For 23 years, Nick's has been perfecting the science of what makes a great sports bar. Think you can just tune a TV to ESPN and put a fried dairy product on the menu and call yourself a sports bar? No, sir. You really have to nail the atmosphere, for one thing — you want a welcoming, almost familial vibe. We're talking about a sense of community, not just a collection of disparate dude-bros. Nick's boasts 40 screens, and even though there are cavernous franchises out there with even more TVs, they aren't real neighborhood sports bars. Those places don't have Nick's pizza, with its recipe cribbed from heaven's chef, nor do they have the jalapeño cheeseburger sticks or fried chicken pieces we love, despite the fact they're called "Nicknuggets."
READERS' CHOICE: Lucky's Pub