3/22/2011 Update: My First Reviews

Added Brady St. Pub, Woodfire Grill, McButt’s, and Big Daddy’s in Davenport, as well as Mr. Ed’s in Milan.  I had to subtract Beer Academy in Milan from the ‘To Go’ list, as it too has closed.  Tough racket, this bar business.  I had also inadvertently left Davenport Country Club off the list, so the new total is 349.

When I go out on my little missions to add to my list, I usually target an area and hit two or three.  Sometimes, I'm surprised at the differences from one bar to the next, as I was last Wednesday.

I hadn't been to any bars in the Hilltop area of Davenport, and wasn't sure what to expect.  I parked in the lot next to Stickman's, but found they are closed until 7:00 pm (I go on these excursions after I leave work at 5:00), so I went next door to McButt's, and was pleasantly surprised.  The bar was big and pretty nice, the small crowd at the bar was pleasant, seemed intelligent and maybe professional (even the guy that spiked up his hair and dyed it green in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day), and the bartender was wearing a St. Ambrose sweatshirt.  All in all, a little more upscale than I anticipated.  I drank an ice cold bottle of Miller Lite, then continued on to Shutter Island...excuse me, Big Daddy's.

The whole vibe was completely different walking in, and though there are a couple windows, it felt like the sun went away.  Don't want to come off snobbish here, but it felt more like a homeless shelter than a tavern.  The insane man who had been speaking unintelligibly to the bartender never missed a beat as I walked past him to a stool three down from his, and became the focus of his one way conversation.  More impressive was that as he turned toward me, the 8 inch string of drool hanging from his beard didn't fall to the ground.  Thankfully, he left after 5 minutes, causing me to notice the volume level of the couple further down, who apparently had been there quite a while, spending up what was left of their disability checks.  On the plus side, Big Daddy's feels like the kind of place you can go when you've been kicked out of everywhere else.  I finished my tepid can of Lite, and went home to take a shower.

All for now.

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