12/30/2011 Update – Happy New Year!

Only one added to my list for the last update of the year:  Rooster’s Sports Bar and Grill in Rock Island, east of the district on 3^rd St. (the former 3^rd & 22).  Just wish this place was closer to home, but I still see us catching the occasional Michigan game here.  I never was in 3^rd and 22 so I’m not sure how much was change inside, but I loved the layout and décor, and the food was good.  My list is at 417, and I’ve established a new goal:  450 by April 30^th.  I’ll pretty much have to hit every restaurant with at least a two stool counter to hit that, as my ‘What’s Left” list is at 16, with Rooster’s and the Davenport VFW on Linwood (which I found out was members only) coming off the list.  The April 30^th date isn’t random – it will mark three years of tracking my bar progress.

I also forgot to mention in my last post that I knocked the White Horse from my ‘Pre-List’ list.

A little sad news:  New Year’s Eve is the final night for Uptown, closing after 4 years or so in business.  I don’t know if their decision to stop serving food a year ago was an indication that this might happen, or if it actually hastened the demise.  It wasn’t a hangout for us, so better luck to whatever business opens up next in that location. 

Last update, I gave you my favorite bars in the Quad Cities, which I pointed out did not necessarily equate to the places we go the most.  The factors that produced the list I gave you were mainly comprised of the type of crowd, appearance, equipment (TV’s, jukebox, etc.), entertainment, location, view (if applicable), and staff.  That’s why places that we go frequently, like Rick & Kathy’s and Harley’s, didn’t make the list.  In the case of both places, no one’s going to rave about the décor, neither are places you’d think of for watching sports (although Harley’s did upgrade one of their TV’s), and if you could see out of the windows, there’s not much to look at – tortilla bakery across from Rick & Kathy’s, Dollar Superstore across from Harley’s.  The reason we go to both as often as we do is comfort – the owners have become good friends, we know the patrons, and we have usually have fun there.

As semi-promised, the other side of the tracks:

Big Daddy’s, Davenport

Allow me to plagiarize from my 3/22/2011 post:  “… 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.”

Do-Dah Tap, Davenport

Though I do have a little admiration for a bar that has a $2 beer special 8:00 – 10:00 … A.M., I still kind of shiver thinking about going in here.  I did receive a friendly greeting upon entering, but quickly realized she was a mid-60ish (she actually may have been late 30’s, but crack ages a person) prostitute.  I didn’t stay around long enough to get to know any other patrons; the stabbings that have occurred there made me want to drink up (google Do-Dah Tap).   

Shannon’s, Hampton

One of the few places on this list that a) I’ve gone in twice, and b) my wife’s been with me.  From the first time we went in to the second was about seven years, since we felt so uncomfortable the first time.  We went back because we’d met the new owner at Governor’s in Bettendorf, and decided to give it another try, and I think it was worse.  My wife asked if they had Absolut Mandrin, and literally got laughed at – although it wasn’t the bartender, it was a customer.

Reggie’s Fox Den, Davenport

I walked in past a guy sitting at the end of the bar watching Frazier.  Took a seat, and waited five or six minutes wondering where the bartender was.  A commercial came on the TV, and the guy at the end turned his head somewhat in my direction and asked me what I needed.  That, combined with the filthiness of the place, puts this place on the list 

Li’l Cow Bell, East Moline

I actually might go back here, as I know people that like the place.  It’s on my list solely because of the bartender that day – as I sat down at the bar and she started walking my way, I told her I’d take a bottle of Miller Lite.  She brought it, I had a $5 bill laying there, so she took it and brought me $2.50 change.  She came down my way again in a few minutes, saw that I was still half full, and wandered back.  I finished, left her a buck, and said ‘Thanks’.  The whole time, she never said a word.

Not so honorable mention:

Dew Drop Inn, Moline

Governor’s, Moline

Happy Hollow, Davenport

Hollar’s, Moline

Dee’s Place, Rock Island

Have a happy 2012!