Charlie's Ale House

The other locations of this chain are in Navy Pier, Wheaton and Munster, Indiana, which tells us a lot about this huge Andersonville pints-and-pot-pies outlet. Though the cavernous room and bar are dark-wood beautiful, the food is a little generic, with spinach artichoke dip and dressed-up grill items. Apparently staking out territory no matter how lame it might be, the neighborhood locals descended on this place as soon as it opened.