Best Beer Selection
The restaurant’s new monthly Brewmaster’s Series offers a four-course dinner ($45) with beer pairings from a regional superstar ($15-$25) on the last Sunday of each month. Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall kicked things off in January; the March installment featured beers from Three Floyds, including a dark wheat dopplebock cooked up with Kahan and McAvena. Offerings from Saint Feuillien and Jolly Pumpkin are in the chute for April and May. a837 W. Fulton, 312-733-9555, thepublicanrestaurant.com. —Martha Bayne
Dollar burger specials can vary pretty widely—and usually they vary from greasy little sliders to institutional beef patties served dry on the bun. But on Mondays the Uptown gay bar Big Chicks, with its 50s-diner-meets-Mapplethorpe vibe, serves up juicy, delicious quarter-pound beef patties with lettuce, tomato, pickle spear, and a choice of either crispy battered fries or organic mixed greens; another buck gets you a premium topper like Brie, bacon, or avocado. Pair that with two-bucks-off beer pitchers and $4 Mandarin Crush cocktails (Absolut Mandarin and cranberry juice) and suddenly you can afford to go out on a Monday night. The only challenge is finding a spot to sit—the competition for tables gets fierce, so hunker down on a bench at the back and pray the waiter can find you. a5024 N. Sheridan, 773-728-5511, bigchicks.com. —Bianca Jarvis
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The spacious, recently renovated beer garden may be what’s turned this East Village rumpus room into a hot spot, but it’s the Ping-Pong that really seems to keep them coming back. The two professional-size tables play host to leagues in the back room every Sunday and Tuesday from about 7 to 11 PM. Twelve teams of three compete, the odd person serving as a substitute. The season runs about two-and-a-half months and culminates in a championship tournament. Sign up is at the bar, and a season’s play is $45 per team. On other nights the tables are open to anyone, and play is free—just trade your ID at the bar for a paddle. a1059 N. Wolcott, 773-486-1512. —James H. Ewert Jr.
It may not have the best sound system in town, the DJ ia more likely to be someone you’ve seen around the record store than someone you’ve read about somewhere, and there’s nary a laser in sight, but the category here is “where to dance your ass off,” not “fanciest place to get your wiggle on,” and for that it’s hard to beat the Hideout. The back room’s cabinlike decor lends the DJ nights it frequently hosts a bit of a house-party vibe, the beers come fast and cheap, and the complete absence of pretentiousness has inspired many a normally levelheaded person to act a complete fool on the dance floor. a1354 W. Wabansia, 773-227-4433, hideoutchicago.com. —Miles Raymer
&Our readers’ choiceHidden Cove
