In Force · Chicago

From 16:00 · CT

Tonight

Two cheap stops, the walk between them, and the last train home. Pick a start and we’ll line up the night.

Just one place? See what’s cheap near you right now, and how long you’ve got.

The evening

Walks are timed along the grid at an easy 3 mph. Two stops, not three: a third is where a plan becomes a schedule somebody has to obey.

81 nights that work

  1. Summer House → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–18:00 Summer House, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (16 min walk), after 104 min with nowhere to be

    $9 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $4 beer, $5 wine, $10 martinis, $5 wagyu burger · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  2. The Bad Apple → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–18:00 The Bad Apple, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (15 min walk), after 105 min with nowhere to be

    $11 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $6 taps and $10 apps, weekdays 3-6pm · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  3. Soul Prime → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–18:00 Soul Prime, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (15 min walk), after 105 min with nowhere to be

    One of these doesn’t print a price, so there’s no total.

    Happy hour, Tuesday to Friday 4 to 6pm · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  4. Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–18:00 Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (14 min walk), after 106 min with nowhere to be

    $6.50 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $1.50 pintxos, $3-5 tapas, $4 Estrella, $23 sangria pitchers · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  5. Gaslight → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–18:00 Gaslight, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (14 min walk), after 106 min with nowhere to be

    $12 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $7 glasses of wine, Fridays 4-6pm · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  6. Corcoran's Grill & Pub → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–18:00 Corcoran's Grill & Pub, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (14 min walk), after 106 min with nowhere to be

    $12 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $7 fried pickles at happy hour, Monday to Friday 3 to 6pm · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  7. Mon Ami Gabi → R.J. Grunts

    16:30–18:00 Mon Ami Gabi, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (5 min walk), after 115 min with nowhere to be

    $8 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $5 beer, $8 wine, $10 cocktails, $3-8 bites, weekdays 4.30 to 6pm on the patio · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  8. Corcoran's Grill & Pub → Hopsmith Tavern

    16:00–16:45 Corcoran's Grill & Pub, Lincoln Park · 17:01–19:31 Hopsmith Tavern, River North (16 min walk)

    $15 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $7 fried pickles at happy hour, Monday to Friday 3 to 6pm · Friday, $8 PBR tallboy and a shot

  9. DePaul Art Museum → Tanuki

    16:00–16:45 DePaul Art Museum, Lincoln Park · 17:02–19:32 Tanuki, Lakeview (17 min walk)

    One of these doesn’t print a price, so there’s no total.

    Free admission · Bring your own bottle, dinner Friday and Saturday

  10. Cafe Yaya → Tanuki

    17:00–17:45 Cafe Yaya, Lincoln Park · 18:04–20:34 Tanuki, Lakeview (19 min walk)

    One of these doesn’t print a price, so there’s no total.

    Happy hour cocktails, wine, and snacks · Bring your own bottle, dinner Friday and Saturday

  11. Aloha Eats → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–17:00 Aloha Eats, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (18 min walk), after 162 min with nowhere to be

    $15 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    $10 ice cream, spam musubi and macaroni salad plate, Tuesday to Friday 2 to 5pm · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

  12. Lincoln Park Zoo → R.J. Grunts

    16:00–17:00 Lincoln Park Zoo, Lincoln Park · 20:00–22:00 R.J. Grunts, Lincoln Park (11 min walk), after 169 min with nowhere to be

    $5 printed across both, before tax, tip and anything else.

    Free zoo admission, no reservation needed · $5 classic cocktails, beers, and wine 8-10pm

These are the top 12. 69 more work too, ranked the same way.

Sorted by time sitting down. Anything that outlasts the last train goes to the bottom, not away: you can still do those, you’re just getting a cab.

What this can’t tell you

Whether there’s a table. Whether the kitchen’s still on. Whether the second place has a line at nine on a Friday. None of that is in any record we can fetch, so none of it is claimed here. A place we can’t put on the map is left out too, because the walk between two stops is the whole trick and a guessed one would still print as minutes. How a deal earns a light.