3/15/2012 Update – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!



Since my last post, I pushed up my total to 428, including DaVinci’s Café and Cocktails in Davenport, The Doc’s Inn in Silvis (Gyros, beer, and Ouzo!), and one that I didn’t even know should have been a target, The Grape Life in Davenport.
While being aware of their existence, I didn’t really consider The Grape Life (2 locations, Davenport and Rock Island) for my list, as I thought they were pretty much just wine stores.  I figured they had a tasting bar, and knew they had entertainment most Saturdays, but it wasn’t until this past Saturday when I saw they definitely qualify to be on the list. 
Scheduled entertainer Lee Blackmon couldn’t appear, so Dave Ellis, one of our favorite entertainers in the Quad Cities, was called upon to fill in.  My wife, I, and nine friends showed up.  I was surprised to find that 75% of the floor space was lounge, and the other quarter was wine racks, and looked like they could accommodate 10 people at the bar.  They do have beer, so I wasn’t locked in to wine the whole night.
As far as the crowd, it was a bit subdued when we first got there, as you might imagine a wine bar would be – a couple people even asked Dave to lower the volume a bit.  It wasn’t long until about a third of the original crowd left, and the other two thirds started loosening up.  Between them and us, we jacked up that joint!
On a side note, a couple of us went to Bent River after.  While I’ve been to over 400 bars, my hangouts are usually not what I’d consider ‘busy’, at least at the times I visit – I try to avoid crowded bars.  It was crowded at Bent River Saturday night, as it was the last time I went, which was a Wednesday around 6:00 pm.  I bring this up because I want to give props to Nerrissa, maybe the hardest working bartender in the QC, up there with Debbie at Parkside and Tori (formerly of the Bierstube in the East Village, and hopefully retained by Bootlegger’s).
Speaking of Bootlegger’s, they have reopened.  I stopped there when they were selling off the remainder of the Bierstube’s perishables, but have not been in since the remodel.
With knocking off the Doc’s Inn and DaVinci’s, then adding on The Grape Life in Rock Island, the ‘What’s Left" list goes to 15.  I also stopped by Casey’s, reducing  my “Pre-List” list to 38 bars (that are still open) that I haven’t been to since I began tracking this in May, 2009.
Other news:
-          Two places look like work is underway to reopen:  The first Bleyart’s location in the village, which was at 2210 E 11th St. (before moving to 2218), and Beer Belly’s in the District of Rock Island.  Not sure if they’re even going to be bars yet, but it was rumored that the Bierstube still wanted to have a Davenport location. 
-          If an anonymous comment on my blog counts, it was confirmed that Bent River is opening a place in Rock Island – just not sure where.  Initially, I was told around the corner of 4th Ave. and 24th St.

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