Why Chicago’s neighborhood bar culture is one-of

Spin around, pick a direction and walk a few blocks down nearly any residential street in Chicago—you’ll probably stumble into a neighborhood tavern. They’re as much a part of the city’s landscape as the two-flats and bungalows, tucked beneath apartments or wedged between laundromats and taquerias. Step inside one of these neighborhood watering holes, and you’ll find the city distilled: old men arguing in vain about the Bears’ capacity to win any title worth a damn, a jukebox lodged in the liminal sonic space between Sinatra and Styx, and a bartender who’s been pouring drinks and stoking neighborhood gossip longer than most alderpersons have held office.

These neighborhood bars are more than places to drink; they’re the city’s unofficial community centers, meeting houses and confessional