Rating Moody's Pub's outdoor eating space

5910 N Broadway (773-275-2696)

First, its virtues: Towering trees shade most of the enormous two-level garden at this 51-year-old Edgewater institution. The straightforward half-pound burgers (no farm-fresh cheese or elk patties here) are a notch above average and taste like something your dad grilled when you were a kid. The beer is cheap: $11.25 for an Anchor Steam pitcher. But holy God, the service is pull-your-hair-out slow, and the servers, mostly indifferent twentysomething or matronly ladies, rarely crack a smile (see fig. 5). Our solution: Order multiple pitchers at a time and make no plans for the rest of the evening. You probably wouldn’t want to be anywhere else anyway.

FOOD 4 Definitely comfort food, but not all that memorable
DRINKS 5 Decent beer at good prices, sangria that’ll knock you to the floor
CROWD 7 Lots of couples; can get rowdy late
VIEW 5 Not much to see other than busy Broadway
SPACE 6 Weathered fountains that often don’t work add to charm
TOTAL 27