The crummy economy made good times at our favorite bars a less frequent pastime. Who could keep up with a $10 cover and equally priced drinks? At Original Dugan's Tavern, where the highest priced drinks top at $6, you'll forget the economic slump ever existed. Art Olvera, Dugan's manager, explains, "We make our money. We're not trying to break anybody making theirs."

Capitalizing on the recession, Dugan's deals include $2.25 domestics Monday through Thursday and $4 cocktail specials cleverly titled the Bail-Out and Stimulus Package. On Fridays, starting at 4 p.m., complimentary food includes pizza and chicken; otherwise, the bar lacks a kitchen.

Dugan's evening gown doesn't flatter the Milwaukee Avenue runway the same way Jet's Public House nearby does, but a modern party room upstairs shows promise. For groups of 20-plus, $25 gets a guest four hours of unlimited domestics and well drinks in a room of exposed brick and ventilation.

As for the main bar, you'll reckon it just another workingman's haunt with beer and sports insignia layering walls surrounding a horseshoe-shaped bar. "We don't front like we're a downtown bar," Olvera says. Not yet, at least. Expect some DJ events in the near future along with an updated sound system and renovations.

Till then, just "drink, bullshit with your friends and have a good time," Olvera recommends before swapping sports talk with a fair-weather Cubs fan reminding the gentleman that the "Cubs are a four letter word for hope, 'cause you hope one day they'll make it." Catch the game on a selection of flat screens or continue eavesdropping on typically opinionated conversations. Drop in the first of each month for unheard-of beer options like In Heat Wheat and Doggie Style.

Centerstage Reviewer: David-Anthony Gonzalez