If you took every Midwestern dad you knew, put them on a reality show called Who Wants to Build the Ultimate Basement Rec Room? and gave them a healthy budget, 99 percent of the time the results would look like Ravenswood Pub.

All the staples are in place: gray carpet everywhere, scantily-clad 1980s babes on the video poker machines, a leather couch in front of a widescreen plasma TV and, next to a fireplace, a large, no-frills outdoor patio. In the first room you walk into, you'll find no less than eight televisions, each devoted to a different sport or the Buzztime trivia game.

In case dad isn't a little league coach, the pub has you covered. Have them sponsor your kickball or softball team, and you'll get $25 off your tab of $50 or more during your post-game drinking. If that weren't altruistic enough, around Christmastime, the pub sponsors meals for the sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Base.

The beer selection is decent, but the real fun is in the rotating daily specials like $5 Delirium Tremens bottles on Tuesday. A lot of party bars come equipped with a Jager shot machine, but Ravenswood's boasts a contraption you're unlikely to find at many other places: a Petron tequila machine, ready to contribute to your hangover as efficiently as possible.

If you're bored, you can't blame the pub. Stop by on Thursday for the Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament, or drop in on Wednesday to meet the Miller Lite or Bud Light girls. The mixed crowd of older locals and sporting youth mingle comfortably here, and, in what is perhaps the pubs greatest testimony, the owners are former longtime regulars.

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: Bill Burman