Formerly: Not too long ago somebody came up with the bright idea of booking rock shows at one of Wicker Park's last remaining dives. Thus a music venue was created in The Big Horse, providing a much needed alternative to the more expensive, albeit trendier, clubs on that particular block on North Milwaukee. Any band could get a show at Big Horse (even mediocre bands have friends who like to drink cheap beer), and there you have the ingredients for a successful rock club and a great place to stumble into when you don't want to sit through the opening bands at the Double Door.

A little success gets the owners thinking big and a thinly veiled attempt to be a Wicker Park bar meant the decor got upgraded to faux yuppie (the cheesy artwork remains) and the quality of the bands being booked started to suffer slightly, but that can be forgiven because the beer is still cheap, the music is still loud and they keep rolling those burritos that you wouldn't necessarily want to eat if you were sober. (Chris Auman)