If your nightly modus operandi typically involves bellying up to a bar, you're in for a surprise at Prost. This Lincoln Park beer hall holds true to German form; beer is enjoyed at long wooden tables—a format which allows for grade-school lunch period nostalgia, without all the trauma. Grab a half-dozen of your loudest friends and stake your claim to one of the oversized benches, order up some Spaten and make like every day is Oktoberfest.

Beer is sold by the liter here, so get ready to show off your metric-system prowess. Half-liters go for around six bucks, full liters for ten and ambitious drinkers can order up a bierstiefel; a two-liter boot-shaped vessel that'll make you the envy of all of your friends, and inevitably the butt of their jokes by night's end. Why drink beer out of a boot? It's a tradition dating back to the first World War; German soldiers would drink beer out of their boots before engaging the enemy. Despite the spirited name—Prost is Deutsch for "Cheers"—suds aren't the only reason to frequent this beer hall. Authentic German fare from bratwurst to weiner-schnitzel offset the copious amount of beer—and won't leave your wallet hurting, either.

Average cost: $10-$20

Centerstage Reviewer: K. Tighe