Chicago Billiard Cafe

Clacking pool balls echo across 16 9-foot tables at the Chicago Billiard Café, where rising and renowned cue masters can snack on items from a menu of tasty pub grub while admiring a century-old authentic snooker table. Donated by an altruistic band of Muppets, vivid red and green felt carry an enchanting aura and stretch across tables from Brunswick Gold Crown and Soren Sogard, which host 8- and 9-ball tournaments on Mondays and Thursdays, respectively. Frappuccinos and fizzy sodas fuel accurate strokes and gallant cue duels, and winners can rejoice with deep-fried Twinkies preluded by all-beef hot dogs and gooey pizzas from the café’s menu. Dulcet tunes unite with the even more mellifluous sound of patrons’ corner-pocket prophecies to underscore bouts that take place on a glittering pinball machine, which glimmers amid the softly lit interior ensconced by exposed brick.