If the idea of wandering into a Marine bar scares the hell out of you, let Jarheads change your mind. This Rogers Park dive is a gathering spot for veterans, but outsiders are warmly welcomed.

Pull up a stool, and let owner/bartender John Kolodzeij talk your ear off. Known to regulars simply as "Sarge," Kolodzeij served two tours of duty as a Marine in Vietnam. He will serve you his trademark "jungle juice" and shoot the shit about, well, being in the shit, and his more recent battles with neighborhood gang kids. According to local lore, when Sarge bought this tiny bar on a seedy stretch of Clark Street back in 1990, he decided to throw a party. In the spirit of "out with the old," he informed everyone in the neighborhood that he was selling everything in the bar for $1. Sarge anticipated that this would bring in the kids playing gangsta on the streets, and he was right. A crew of Marines waited to confiscate all of their weapons and dope. They piled the contraband high on the bar-top, then Sarge ceremoniously banned the kids for life. Seventeen years later, Jarheads hasn't had one problem with the youth gangs of Rogers Park.

The interior of Jarheads features tons of military pictures, flak jackets and Marine Corps paraphernalia, and camouflage netting covers the ceiling. Somehow, the friendliness of Sarge and the regular crew of veterans cuts through the intimidating air of Semper-Fi, inviting anyone to be an honorary "ooh-rah"-barker for the night.

Centerstage Reviewer: K. Tighe