Chicago Restaurant Guide

Mother Hubbard's is one those old-school Chicago sports bars whose heyday was in a time when Chicago's nightlife was centered around River North and the Gold Coast. Today, Mother Hubbard's still draws good crowds as it is one of the few actual neighborhood bars the River North area. Patrons come to watch the game, throw down some good grub and beers and to hit on the waitresses.Mother Hubbard's attracts patrons with the promise of more satellite receivers than any other sports restaurant ("Watch it here!"), the NFL's Sunday Ticket, all baseball, hockey and basketball games and, modestly, "good food." "Mother Hubbard's" glows in the night from its neon sign in the front window. Step under the black awning, through the doorway with its pay phones and hit the ATM machine next to the merchandise counter if you need cash. A worn wooden bar, under a vintage cardboard Blackhawks scoreboard, jets out from the west wall and serves Stella Artois along with a good selection(16 on draft) of other brews. An old steel cash register in the middle of the bar area rings up ale purchases along with orders from a modest menu of pub grub that includes buffalo wings, ribs, rotisserie chicken, an array of Mexican dishes, pizza, burgers and sandwiches. Have a seat at the bar or at one of the cocktail tables up front by the windows or along the east side of the room, between two Golden Tee machines standing back-to-back, a football table and three pool tables in the back pool room.Make sure you have a gander at two giant wood and Plexiglas cases that hold hundreds of old beer cans and check your e-mail at the Webcatcher Internet portal on your way out.