Stulgin's Park Boulevard Tavern

They'll probably get the fourth star if I eat there next time. When in Villa Park I usually stop in at the Ardmore Lounge around opening, which is 6:00 A.M. or a little later and get out of Dodge. Stulgin's doesnt open 'til 9:00 and I'm usually history by then.
  Stulgin's is a very nice old place that is on the Prarie Bike Path which was the train bed for the old Aurora/Elgin line that was closed down by the very early sixties. The old station house is just a block west and is used by the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce according to Google Maps. The store fronts are probably 30' or so. They have an old sepia photo on the wall, I'm guessing from the '30's, of Stulgin's block and it's interesting to see both a Jewel and National Tea Co. (long out of business) grocer on the same block in such relatively small spots.
  The place has nice resin faux wood paneling and painted off white exposed brick. There's a large front window along with three large hanging lights over the bar as well as wall lamps behind it resembling old gaslights that keep the place bright but not glaringly so. Free weinies by the way, Dan B., for Hawks playoff games.
  They're not quite as inexpensive as a couple of the other places in town but they don't beat you up either and I personally prefer places that are a little better lit rather than the places that try to make everybody sexy by keeping them in the dark. Decent bar stock. Decent place. Decent people. Thanks Debbie!

One of the better Friday fish frys (or do you say "fish fries"?  that doesn't look right) in the area can be found at this little bar along the Prairie Path in Villa Park.

During Lent they'll do a fry for both the lunch and dinner crowds, but the rest of the year it's strictly lunch Mondays through Fridays (the rest of their food is pretty good too...typical pub grub).  Come by at noon on a Friday and you'll have a hard time finding a table.  At night you can get a frozen pizza from their kitchen, but unless you're totally snowblind drunk you're better off hitting a drive thru on the way home.

The decor at Stulgin's screams Wisconsin Northwoods.  Plenty of game fish taxidermy on the wood covered walls, Old Style on draft, and of course the fish fry.  The mirrors on the back bar sport Lowenbrau logos on either end, but I don't think they've served that fine beer since the Carter administration.  Regardless, my friend Jon always orders one when he goes there just to have the bartender say "we don't have that".

Every other Saturday night they have karaoke.  Talent is fair to middling, and you can usually sing 4 or 5 songs over the course of the night if that's your thing.

The crowd varies from early 20s to local geezers, and unlike the Ardmore around the corner everyone is pretty friendly.  If you've made the move from the city to the western burbs and are missing the corner tavern from your old hood, give Stulgin's and their fry a try.

kinda bland in a nice way.