The Avondale neighborhood is starting to flourish as the sorrounding neighborhoods become gentrified themselves. It may be hard to believe now, but for some north side kids growing up, anything west of Western may as well have been Rockford. Owned by Kristine Hengl and Dave Roberts, the folks behind the popular Planet Earth events, Late Bar is a welcome addition to Chicago's slowly spreading westward expansion.

Open until 5am on Saturday night, Late Bar lives up to its name. Comparisons have been drawn between the crowd at Late Bar and other aspects of Chicago nightlife past and present. Some say the 30-something skewing crowd is similar to the partiers at Neo, and there certainly is a lot of dark clothing, long hair and facial hair.

Others say that the place recalls a now extinct race of Chicago vampires who used to populate the all-ages club Medusa's, back during the gutterpunk, Clark and Belmont heyday of the early '90s. Both observations are apt.

Late Bar stands out by offering "mocktails." These are vegan-friendly drinks that are organic, gluten free, and, in some cases, non-alcoholic. One can even get a soy white Russian here, and it's just as tasty as its dairy counterpart.

Late Bar is cash only. Mixed cocktails run about $4, and the beer list is interesting while maintaining comparable prices.

Centerstage Reviewer: Bill Burman