Pete Miller's is probably the best of the three places listed above (I abhor Nevin's), but I would recommend Cary's Lounge (2251 W. Devon), Norse (just south of Devon on Ashland) or the Buffalo Bar at the Heartland (Glenwood and Lunt) as superior nearby drinking alternatives.

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Cary's is one of my regular spots. I figure Tall Midget for the kind of guy who might throw a few back with Chuck Mertz in there on a Saturday afternoon.

I try to avoid the Heartland at all costs unless one of my hippie former-Evanstonian friends is in town and insists on going there. I'll usually try to steer things to Lucky Platter as the lesser of two evils.

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Don't take it personally.

Cary's and Norse are both a couple minutes away from my palatial abode, so they are my first choices for watering holes when I can get out. Chuck Mertz is awesome, as is the guy who owns Cary's. Norse has nothing like the atmosphere at Cary's but it's good for game viewing and has a nice tap selection.

As a rule, I only drink at the Heartland in the afternoon or early evenings--when nobody is around. While I identify with the political ideology of many people who patronize the Heartland, they annoy the crap out of me. Still, I rather rub elbows with them than the aging frat boy crowd at Nevin's or the aging Reagan Youth crowd at Pete Miller's.

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They are showing The Muppets tonight outside if anyone wants to meet up tonight.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I consider McKellin's to be my local. That one's a short walk for me. Casey's Corner is another place I like to roll into from time to time.

I only suggested the places in downtown Evanston because they were close the NU campus. They may not be perfect, but at least they exist. Remember, when I was a kid growing up, booze was hard to come by in E-Town. Pretty much the only thing near downtown with a license was Yesterday's. We had to hit up EPD and Tally Ho on Howard Street.

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Don't take it personally.

Oh, I definitely understand that the Evanston places are more convenient to NU. I just find the whole downtown Evanston experience so antiseptic that I had to add my two cents on the matter.

I have only heard stories about Yesterday's and its implicit no carding policy. In my pre-legal drinking days, I frequented places like the now-defunct Lambert's Bowl on Broadway near Devon, the beer garden at Moody's, and the aforementioned Buffalo Bar at the Heartland. In all my years of drinking at those establishments, I have never seen anyone, no matter how obviously underaged, get carded there.

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