Esquire’s released this year’s list (release the hounds!) of the best bars in America. Though no Chicago institutions show up in the splash page top 10, we do darn fine okay, with 12 locales in the Chicagoland area making the total list.
We also, for the record, deeply question the decision-making process here. The top-rated bar in the country is apparently Churchill’s Pub in Miami, with a rating of 76. Plenty of Chicago institutions fall in with a rating of 75, there’s no mention of methodology that we can find anywhere, and we would imagine the reviewers were drunk when they wrote this. We smell conspiracy.
Anyhoo, the winners, complete with glowing writeups, are:
Duke of Perth (75)
Green Mill Cocktail Lounge (75)
Hideout (75)
Walter Payton’s Roundhouse (75)
B.L.U.E.S. (74)
The California Clippe (74)
Chipp Inn (74)
The Matchbox (74)
Michael & Louise’s Hopleaf Bar (73)
The Violet Hour (71)
The Red Lion Pub (70)
Bungalow (66)
Check out the full list here.
Best Bars [Esquire]
