Accessible From Blue Line

Like most things, the most convenient bars are on the Blue Line. Most of these bars are by the Damen stop on the Blue Line, in Wicker Park:

• Lemmings 1850 N Damen Chill atmosphere, farther north. Damen stop, Blue Line.
• Danny's 1958 W Dickens -- right off Damen. Good place for loud music with chill nooks and chairs, but also dancing, starts bumpin about 11pm but closes at 2. Damen stop, Blue Line.
• Map Room 1949 N Hoyne, on Armitage. Awesome beer selection, very cool atmosphere, won't see a bunch of yuppies here. Can be very crowded. About 6 or 7 blocks from the Western stop, Blue Line.
• Estelle's 2013 W. North Ave -- latenight, go after 1 or 2am but very interesting and fun! Damen stop, Blue Line.
• Northside 1635 N Damen -- most run of the mill overall, but good atmosphere and beers. Chill, lots of places to sit. Can be run over by the cool kids sometimes. Damen stop, Blue Line.
• Pontiac 1531 N Damen, -- right by El stop. Very chill place, great if it is warm and can sit outside. Sometimes they have live music. Damen stop, Blue Line.
• Blueline 1548 N Damen, right under El platform. Chill with lots of booths, more of a martini place but the crowd is not swanky, can be a first stop and you can eat there too. Damen stop, Blue Line.
• SmokeDaddy 1804 W Division -- latenight eats, awesome BBQ but also really great live music, kinda rockabilly country bluegrass mashup. 4 or 5 blocks from the Division stop, Blue Line.
• Empire 1566 N Milwaukee -- cool atmosphere, little more of a martini place, little more cool kid. Damen stop, Blue Line.
• Bin Wine Cafe 1559 N Milwaukee -- great place for wine peeps, can get all kinds of amazing wine flights and nibble, sit down atmosphere. Damen stop, Blue Line.
• The Whistler 2421 N Milwaukee Avenue -- shhhh, best kept secret in Chicago. Very humble pre-prohibition era cocktail lounge (the latest rage). I.E. real sazeracs and other carefully crafted blends of beautiful tastes. Pricey but worth every cent. California stop, Blue Line.
• The Violet Hour 1520 N Damen Ave -- another pre-prohibition era bar modeled after an old speakeasy. Seriously, it does not have a storefront. You enter through a little door of what looks like a boarded up building. Guys, DO NOT GO HERE unless you are entertaining a lady. And you might want to wear a suit. Just saying. But the drinks here are crafted by the finest hands in the drink-making industry. Pricey but worth it. Damen stop, Blue Line.

Uptown

• Green Mill, 4802 N Broadway St -- not that easy to get to from the hotel. This is a well-known jazz club with live music until late at night. They discourage loud conversation and admission is usually $5 for the live music. Lawrence stop, Red Line.
• Hopleaf, 5148 N Clark St -- also not particularly easy to get to. They have a very large beer selection, including quite a few more exotic malt drinks. They also have a small but very good food menu. Not for large groups. Argyle or Berwyn stop, Red Line (it's in between the two).