James Gate, Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts

This weekend I took a trip to Boston, Massachusetts to visit with family & friends. One of my favorite places to eat and drink in Beantown is James Gate in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood. The place is set up to resemble the famous St. James Gate in Dublin where they make the “Little Black Magic with the Creamy White Head”, AKA Guinness. James Gate is divided into two sections, a restaurant side and a pub side. I usually sit in the restaurant side when I visit James Gate, but the other night I sat on the pub side for the first time ever because there was a loud and boisterous game of Trivia on the restaurant side, of which I wanted no part of.

For my meal, I enjoyed a bowl of their clam chowder which was excellent, some of the best I have ever had in Boston, which is saying a lot because as everyone and their uncle knows, Boston is the seafood capital of America. After that, it was the meatloaf and a few Heinekens to wash down my glorious meal. Mmmmm! My dining companions had the Gate Plate, the Seafood Sandwich, and the Bangers and Mash, all of which garnered rave reviews.

If you find yourself in the Boston area and want to venture off the beaten path and away from the touristy (but still delicious and worth a try) spots like Legal Seafood and the Union Oyster House, hop on the T or the bus and take a trip to Jamaica Plain and enjoy a meal at James Gate, which is located at 5 McBride St, Jamaica Plain, MA, 02130. Pub hours are Tues-Sat 11:30am-1:00am, Sun 12:00 pm-1:00 am, and Mon 4:00 pm-1:00am.

Me washing down my meal with a Heineken at James Gate in Jamaica Plain, MA.

Stephanie & Danny enjoying a meal with me at James Gate

The meatloaf at James Gate is excellent.

The clam chowder at James Gate is some of the best in New England

When in Boston, treat yourself to a meal at the James Gate Pub, 5 McBride St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Stella’s Diner

In 1962, Greek immigrants Jimmy & Stella Mavs’ American dream became a reality. It was then that they started The Lakefront restaurant in Chicago’s East Lakeview neighborhood. The Lakefront soon became a neighborhood favorite, and has been satisfying the appetites of hungry Chicagoans ever since. Sadly, Jimmy & Stella have both passed on but their legacy of great food has been preserved by their children, Gus & Maria, as well as their grandsons Jimmy & Nick. When Gus & Maria took over, they changed the name from The Lakefront to Stella’s Diner to honor their mother. In this modern era of chain restaurants with no personality, it is refreshing to be able to grab a tasty meal at a reasonable price at a place that has been in the same family for almost 50 years. Stella’s Diner has long had a reputation for being good to their employees which is why most of the staff have been working there for many years.

Interesting  history aside, the food at Stella’s is excellent. I can tell you from personal experience that nothing can cure a gnarly hangover quite like a Gypsy Skillet from the breakfast menu at Stella’s. The cheeseburgers are nothing short of phenomenal, as is the Greek Steak sandwich. The milkshakes are some of the best I’ve ever had in my life.

If you are in need of some great food, I highly recommend a trip to Stella’s Diner at 3042 N. Broadway, right next door to the Dram Shop.

*Fascinating Fact about Stella’s: The clenched fist clutching the silverware above the front door was actually molded after the hand of founder Jimmy Mavs.

Tuna melt with fries & a chocolate shake.

Your humble correspondant giving in to the temptation of a chocolate shake

The milk shake machine at Stella's Diner

The walls at Stella's Diner are covered with some pretty cool artwork

The desert menu

Stella's Diner. A neighborhood institution at 3042 N. Broadway

The Dram Shop

Local yokels

One of my all time favorite bars in Chicago has got to be the Dram Shop. It is just down the street from my apartment right by Barry and Broadway. It’s glowing Old Style sign is welcome beacon which summons my thirsty neighbors and I. The Dram, as it is affectionately referred to by it’s loyal regulars, opens every morning at 7:00 sharp. The drinks flow freely until 2:00 am every day except for Saturday nights, when last call is shortly before 3:00 am Sunday morning. The daytime crowd consists mainly of older local neighborhood people who have been drinking at the Dram for years, the boilermaker crowd. At night the Dram attracts a much younger crowd, a lot of food & hospitality industry workers, students, aspiring artists & musicians etc as well as people from the daytime crowd who figured why not hang out for a few more hours. The crowd here is very friendly and welcoming, much more so than any other bar on Broadway in between Belmont & Diversey, in my humble opinion.

The Dram has been owned by Larry Heinerich since March of 2006. Prior to buying the Dram, Larry was the owner of the Bel Air over on Diversey. Larry originally comes from San Diego, and makes a point to show Bolts games on at least one of the flat screen TVs. Larry’s old surfboard used to hang on the wall, but had to be put in storage to make room for the new flat screens that arrived at the Dram earlier this year.

One of my favorite things about the Dram is the jukebox. Thankfully, the Dram has resisted those stupid modern internet jukeboxes where douche bags can pay a few bucks extra to propell their selection ahead of yours. The Dram’s juke has everything from the legendary metal gods such as Slayer, Motorhead, old-school Metallica, Sabbath etc to old country favorites such as Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and David Allan Coe to the King of Pop Michael Jackson. The Dram also has a dart board if you crave a friendly game of darts. One of the top selling shots at the Dram is Mallort, a local Chicago shot that not many are familiar with. Drink prices here are far more reasonable than pretty much any other bar in the neighborhood. PBR cans are $2 at all times. A bottle of Heineken is $3.75. You can’t get a bottle of Heineken for less than $4.50 anywhere these days!

To sum it up, if you find yourself walking the streets of East Lakeview & you crave good booze at a reasonable price and you want to hang out with a down to earth, completely non-pretentious crowd while listening to cool tunes in a place with that old Chicago neighborhood tavern vibe, the Dram Shop, is probably just what you are looking for.

Dram owner Larry gets ready to pour a few shots of Mallort

Regulars hanging out at the Dram on a weeknight

Dram regular John enjoying a cold one

Yours truly playing a few tunes on the juke

The Dram Shop