Stella's looks like a Nascar grandstand, with a garland of plastic flags crisscrossing the ceiling and checkered flag posters hawking Miller and Budweiser products on the wall. The backbar looks like a shelf at Sam's Wine and Spirits, with hundreds of unopened glass bottles glinting in the overhead light.

There are only a couple of tables, and most of the melting-pot clientele of Poles, Puerto Ricans and occasional hipster posses bellies up to the long narrow bar. The bar's never crowded and it's easy to score a drink on a late Saturday night. There's always a rousing game of pool in the back and a White Sox game on the TV. The nightly jukebox soundtrack is usually a mixture of British rock a la The Clash and Morrissey, with the occasional interruption by the Talking Heads.

Stella, a sturdy Polish lady clad in flower print dresses with a poofy halo of black curly hair, doles out lessons in polish beer pronunciation. Indeed, Poland's national beers—Okocim (okocheem) and Zywiec (je veets)—are available in ample supply for $4 a bottle. Try a bottle of Miller Lite or draft PBR and dole out a dziekuje (Polish for "thank you") for the $2 tab.

Centerstage Reviewer: Michael Nagrant