BRIDGEPORT — Maria’s Packaged Goods & Community Bar has been named one of the “Best Beer Bars” in America.
The honorable distinction showed up in DRAFT Magazine, which included four other Chicago bars on its latest list: “America’s 100 best beer bars 2016.”
“In creating this annual list, we looked for bars with purpose ... ones that have a reason for serving what they do, and with a well-trained staff that can tell you all about what you’re enjoying in your glass," DRAFT explains.
Maria’s, 960 W. 31st St., made the cut for its rich history in the neighborhood and its tireless focus on bringing quality beers to Bridgeport, “a destination for beer seekers in the know.”
The selection of boozier options at Maria’s also left a mark on the magazine:
“We’re also smitten by the draft cocktails and fernet on tap.”
Maria's recently expanded to include a swank beer hall with booth seating and Kimski At Maria's, a Korean-Polish street food counter run by artist-chef extraordinaire, Won Kim.
Here’s a look at the other Chicago bars that made the list:
Fountainhead, 1970 W. Montrose Ave.
After some shakeups in its bar and kitchen, “the venerable beer and whiskey bar (with one of the greatest rooftops in Chicago) is back on sure footing.”
DRAFT celebrated this North Side favorite for its “much-needed expansion” and “a remarkable list of Belgian and American craft drafts and bottles served in proper glassware…”
With 31 draft and a half dozen of its own brews, Local Option puts on annual events that “read like a rare beer hunter’s Christmas list.”
The one made the list with 26 drafts spanning “venerable classics like Allagash White and St. Bernardus 12” and its reputation as an “under-the-radar spot to grab a cup of Intelligentsia coffee beginning at 6:30 a.m.”
Sheffield’s, 3258 N. Sheffield Ave.
This 50-tap Lakeview classic entered the new year with a “reinvigorated beer and events program” an a picnic table section that holds up as one of the “best summertime spots in town.”
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