Billy Goat Tavern (The Original) • 1934

Beneath Michigan Avenue, Greek immigrant Billy Sianis ran a gruff cheeseburger joint that became the favorite haunt of Mike Royko and the newsroom crowd from the Tribune and Sun-Times towers above. John Belushi channeled its no-nonsense counter service into Saturday Night Live's iconic "Cheezeborger, Cheezeborger" sketch, but regulars come for the same sizzling griddle that's served double Cheezborgers since Sianis supposedly cursed the Cubs in 1945. The basement bar still smells like grease and deadlines.