Cardozo's Bargain Basement Lunch

Cardozo's is warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It's the perfect get-away from all types of shitty Chicago weather. Wood-paneled, Christmas-light-covered basement bars are my favorite. But what makes Cardozo's even better is the classic diner fare and free appetizers at happy hour.  

From here at our place of employment, City Hall, Cardozo's feels like an extension of the 9th floor, you got your gold-chain, baseball-cap-wearing permit expediters, suited up zoning attorneys, secretaries with feathered hair, and the occasional day-drunk County employee. 

Before 2000, most veterans of the Loop happy hour scene will tell you Cardozo's was smokiest bar in Chicago. There was a blanket of smoke so thick you could make out with your coworker none of your other coworkers could see you.

But those days are behind us, and the 6'6" yellowed stucco ceiling has been scrubbed back to white. 

This afternoon Erik and I went in with a $20 Groupon (highly recommend; get it here while valid) and my $5.99 bolognese spaghetti special was slightly better than expected! I love ground beef and canned tomatoes -- no sarcasm. Erik threw caution to the wind and ordered the London broil. It wasn't bad either! Now that he's convinced the place no longer harbors a stale cigarette-butt smell (he hasn't been in since the early '90s), we will definitely be going more often.

Rating, each category out of 5: 

Taste           * * * 
Value           * * * * *
Atmosphere  * * * * *
Service         * * *  

Cardozo's Pub, 170 W. Washington (at LaSalle) Links: Yelp, Chicago Bar Project Review