote:My co-worker swears by Side Street Saloon, specifically their pizza. I haven't had the pleasure of going their yet.

Great thin crust pizza.

Sharona wrote:When I lived in the neighborhood, I always loved the Edgewater Lounge. They have a nice sidewalk patio and a Friday all you can eat fish fry. I was also a fan of the pork loin sandwich on rye. They also have great beers on tap.

Edgewater Lounge
5600 N Ashland
Chicago

Thanks for the reminder. I've only been there once and it was sometime in the last several months. A friend and I were out late and arrived somewhere else where the kitchen had closed - one of the kitchen staff told us to give Edgewater Lounge a try . . . I hadn't even heard of it. I can't remember too much about the food other than thinking that it was better than I expected it to be. And the vibe of the place and the service were fantastic. Total neighborhood, very old school, good beers list. I think I'm going to have to return - we promised that to ourselves when we left the place that night.

Edgewater Lounge

And should you ever make it up to Northbrook, Charlie Beinlich's brings back fond memories.

Not one of the places in the original post is a remotely a dive. Try Carol's Pub, Cal's or Jimmy's Woodlawn Tap for burgers, or maybe Richard's Bar for hardboiled eggs and jerky.

Illinois Bar & Grill

4135 W 47th St
Chicago, IL 60632
(773) 847-2525
1131 State St. (Lemont)
(630) 257-0666
http://illinoisbarandgrill.com/

I'll 2nd Street Side Saloon and their pizza. I was pretty impressed when I had it. Thin, cracker like crust that holds up well even with a few toppings on it. Also a bonus they have fried cheese curds.

Yeah, but like JeffB said, it's not remotely a dive. More like a yuppie bar, which to me, is actually the height of sleeze.

I've only been twice and the time I ate pizza was during the day while watching a Hawks playoff game. I didn't see any yuppies but I'll take your word for it. I wouldn't call streetside a dive, but it's not yuppie sheak either. I didnt mind it personally. And I'm not a yuppie. Just a Polish boy who like good pizza.

Goldyburgers in Forest Park is the first place that came to mind when I saw this thread. I actually haven't gone over there in a bit and need to make it a point to do that soon. Really good burgers in a really friendly place.

Goldyburgers
7316 Circle Avenue Forest Park, IL 60130
(708) 366-0750

Some of my favorites are mentioned here (Toons and Skylark, although I've actually never had the burger at Skylark. I always go for something off their daily specials list and have never been disappointed. If I ever ran a bar, Skylark is exactly what it would be like.)

Anyhow, I'm gonna give a shout out to Cigars and Stripes in Berwyn. Ronnie, the owner, has got an offset smoker in the back that he uses for his wings. If you're lucky, he'll have some other goodies on the menu. The last few days it was smoked Italian beef. This is just fantastic. Smoked top round, thinly sliced, served in the Italian beef fashion. He sometimes has rib tips; sometimes pulled pork; sometimes smoked meatloaf. And homemade hot sauces to choose from. Great beer selection, eclectic group of patrons, funky son-of-Svengoolie kind of atmosphere. Seriously, this may be my favorite bar in the Chicagoland area. Their menu is not extensive--not at all. Basically, you can depend on wings and pizza being there. But what they have is oh so good, and the atmosphere is unique in the literal sense. I cannot think of another bar in Chicago that has the same vibe as this one. This place is one of a kind.

Cigars & Stripes
6715 Ogden Ave
Berwyn, IL 60402

Habibi wrote:Yeah, but like JeffB said, it's not remotely a dive. More like a yuppie bar, which to me, is actually the height of sleeze.

Yeah, I have to say, Toon's and Skylark don't fit the "dive" bill for me, either. Even Jimmy's/Woodlawn Tap is borderline for me (Cove Lounge in Hyde Park is more of what I think of as a dive, but, even then, I think of it more as a neighborhood tavern than a true "dive bar.") My suggestion of Cigars and Stripes would also be slightly outside the realm of what I would truly consider a "dive."

Have to say that back in the day when i was frequenting dive bars (Gunther Murphy's was my local), BYO takeout was the way to go. Once the place served food, it kinda wasn't a dive anymore (or if it did, and was, you wouldn't want to eat it...)

Mal wrote:Upon recommendations we went to Toons and enjoyed it. Embarrassed to say that it was so long ago I don't remember what I had, that and my inebriated state at the time has clouded my memory. We're doing our Dive search again and wondered what the opinion of Big & Little's is lately. Also, has any one recently tried Side Street Saloon on W. George at Greenview or Flub a Dub Chubs on Broadway. I've heard they are good dive places with great burgers.

Big & Little's is still amazing.

Except Big & Little isn't a bar...no alcohol served there.

So I was in the area and had the opportunity to try Carol’s Pub recently. This is a country and western bar that closed down a few years ago and reopened I think last year. They got a remodel, don’t know what it was like before but it looks nice inside, everything fairly new and clean looking, interior brick was recently tuckpointed, bathroom had a big fancy sink and granite counter. Im not sure if the previous iteration served food but the kitchen area comprised the back half of the area behind the bar, not a separate room in the back. There was a big stage at one end of the common room for live acts, which I guess they have a few nights of the week.
Ordered 2 carol’s double cheeseburgers, fries, and a couple beers. There were only a few others in the place (we got there shortly after opening at 4pm) so our food came fast, within 10 minutes I’d guess. Burgers looked great.

Not sure what the weight of the patties were, maybe 3oz each? Less than 1/4lb for sure, imo.

Meat was well-seasoned and juicy. They didn’t ask how I wanted it, but they came out a nice barely pinkish inside with grill marks outside. Lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and carol’s sauce (some sort of mayo ketchup blend) were all fresh. I couldn’t really taste the sauce but the rest of the components made up for it.

Fries were 3.50 and you get a bunch. I believe these were fresh-cut (should have checked for a cutter) and they were some of the best I’ve had, crispy and a deep golden brown.

They have old style and another American lager for $3-4 a glass, along with some craft beers on tap and a whiskey menu. Burgers were $11 each including cheese, so not cheap, although they do have specials (mostly drinks) during the week.

4659 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 754-8000