Windmill Lounge
A clean dive bar sounds like an oxymoron, but that describes the Windmill Lounge pretty much perfectly. This Oak Lawn establishment is low-key from the outside — well, if you disregard the neon windmill on top of the building — and eclectic on the inside, featuring a smattering of mid-century tables and couches. Outside you'll find a carpeted front patio that's ideal for watching the time pass, and the jukebox is always a favorite. But the real draw here is the drinks, which are cheap — including $3 highball specials — and crafted with extraordinary care, using a surprisingly upscale and diverse selection of liquors and house-made syrups. In other words, take the best parts of a cocktail bar, combine them with the best attributes of a dive, and you'll have something similar to this.
