Fireside Restaurant & Lounge

"In the interim, the court has appointed Rafael Gaspar as manager of the Bucktown restaurant. Gaspar, who represents the debtors, owns a few Chicago-area restaurants including Fireside Restaurant in Ravenswood." - Ashok Selvam

"Nestled beside the Metra tracks in Andersonville, the Fireside offers an ample selection of bar food, including pizzas, burgers, salads, and ribs, both smoked and fried, and a large heated patio in back, out of sight of the train." - Naomi Waxman, Ashok Selvam

"A bar called the Fireside seems like an obvious inclusion on this list, but here’s the twist: there are actually two firesides at this cozy Edgewater spot, one in the indoor dining room and the other outside on the all-season patio. Sit by either one and enjoy a meal of respectable American bar food, including pizza, ribs, and burgers." - Samantha Nelson, Ashok Selvam, Naomi Waxman

"This Ravenswood spot is appropriately named because of the large, roaring fireplace in the dining room, which is useful when defrosting becomes a part of everyone’s daily routine in the winter. It also has lots of things that make it a fun place to hang—a good rotating line-up of beers on tap, patios both in the front and back, a decent number of TVs, and even some darts. The food isn’t great—mainly things like sandwiches, burgers, and fried appetizers that function best as a buffer for the drinks that everyone is consuming. But it’s all generally inoffensive enough that when you’re sharing a round of drinks with a solid group of friends, you won’t really care too much that your burger might be a little too charred." - John Ringor