If you’ve ever returned from Chicago’s trendy North Side scene thinking something was missing, read on. And if any of those absent ingredients included bib overalls, country hits blasting from juke boxes, mammoth-sized cowboys, biker gear or barstools overflowing with beer-bellied regulars, you should head straight to to the dingy, barred-window Andersonville establishment known as Carol’s Pub.

Make it past the rough-looking door staff (rugged, handlebar-mustached, cowboy-hat-sporting thugs) and enter the sparsely and bizarrely decorated wooden confines. At Carol’s Pub, you’ll find yourself rubbing elbows with one of the most eclectic groups of beer guzzlers around. Apparently 75-cent drafts appeal to leather-bedecked, 50-something bikers who create a commotion around the pool tables – not to forget hillbillies who rock the flannel, professionally-dressed yuppies, multi-pierced hipsters and college students (who seem to get a kick out of karaoke with such authentic characters).

Drinks are cheap, cash-only and free of frills – it took one bartender a couple of tries to get the Long Island iced tea right. Pitchers of beer on tap are the norm, and the clientele has no qualms about letting loose and getting annihilated. After all, it’s a favorite haunt of morning drinkers and hardy, late-night bar goers. Popular country hits (think Shania Twain and Tim McGraw) are constantly blasted, and on weekend nights, live bands perform covers. It’s about as redneck and rollicking as things get on this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Find Carol’s near the Wilson Red Line stop at 4659 N. Clark St. The bar is open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday.

– Katie O’Reilly