Nightlife in Berwyn

The LBGT-friendly Velvet Rope invites revelers with open minds and refined tastes to enhance their evenings with the lounge's slate of fine wines, international cuisine, and elaborate entertainment in the form of go-go dancers and drag shows. Beneath the suffuse lighting of tulip chandeliers, the bustling main floor hosts a full bar, where 35 specialty martinis brim with creative ingredients—such as cookie-dough vodka and absinthe—while the private VIP loft accommodates dozens with a dedicated server, a private television, and plush furnishings for late-night pillow forts. Food and drink packages deck out special events, and the nightclub's calendar overflows with karaoke nights, drink specials, and live performances.

Off Broadway Pub's owner, Rick Dahms, always knew his hot wings were something special. What he didn't realize, was that everyone else knew it as well. This became evident when his jumbo hot wings won 670 The Score's listener's best wing award in 2010, taking the top slot largely due to the heaping portions he serves and the amount of meat on the bone. His kitchen doesn't skimp on the restaurant's other entrees either, which range from hearty hamburgers and half racks of ribs to build-your-own pizzas. Two flat screen televisions play the city's game over Off Broadway's lengthy bar, where bartenders pour shots of Jaegermeister, draft beers, and mixed drinks.

Q Sports Bar & Grill couldn't fit all its pub attractions under one roof. There were too many beanbags, not enough room for the pool tables, and nowhere for the darts to hide. So, guests can get their Q fix at locations in both Darien and Downers Grove. An Internet jukebox plays convivial tunes as waiters take food orders, describing, if asked, the kitchen's bounty of housemade chicken wings, turkey clubs, Angus-beef burgers (Darien), and burrito and taco entrees (Downers Grove).

Both restaurants invite patrons to wend through a sea of green-felt pool tables and keep in touch with sports via high-definition TVs. Additionally, Q's Darien location boasts a large projection screen and in-booth models in addition to the regular wall-mounted TVs. The Darien spot is also the place to catch performances by local and nationally touring musicians or soak up vitamin D on an outdoor patio.

On any given day at DJ's Sports Bar, 11 flat-screen televisions light up with sports broadcast by the Big Ten Network, ESPN GamePlan, and NFL Sunday Ticket. Customers digging into their half-pound, char-grilled 100% beef burgers can peruse fantasy-football stats via free WiFi before league meetings. Bartenders sling frosty brews, glasses of wine, and specialty cocktails from the full bar to fuel patrons playing games of Golden Tee, darts, or "throw darts at the Golden Tee machine."

Focus your bifocals, leave your lightning kite in the garage, and insist on "no libation without representation" with today's Groupon to the Franklin Tap, an upscale South Loop pub that takes its name from both its impressive collection of beer taps and the inventor of the glass armonica. For $20, you'll get $50 worth of beer and hearty pub grub.

The martini was invented during the great green olive surplus of 1863 as a way to put the excess supply to good use. It quickly became the drink of choice for sophisticated sippers across the globe and a favorite of the sexier mer-creatures. With today’s Groupon, $20 gets you $50 worth of martinis, beer, and everything else offered at The Martini Bar in the South Loop. The discreet blue sign outside is the only indication of this hidden gem’s existence. Once you find your way inside (hint: it’s across the street from the Chicago Board of Trade, where the money gets invented), you’re transported back to a time when James Bond’s middle name was Connery and mad men blew off some steam with a stiff lunch-break martini. 1.5 Martinis: Glances become 30% more suspicious.3.2 Martinis: Proficiency with exploding dart pen becomes consistently accurate, callous.4 Martinis: Wrinkles in tuxedo are smoothed out as body begins to secrete highly viscous liquid confidence.4.9 Martinis: The phrase “No man could have survived that” is bandied about so frequently it loses all impact.6 Martinis: Enemies 25% more easily seduced, 100% more easily betrayed.