The alley at Corcoran’s

I’ve been having an issue with all the flat screen TVs I’ve seen affixed on patios all over town this summer. Walk down Divison Street in Wicker Park and there’s one about every 50 feet. It’s bad enough that virtually every Chicago bar and restaurant needs to plant a plasma in any available open corner or empty wall space, and I guess it makes sense for the sports-watching folk. But geez, do we need to glare at them when we’re outside too? I almost didn’t notice the flat screens hung up in the narrow alley-seating area of Corcoran’s in Old Town, which I just discovered last weekend. I love the hidden back patios at this Irish pub, but the side alley (which was an especially narrow hair salon they converted to open-patio seating this summer) felt even more like a cool hidden gangway you may stumble upon in Manhattan, especially with strings of lights hanging overhead. But TVs here too? Keep it inside. 1615 N. Wells St., 312.440.0885