Historic Bars of Chicago

Sean Parnell
Lake Claremont Press (2010)
ISBN 9781893121829
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (12/10)


Chicago is one of America’s legendary bar towns and like all of our great urban spirits meccas, Chicago nurtures its national treasures in a patchwork quilt of neighborhoods that reflect the rich cultural diversity of the people who live there.

Author Sean Parnell took on what might seem like a daunting task to some, even those who frequent their neighborhood bar. He decided to discover and designate the “…100 most historic neighborhood taverns, blues bars, jazz clubs, cocktail lounges, sports bars, nightclubs, bierstubes, rock and punk clubs, and dives in Chicago.” But one need go no further than the preface to recognize that, for this professed “urban barfly,” this project was a labor of love.

Parnell’s Guide is arranged alphabetically, each establishment is profiled in a consistent, easy-to-read format, and all of the information one needs in advance to plan their own “Bar Crawl” is provided. For this reader, all that was lacking was a bit more “sense of the people” I might encounter on my visits. One of my most enjoyable pastimes at a new bar I have never visited is “being a fly on the wall” and cataloging the diverse, multiple personalities who are obviously regulars. Collectively, they allow me to profile the general personality of the bar itself. This activity often leads to the coveted “visitor” designation from the regulars and the possibility of conversation that is always interesting on some level.         
 
On your next visit to Chicago, whether you’re a barfly, enjoy being a fly on the wall observing real people at their neighborhood bar, or you just want to hang out with locals and out-of-towners eating, drinking and having fun, this well informed guide is a hardy pour. Definitely pack “Historic Bars of Chicago” on trips to the Windy City.

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