Bigger, hotter, louder

District Bar

THE BAR
Rockit
Rockit, 3700 N Clark St (773-645-4400, rockitbarandgrill.com)
THE GUYS Billy Dec, Brad Young, and Arturo Gomez of Rockit Ranch Productions (Rockit, Sunda, Underground)
THE PROVISIONS The most restaurant-like of any of the bars here, Rockit does itself a disservice by promoting chef James Gottwald’s food on table tents and flat-screens in every direction. Egg rolls filled with juicy steak (Rockit Pockits, $9) are tasty, but the $19 Kobe burger is underseasoned and overrated.
THE LIBATIONS Drinkable. The mojito was heavy on club soda, but the Dirty Queen (both $10) is a strong take on a dirty martini.
THE SCENE Take the River North Rockit, add wasted Cubs fans, and the equation could easily get out of hand. But by comparison to the rest of Wrigleyville, this place manages to feel pretty inviting.

THE BAR
District
170 W Ontario St (312-337-3477, district-bar.com)

THE GUYS Restauranteur Eric Tucker’s first Chicago project

THE PROVISIONS Chef Matthew Moss’s (Crofton on Wells, Park 52) more ambitious dishes—like a syrupy, medicinal-tasting chilled melon soup ($7)—aren’t nearly as successful as his twists on bar food, like an addictive crab dip ($12) served with fried wonton chips.
THE LIBATIONS Awesome. And for $14, the well-balanced, not-too-sweet strawberry-and-balsamic-vinegar martini had better be.
THE SCENE Something doesn’t quite mesh when club meets sports bar, but if you want a good drink to go with your dose of scene and flat-screen, this is your destination.

THE BAR
LaSalle Power Co.
LaSalle Power Co., 500 N LaSalle Blvd (312-661-1122, lasallepowerco.com)

THE GUYS
Daniel Alonso, Dave Mitria, and Adolfo Garcia of Eat Well, Drink Better (English, Grand Central)
THE PROVISIONS Crisp fried pickles ($6) get a kick from a shot of Bloody Mary sauce, and triangles of carefully plated watermelon and cucumber ($7) make for the least muddled attempt at a salad on offer at any of these dude-hangs.
THE LIBATIONS Sickly sweet. The Whiskey Rose, mint julep and sidecar (all $8) tasted mostly of crushed ice and artificial flavorings.
THE SCENE It’s hard to escape the sense that you’re trapped in the dark remnants of Michael Jordan’s Restaurant. (You are.) But the servers are fun, and the vibe is upbeat but unpretentious.

THE BAR
Loft Six Ten
1332 N Milwaukee Ave (312-772-5017, loft610chicago.com)

THE GUYS Brad Tice (Goodbar, Cortland’s Garage)
THE PROVISIONS Eating doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar here, which is too bad, since chef Roxanne Spruance’s (Brasserie Ruhlman) gluttonous Loft Burger ($14)—topped with smoky bacon and a fried egg—easily surpasses Rockit’s, and plump mussels with frites ($12) reach toward a gastropub feel.
THE LIBATIONS Perhaps the lamest cocktails in Chicago. The pint-sized Julep housed one lone, dissheveled mint leaf, and the bitter, sake-tinged Samurai was undrinkable (both $10).
THE SCENE The crowd here is a little trashy, a teensy bit hipster (after all, it’s Wicker Park) but mostly looking to get drunk fast and party really hard.

THE BAR
Market
Market, 1113 W Randolph St (312-929-4787, marketbarchicago.com)

THE GUYS Karl Spektor (owner) and White Sox GM Kenny Williams (partner)
THE PROVISIONS Fried shrimp ($12) came mixed with popcorn in a ceramic dish painted like a movie-theater popcorn bag, and a ball of cotton candy ($8) the size of a basketball showed up in a mini grocery cart—this time with caramel corn. Goofy? Yes. But guilty pleasures usually are.
THE LIBATIONS Disastrous. The Market Cooler and the Russian (both $8) were off-putting, and a creamsicle was downright offensive.
THE SCENE Scantily clad waitresses, expanses of outdoor seating—this is as close to South Beach as you’re going to get in the West Loop, heavy-hitting crowds included.

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