South Side Cheap Eats: Gem-Bar Lounge And Grill
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Nov 1, 2005 2:20PM
Herman's Gem-Bar Lounge and Grill has been a staple of Bridgeport since 1920 and yet in the six-plus years we've lived in the neighborhood we never patronized the place. Maybe it was their tag line: "the 'gem' of Old Bridgeport", which to Chicagoist harks back to the days of male-dominated ethnic "sports clubs", political deals made at the end of a bar and a beer, and racial epithets casually tossed about like the first words of a child. Maybe it was its location in the largely industrial Loomis Street corridor linking Bridgeport with Pilsen, or the slight musty and polluted aroma rising from the Chicago River's south branch located yards from the front door. Upon passing the place we often joked that the gem in question was cut from zircon. Regardless of the reason we left there yesterday cursing that we hadn't visited before.
The Gem-Bar gets a sizable amount of its business from the factory and industrial businesses located nearby, such as the Brandenberg plant located across the street, and the waste management firm nestled over the bridge. One expects a bar lying in an industrial area to be a dive. The Gem-Bar is anything but that. Well-lighted and clean with a redwood floor that looks like it was recently laid, a decent jukebox with a selection ranging from Van Morrison to 50 Cent (Oy gevalt!), a beautiful pool table, and ample space to move about the Gem-Bar is a neighborhood joint of the first order, right down to the requisite framed sports photos of a bloody, toothless Bobby Hull being led to the penalty box and Mike Ditka flipping off a cameraman. As a bonus on our visit there was a guy at the end of the bar who kept closing his tracheotomy hole to talk, sounding like Jack Klugman as he spoke. You're probably asking, "Great, it's a neighborhood bar. How's the food?"
The Gem-Bar specializes in hearty comfort food and drink for tight budgets: the Monday chili mac special and two 12 ounce cups of draft Pabst Blue Ribbon only set us back eight dollars before tip. The chili mac was some of the spiciest we've ever tasted; it nearly made Chicagoist cry it was so hot. Made with seasoned ground beef and long-soaked kidney beans it had a bit too much cumin for our tastes, which is why we had the second cup of PBR, but otherwise it was a wonderful dish for three dollars. The rest of the menu is standard bar fare- hot wings, potato wedges, and other appetizers. An appetizer combo platter sells for $10.95. Sandwiches range in price from $3.25 to $5.50 for a bacon cheeseburger. The Bridgeport Burger ($4.25) is a half-pound of ground beef cooked to order and served on a toasted bun. The Gem-Bar also makes homemade pizza. A six-inch cheese pizza only sets you back four dollars here.
Drink specials abound at the Gem-Bar. Tuesdays you'll find $2.50 bottles of Okocim and Zywiec Polish beer, $1.50 domestic pints on Saturdays, and $2 bloody marys on Sundays. So the next time you find youtself out south and low on cash stretch that dollar until the eagle grins at Herman's Gem-Bar Lounge and Grill. It's located at 2700 S. Loomis and the phone number is (773) 847-8140.