Wrigleyville Bar Project: The Uberstein

With the name Saloon included in our moniker, one could surmise that we here at TMS like to drinky drinky. One that would make such an assumption would be correct, thereby throwing out the whole, 'when you you assume you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me' bullshit. We're here to profile some of the local watering holes around Wrigley, so that you aren't the poor sap who gets dragged into going to the Cubby Bear before the game, wherein you are soon left wondering how your life spiraled out of control so quickly. Tommy Buzanis has pledged to help out with this column, as he is no stranger to the bottle, but you can rest assured that those promises are as empty as his shot glass. So here it is, another sporadically timed, mildly entertaining column that you can only find here at the TMS. Actually you can probably find lots of info on Wrigley bars in a much more concise and helpful format, but that's neither here nor there.

Today's Bar: Uberstein Chicago, 3478 N. Clark St.

Douchebag Factor (1-10, with 10 being this guy): 1

Who You'll See Here: I've made the trip to Uberstein twice now, and it seems to be a breeding ground for hot women. With the niche market on beer selection, it also seems to weed out the meatheads. Also has a strong following of European soccer fans who watch the games on the plasma TVs.

What to order: The "mas" beer. Yes, it's $13 for the liter mug, and they only serve Hofbräu beer, but this is what you do in a place where it's Oktoberfest 365 days a year. If you don't have that kind of thirst or you lack the stength to heft such a beast, you can get the weenie mug.

If you were to see a celebrity here, it would be: The Autobahn original lineup, the boys from Beer Fest, Hans Gruber, Karl Hungus.

Website: http://www.ubersteinchicago.com/

Summary: A great place to go if you're looking for a different type of bar experience. They host German bands throughout the year and have a very nice biergarten out front, facing Clark Street. It has a jovial atmosphere without being so loud that you can't hold a conversation. An underrated feature of the bar was the clean and spacious Men's Restroom, a must for a wobbly-legged gent who's had a few too many. As mentioned, the big mugs of HB beer are a must. If you're not a seasoned drinker, one mug will be more than sufficient. For those of you with a group of friends and are a bit adventurous, have a Shotski (pictured) of Jager. Good luck.

The food was tasty. Like the beer, the food offered on the menu consists of traditional German dishes. Spaetzel, all types of schintzels, sauerkraut, German potato salad, large pretzels, etc. Not a fan of German food? It all tastes good when you've got a heavy buzz and a tired arm.

It's not the biggest place, and if you didn't have a table the big mug would become a bit cumbersome, and it would seem like the longest beer in the world. There's wasn't a tremendous amount of a wait staff, but with the place being on the smallish size, it wasn't that hard to go up to the bar.

Thunder Matt Rating: 10 empty Old Style cans out of a 12 pack, with a basket of pretzels and Boetje's Stone Ground Mustard.