Quad Cities Bars

I’ve fallen off the pace a little during the holidays, only adding Montana Jack’s in Moline , Joe’s Place in Colona, and Ruby Tuesday’s in Davenport .  I also somehow found that I’d left the bar at Town & Country Bowl off the list – unfortunately, it had to burn down for me to discover the error.  The count sits at 311; click “The List” above to see them all. Reading this, you might get the impression that I don’t do much other than visit different bars in the Quad Cities Area.  NOT TRUE!  I visit bars throughout the country (and starting to make a dent in the rest of the world)!  Feel a list coming on?  First, a few recollections about some of the places we’ve been. The Oak Bar, Plaza Hotel , New York City, NY This place is a movie set everywhere you look, including Fatal Attraction, Paternity, and North By Northwest, not to mention Arthur and Scent Of A Woman at the restaurant next door, plus Home Alone 2 and Crocodile Dundee in the hotel lobby on your way in.  While there, m

Added Dee’s Place in Rock Island (#306) and Studio Pub in East Moline (#307) on Wednesday. This quest has taken me to some places that I normally wouldn’t have gone out of my way for, as well as some that I’ve always wanted to visit, but never got around to.  Last update, I gave a list of bars that I’ll probably never visit again (at least not on purpose, and you can add the above two to that list);  now I’ll list the bars that were new to us (since I started keeping track) that we have gone back to, with the number of times since May, 2009, we’ve been.   BARS I ONLY VISITED TO ADD TO MY TOTALS, THEN PURPOSELY WENT BACK TO (THE PLEASANT SURPRISES): Nasty McGinn’s, Bettendorf (now closed) – 10 Rosy’s Watering Hole, Moline  – 10 North Shore Inn, Moline – 10 Generation’s, Moline – 5 Kavanaugh’s Hilltop Tavern, Rock Island – 4 Shenanigan’s, Davenport – 4 Old Stardust Sports Bar, Moline – 3 Beer Belly’s, Rock Island – 2 Hey Bryan’s, East Moline – 2 Papi’s, Bettendorf – 2 Rascal’s, Molin

We stopped at Mound St. Landing during Christmas in the Village, but forgot to ask while I was there what it had been called prior to becoming Mound St.  Luckily, I remembered I have a telephone, so I called, and Village Idiot’s is now added to the list (also found out that at sometime in the past it had been called Crawdaddy’s).  Prior to that, Schooner’s, in the Clarion hotel off Brady St. , became #304, and Crane And Pelican in Leclaire is #305.  Click “The List” above to see them all. I’ve also got some additions to my favorite bartender list.  I had been making an effort not to take an inordinately large number of bartenders from any of my favorite bars, but these bars become my favorites in large part because of the bartenders.  As I looked at my existing list, all five of the bartenders (Erin, Michelle, Sandra, Nate, and Sarah) from It’s On The River deserve to be there.  I have added a Favorite Bartenders page above. Now, a couple more lists: 5 BARS I’M LEAST LIKELY TO GO BA

Hero's Pub became #300 on my list Wednesday, followed by Ganzo’s Cantina and Malarkey’s at #301 and #302, respectively.  While at Malarkey’s, the bartender helped me fill in some of my blanks concerning the district (I had Frog’s and Gator’s locations switched, and Gator’s was actually the Alligator Grill), and he reminded me of the Brickhouse (now the Daiquiri Factory), which I was able to add to the list.  Also bellied up to the bar at Trattoria Tiramisu on Friday night before the Guess Who show, making it #299.  Click “The List” above to see them all. You might be thinking that I’m running out of possibilities for expanding the list, there are, by my count, 67 bars that I still haven’t been to in the Quad Cities area.  A dozen of these probably don’t need to worry about me darkening their doorstep, leaving 55.  This doesn’t include restaurants, golf courses, bowling alleys, etc. so 400 is still attainable.

I was able to add Van’s Pizza (the old Pat McGuire’s) and The Phoenix to the list on Wednesday, bringing the total to 297.  Click ‘The List’ above to see them all. Help me pad my stats!  Even though I never reckoned I’d be counting the number of bars I’ve visited in the Quad Cities, I still went to quite a few without a view to the grand sweep of history – consequently, I’ve forgotten what some of the ones were called before they changed hands, changed names, closed, etc.  Principally, I’m looking for help in recollecting the names of places in the East Village of Davenport and the District of Rock Island.  I’ve listed below what I can remember;  please help me fill in the blanks, and please correct me if you see mistakes! EAST VILLAGE Mound Street Landing > ? Grumpy’s > ? Bleyart’s > Players > Little B’s > ? DISTRICT Beer Belly’s > Big Willie McGinty’s > Jody’s > Miss Behavin’> ? Tilt > Envy > Kai’s > Chantilly 2000 > Chantilly Lace > ? Daiqu

Since the last update, I’ve added Boozie’s, Symposium Café, The Pour House, Happy Hollow, Murphy’s, and the Svithiod Club, making my new total 295.  At this rate, I should hit 300 by the Thanksgiving (click ‘The List’ above to see them all). By the nature of this blog, you may have guessed that bartenders are very important people in my life.  To me, there are three traits that make a good bartender:  Friendliness (which really is just being able to put up with me), wit, and…I was going to say ‘promptness’, then thought ‘awareness’, but really it boils down to the basic skills.  If I put an empty in the well and I’m still sitting there, that’s a clear indication that I need another.  I admit I can become a little exasperated when my bartender keeps asking if I need another, when I’m only following the rules they made up.  Much worse, however, is not asking, removing my empty, then failing to replace it. What follows is a list of my favorite bartenders of the past and present, as wel

Two additions to the list on Sunday.  My wife and I, on the way back from picking up a pumpkin and some apple butter at the Country Corner in Alpha, IL, stopped at Headquarters in Coal Valley .  While we were there, my wife reminded me that we had been to the Beach Pub in Buffalo some years back, when we used to go boating with some friends who put in down there. So the new number is 289 (click ‘The List’ above to see them all), and I’m feeling pretty confident I’ll get to 300 before the end of the year.  I was able to add 9 in September and 8 so far in October, so I’m on pace.  These were my latest additions: 10/24/2010 Headquarters 10/20/2010 Bad Boy'z Pizza 10/14/2010 La Flama (new location) 10/13/2010 Beer Belly's 10/13/2010 Icon's 10/11/2010 Buffalo Wild Wings ( Davenport ) 10/6/2010 No Place Special 10/1/2010 Li'l Cow Bell 9/29/2010 Riverview Roadhouse 9/28/2010 Lady Di's Park View Inn 9/24/2010 Stack's 9/24/2010 Cheers 9/17/2010 Old Pal