The Evanston bar scene. No, that’s not a complete oxymoron. While Evanston’s drinking options may be fewer and tamer than their Wrigleyville or Lincoln Park counterparts, remember that it could be worse: The town was completely dry until the 1970s. At least now, when you want a few drinks and don’t feel like springing for cab fare, you have options. Even you minors can get in on the fun, if not the booze — on Mondays and Thursdays the Keg of Evanston is 18+ and 1800 Club is 19+.
The Keg of Evanston, 810 Grove St. — Evanston’s resident dive bar lives up to its moniker — drunken hordes pack the club on Thursday nights, delicately balancing $3, 32 oz. beers and getting freaky on the town’s only dance floor. The Keg boasts two bars, a pool room and restaurant-style seating perfect for impromptu games of flip cup. A mix of NU students and Evanston “townies” pack the club on Thursday nights, anxiously awaiting the D.J.’s announcement of everyone’s favorite event: Thong contest! Cover charge varies.
1800 Club, 1800 Sherman Ave. — Bar hoppers looking for a more laid-back location to drown their sorrows will find it at “the Hundo” (that’s what the cool kids are calling it these days). 1800 Club sports indoor seating at the lengthy bar or lamplit tables — or, if you’re lucky, the plush couches to the right of the entrance — and a large beer garden for those two glorious months a year when it’s safe to sit outside. Sports fans will appreciate the Tribune sports section taped to bathroom stalls, and everyone loves the rotating nightly drink specials. Unlike The Keg, the food here is tolerable, if not cheap.
Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman Ave. — A relative newcomer to the Evanston bar scene, spacious Prairie Moon opened its doors in February of last year and has drawn some students who are sick of 1800 and too old or too jaded for The Keg. The back room, with pool tables and dart boards, is a popular hangout for students. During dining hours the restaurant also offers “All-American cuisine” — hey, what better way to support the troops?
Tommy Nevin’s Pub, 1450 Sherman Ave. — Sadly, the former Playboy Magazine College Bar of the Month usually lacks busty, scantily clad females. But it does have the the best beer selection in town.
Mark II Lounge, 7436 N. Western, Chicago — Undergrads and Kellogg School of Management students fill “The Deuce,” just south of the Evanston/Chicago border, until it finally closes its doors at 4 a.m. Hey, it’s that extra hour that can make the difference between going home alone, drunk, and going home alone, really drunk. A 24-hour IHOP next door satisfies all your late-night pancake cravings.
Bill’s Blues Bar, 1029 Davis St. — There’s no better combination than booze and blues. A college I.D. gets you in with no cover Sundays through Thursdays and after 11:30 on Fridays and Saturdays — when top-notch local and national acts take the stage.
Bar Louie Tavern & Grill, 1520 Sherman Ave. — Nobody I know really goes here, but they have $1 burgers on Tuesdays.
