12/28/2010 Update: Last update of 2010
I’ve fallen off the pace a little during the holidays, only adding Montana Jack’s in Moline Davenport
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
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, my wife struck up a conversation with a girl she noticed was eating only egg whites (the Oak Bar has hard boiled eggs on the bar) and folding up the yolks in napkins. Turned out she had a bit role in Batman Forever, and played Kramer’s girlfriend in a Seinfeld episode. Cool enough to almost merit the 8$ draught beer and $11 Bloody Mary ($13 with shrimp) prices, and that was in 1998.
Ha’Penny Bridge Inn, Dublin , Ireland
One of the first things we noticed in Dublin was the staff in most pubs seemed to be from Slovakia, Poland, everywhere but Ireland. Not true at the Ha’Penny Bridge Inn. Mick Ryan owns, and he and his daughters run the place. Within an hour of meeting Mick, we knew what seemed like the entire history of Dublin and much of Ireland, and had a long list of ‘must sees’ while we were there. Unfortunately, we only got to a small percentage of that list, opting instead to return to Mick’s bar (many times). We capped off our last night in Dublin upstairs at the Ha’penny, listening to a traditional Irish band, in seats Mick had saved for us.
Evelyn’s Place, New Orleans, LA
A couple of blocks of Bourbon St., Evelyn’s Place is rare in that you can get a 3$ bottle of Miller Lite in the French Quarter. When we first met Evelyn, she seemed like a colorful character; after a few hours, she was a drunk with a bitchy attitude, and the transition was very entertaining.
The menu at Evelyn’s is written on a chalkboard on the back wall, and consists of Red Beans and Rice, Gumbo, and a few sandwiches. When a family of four sat down, scanned the wall, and asked if they could order a hamburger, Evelyn looked at them like they were aliens and, in her distinct N. O. drawl, replied “Naw…ain’t got no hamburgers. Wendy’s down the corner!” Another patron asked for a Michelob Ultra, prompting Evelyn to ask “What are ya, fat?” Another time when we went in, we noticed four people at a table eating gumbo. When they left, Evelyn told us that the guy with wearing the knit cap was Dave Matthews. “Whenever he in New Orleans he come by and have gumbo. I’m getting my hair done tomorrow cos Greg Allman goin’ be in.”
Last time I was in Evelyn’s was Jan, 2009, and found out that Evelyn had died. Christine, the owner’s granddaughter (Evelyn was actually the owner’s mistress), seems like she’ll be a fitting replacement.
Cleopatra’s Barge, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, NV
I don’t remember ever going to Las Vegas and not having a drink at the Barge. Even though they have entertainment, it’s really not a destination – just the kind of place where everyone meets to decide where they’re going to go. It’s also the place where Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) has his date with the hooker.
Castaway’s, Jupiter, FL
Castaway’s is a tiny bar smack on the beach. It used to be called the Square Grouper, which refers to what the bales of drugs being smuggled in on boats were called after they were thrown overboard when the Coast Guard got too close. The bar itself looks a lot bigger in the “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere” video.
Tipitina’s, New Orleans, LA
The movie The Big Easy portrays this as a restaurant (with chef Paul Prudhomme in the kitchen) where you can dance to Cajun music. In fact, there’s no food – there’s not even tables. This is a big dance hall ringed with a few chairs on the wall, plus a couple bars. What is true is there is great Cajun music, and you know this place couldn’t exist anywhere but Louisiana
Rosa’s Cantina, El Paso, TX
I asked the bartender which came first, the name of the bar or the song title. Apparently, the name of the bar was changed to Rosa’s in 1947, and the song came out in 1959. According to the bartender, the bar sat directly on the route Marty Robbins used to take at Christmas when heading home for the Phoenix area from Nashville. One day, he pulled his car in across the street to go in, but it was 11 a.m. and still closed. Someone cleaning up inside noticed him looking through the windows and went out to talk to him, answering questions about the bar and the area: “Is that Mexico back there?” “No, that’s the New Mexico badlands”. The legend (one version) goes that he went back to his car and wrote the song in less time than the nearly five minutes the song runs.
Carnaval Court, Harrah’s, Las Vegas, NV
Probably the ultimate flare bar – Harrah’s actually has their own school for bartenders. Last two times there, Robin was our bartender. In between those two visits, we saw her in the bartender competition on the Food Network.
Rose & Crown, Disney World, Orlando, FL
Disney World is typically not thought of as a place to get your drink on, but Epcot in October, when the International Wine and Food Festival is going on, is a gas. Besides the Rose & Crown, the Biergarten, and margaritas at the bar in the Mexican pavilion, there are about thirty booths from different countries selling food and wine or beer. Last stop for us is always the Rose & Crown to see Carl (bartender) and his Halloween teeth, plus a little magic.
Ostra Cosa, Old San Juan, PR
Really a restaurant with a small bar in the courtyard, we stopped in again in 2010 to see if Felice, our bartender when we were there in 2003, still worked there. She didn’t, but Andre took great care of us. At one point, he asked if we liked mango – some had just fallen from the tree, so he sliced one up and brought it over.
Hotel Arnold, St-Augustin-de-Woburn, Quebec, Canada
After skiing at Sugarloaf in Maine, my wife and I wanted to get rid of some Canadian money we had left over from a recent Toronto trip, and decided to cross the border. About 15 miles in, we stopped at the bar at this hotel (named for Benedict). When I asked the bartender for some beer nuts, he gave me some salty string cheese, explaining that that was all they had, and very popular with the Quebecoise. After a while, a guy at the end of the bar struck up a conversation with us, and we found out that he and the bartender were the only people there (there were probably 8-9 more patrons bellied up) that spoke any English whatsoever. He also told us he owned a resort at Lac Megantic, and he was at the bar celebrating the birth of his first child…that morning.
Hurricane Bar at the Tonga Room, Fairmount Hotel, San Francisco, CA
A bar inside a hotel with a pond, boat with a band playing on it (I’m sure this is where the idea for Cleopatra’s Barge came from), and a tropical rain storm every 15 minutes.
Ta-Boo, Palm Beach, FL
The place where the Kennedys get liquored up before returning to the compound and (allegedly) molesting women.
KC Barbeque, San Diego, CA
Tiny little dive that has since burned down, it looked way too small to have been the set for the piano scene and the final jukebox scene from Top Gun.
My favorite places:
The Oak Bar, Plaza Hotel, New York City, NY
Ha’Penny Bridge Inn, Dublin, Ireland
Evelyn’s Place, New Orleans, LA
Rose & Crown, Disney World, Orlando, FL
Pat O’Brien’s, New Orleans, LA
98 Bar, Killarney, Ireland
Ginger Man, Dallas, TX
Coconut’s On The Beach, Singer Island, FL
Oliver St. John Gogarty’s, Dublin, Ireland
Margueritaville (now Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville), Montego Bay, Jamaica
Tommy Condon’s, Charleston, SC
Captain Lou’s, South Haven, MI
Barrachina, San Juan, PR
Dolphin Bar, Mirage, Las Vegas, NV
The Little Bear, Evergreen, CO
Shuckum’s, Panama City Beach, FL
Mermaid Bar & Grille, Saugatuck, MI
The Beach Bar, Marriott, San Juan, PR
Ames Plow Tavern, Boston, MA
Nub's Pub, Harbor Springs, MI
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