Four Star Bar Tour: Orange Archer Edition!

Name: Four Star Bar Tour: Orange Archer Edition!
Start: 2026-05-17T15:45:00-05:00
End: 2026-05-17T21:30:00-05:00
Location: Exchequer Restaurant & Pub

Schedule

Sun May 17 2026 at 03:45 pm to 09:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Exchequer Restaurant & Pub | Chicago, IL

Good news, travelers! We are back on monthly cadences again. This month, we are off to explore some hidden spots on the city's Southwest Side. Some are a great example of how our city changes through the years. Others? Well I think some spots are preserved in amber from when there was an East Germany. Read on! We start at:
345 - 445: Exchequer - 226 S. Wabash (Loop): We will gather at a spot familiar to me, but new to the tour, right under the Orange Line tracks. It will be a nice place to assemble, and a bit of a changeup from our usual rally point at Miller's Pub. Then onto the Orange Line we go for a trip to:
500 - 545: One City Tap - 3115 S. Archer (McKinley Park): We arrive right when this spot opens for the evening. Why it opens at 5 on the weekends I don't quite know. But it's a hole in the wall with strong concrete walls and a chalk-written drink menu. Let's enjoy a blast from the past before hopping back on the Orange Line for:
600 - 700: Las Brisas Del Mar - 3207 W. 51st Street (Gage Park): We've been to the one (so far as I know) bar in Gage Park a few times. So let's mix it up and visit a restaurant + bar for a change. Mexican seafood and tropical cocktails are here for the trying. Then we will hail some rides to:
715 - 815: Guide's Sports Bar - 5544 S. Archer (Garfield Ridge): I will post the link to their website in the comments but take a look at it - I don't think they've updated the page since the Bush Administration. Hopefully, that means they are too preoccupied with serving good food and cold drinks to worry about things like 'outreach' and 'advertising'. Then, time for one more car ride (or if we are lucky, the #62 bus) to:
825 - 930: El Mezcalito - 5147 S. Archer (Archer Heights): Sadly, it appears Sofie's Tavern is no more. So instead of a mysterious Chicago dive bar, we are bound once again for the best Mexican cowboy bar in the city of Chicago. How many such places are there? Don't ask me that. Just know that the decor and drinks here are like nothing you see up and down the north side radio dial.
See you soon! If there's someone new you want to bring along, let me know!