[image]
[title]Downtown Bar & Lounge
We’ve got the fancy fashions, the pomaded hair and, thanks to Nate Berkus, the adoration of North Shore housewives. But the one thing we queers didn’t have (other than civil liberties)? A bar to hit after work. That changed this year when 440 North State Street again staked its claim as the lone gay bar in Chicago’s straightest nightlife strip (it previously held the honor as Gentry). No, Downtown isn’t the flashiest bar. But it is one of the friendliest. Moreover, the location dictates something often lost on North Halsted: diversity. In fact, among the suits, twinks, bears and pretty boys here, it becomes clear we aren’t all pomaded after all. Some of us even look…straight. 440 N State St (312-464-1400).