10/27/2012 Update: Quad Cities Travelogue – Bar Clusters

Pepperjack’s on Kimberly Rd opened October 22^nd and it took me all of a half hour to add it to my list.  Not a huge difference on the inside from the old Cheddar’s, but I hope they plan on putting a little more on the walls / windows; it’s a little boring on the bar side.  My other additions were Leisure Lanes Lounge in Davenport, and the three remaining bars in Orion:  Stooge’s, Woo Dog’s, and The Factory.  My list now stands at 464.

The Do-Dah Tap, bowing to the pressure to clean itself up, I assume, has become the Gateway Pub.  This reluctantly gets added to my What’s Left list.  Adding that and taking off the 3 Orion bars, plus Pepperjack’s, reduces my What’s Left list to 16.

Legend’s Corner Sports Bar is coming right along.  When I passed by Wednesday, I had to do a double take to see if they were already open.

The Valley Inn has reopened after more than a 5 months remodel.  Originally I had heard they just wanted to spruce up the place, but I guess ownership decided they wanted to go high end and take some of the business spending their money at Davenport Country Club and the Blackwatch Room, and maybe disenfranchising their regulars is the process.  Good luck with that.

Favorite Bartender Destiney is now at the Doc’s Inn, after Belgrade owner apparently demanded all bartenders sign a non-compete agreement (for bartenders?  Really?)  This is the 6^th bar she’s served us at – now I have to break the news to HOF bartender Mary that when we finally get in to Crust on a Monday night, she’ll only be tied for first again.  

BAR CLUSTERS:

In other places I’ve lived in, bars, except for downtown areas, aren’t in groups or clusters to the degree they are here in the Quad Cities;  instead, here’s a bar on this corner, there’s another a half mile down, etc.  The benefit of these clusters is, of course, that when you want to barhop, you can accomplish a lot on foot, vs. cab fare or risking DUI.  The best clusters are ones that have some dining choices, and a hotel can come in pretty handy – but there, we’re talking mainly downtown areas again.  Following is essentially how I’d explain the Quad Cities to people from out of town that are looking to barhop.

Let’s get the major downtown areas out of the way first:

Davenport:  here there are enough bars to separate east and west sides, with Brady St. being the dividing line.

Downtown Davenport – East (River Dr to 3^rd St, between Brady St and Iowa St):  Brady St. Pub, Duck City Bistro, Bix Lounge, Blackhawk Bowl and Martini Lounge, Front Street Tap Room, Barrel House 211, Great River Brewery, Dam View Inn.  Two fine hotels, great food, and the Adler Theater.  This area has an older and a little more upscale crowd (even the Dam View has ratcheted up a notch since new owners took over).  The age of the typical patron gets lower the farther west you go, continuing on to …

Downtown Davenport – West  (River Dr to 3^rd St, between Brady St and Ripley St):  The Phoenix, Boozie’s, DaVinci’s, Woodfire Grill, Redstone Room, Shenanigan’s, Kilkenny’s, Carriage Haus, Mac’s Tavern.  2^nd St stays more upscale and older, again with good food options.  3^rd St gets the younger and rowdier crowds the farther west you go.  An interesting spot to be on the weekend is a window seat in Kilkenny’s, where you can usually hear some good music, and wait for the almost inevitable fight to break out across the street at Shenanigan’s.    

District of Rock Island (River Dr to 4^th Ave, 16^th St to 20^th St):  The Grape Life, Bennigan’s, Steve’s Old Time Tap, 4-Play, Star Bar, The Warehouse, Icon’s, Blue Cat, Malarkey’s, Daiquiri Factory, The Arena, RIBCo, 2^nd Ave, M. D. Greens, Del’s In The District, Lucky Shamrock, RPM Sports Bar/The Body Shop.  I’m too old for this place, at least at night.  Fun to go down to during Ya Maka My Weekend (it’s even awkward typing that, let alone saying it) or Gumbo Ya-ya; great food choices with Le Figaro, The Blue Cat, Huckleberry’s, and Erawan, and the food carts at night are great, if memory serves; RIBCo gets some of the best acts to come to the Quad Cities; and, there’s a hotel if you don’t want to run the gauntlet.  Thing is, it doesn’t really get going down here until 11 pm on the weekends, and it fills up with kids less than half my age.  That on its own doesn’t bother me that much, but it just…gets…weird.

Downtown Bettendorf (Grant St to State St, 15^th Ave to 21^st Ave):  Paddlewheel, Tiddley Tap, The Muddy Waters, Fumbles, Sports Fans, Trattoria Tiramisu, Purgatory Pub. Food choices are a little more run of the mill, and the hotel is a pretty fair hoof, but there is a casino there.  Also, good music at the Muddy Waters and Purgatory, karaoke at the Tiddley, and Sports Fans has got maybe the most TVs of any Sports Bar in the QCA.

Downtown Moline can also be split into two halves, with almost the same dynamic as Davenport – east is slightly older, a little more upscale, and going west gets progressively younger and a little rowdier.  Once again, two hotels, some great food choices such as Bass Street Chop House, La Flama, Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse, Bierstube, and Little Rangoon if you’re there early enough, plus (yawn) TGI Friday’s.  The I-Wireless Center is home to the bigger acts that come to the Quad Cities, as well as hockey.  Two of the last three New Year’s Eves have been spent here with base camp set up at the Radisson.

Downtown Moline – East (River Dr to 6^th Ave, 15^th St to 17^th St):  Re-Fresh, River House, Bad Boy’z Pizza, Christopher D’s, The Landing, Backwater Jack’s.  In the summer, the courtyard at the River House is a good music venue, and they also have surprisingly good prime rib.  Bad Boy’z has become one of my favorite pizza joints in the QCA, and a pretty good sports bar.  If you want to go upscale, grab dinner at Bass Street and repair to The Landing or Re-Fresh for a cocktail (although Re-Fresh’s décor still gives me a strange 60’s vibe).  If you want to scale it back a little… 

Downtown Moline – West (4^th Ave to 6^th Ave, 15^th St to 13^th St):  TGI Friday’s, Bierstube, Rubikon, Wide Open, Bent River Brewery, Twenty, O’Keefe’s, Tommy’s, Stack’s.   German food, the best Escargot I’ve ever had, and a Biergarten (Bierstube), next to a dance club (Rubikon), next to a semi-biker bar (Wide Open).  Turn the corner and you’ve got a microbrewery (Bent River - Uncommon Stout seems to be the beer of choice there, but if they have any Jalapeno Pepper Ale going, give that a try) next to a sports bar / dance club (Twenty).  As diverse a cluster as you’ll find in the Quad Cities, and besides the bars, you’ve got Thai, Burmese / Chinese, and Mexican all on the block (I think the Indian place closed).  Out of all that, O’Keefe’s might be my favorite place, but also the most likely to host a barfight.

That covers the downtown areas, but there are plenty of other enclaves in the region, though fewer dining options and none with hotels.  Of those, my favorites:

Village of East Davenport (11^th St from Mound St to Jersey Ridge):  Mound Street Landing, 11^th St Precinct, Grumpy’s Saloon, McClellan Stockade, Bleyart’s Tap, Bootlegger’s.  Sitting up on a hill overlooking the Mississippi, the bars here are all pretty similar, but in a good way.  Live music at four of the six bars, and food is decent, but…well, bar food.  Great place to be in early December, when, if the weather plays nice, you can watch fireworks while it’s snowing.

Port Byron (Main St from Hickory St to Linn St):  It’s On The River, Peacock’s, Duey’s, G’s Riverfront Cafe, Jimmie Lee’s.  This is where I spend most of my time, due to increased vigilance by law enforcement and the fact I live just up the hill.  Great burgers at Duey’s, sandwiches at It’s, and G’s is as good as any restaurant in the Quad Cities.  Live music at G’s every weekend, and at It’s in the summer.  A lot of fun here on the second weekend of August for Tugfest, the tug of war across the Mississippi.

Leclaire (100 to 700 block of Cody Rd):  129, Blue Iguana, Sneaky Pete’s, Riverview Roadhouse. Leclaire redid their main street area about 4 years ago, hoping to become a destination, and in fact they do draw some bus tours.  Sneaky Pete’s, with the bar on the street side and the steakhouse on the river side, was here long before the remodel.  129 is a new wine / coffee / martini bar that has become a favorite of my wife and me, and Blue Iguana has become my second favorite Mexican restaurant behind La Flama.

Old Towne Moline (7^th St, between 17^th and 19^th Ave) – Sam’s Take Time, Belgian Village, Friend’s Circle, VFW, Rosy’s Watering Hole, QC Hammertime, Salute on 7^th.  Probably the best collection of good dive bars Sam’s, Rosy’s, and the VFW are favorites) in the Quad Cities.  There’s Maria’s for Mexican, but the food highlight is the VandeReuben at Belgian Village.

OTHER CLUSTERS ON THE IOWA SIDE:

Davenport Hilltop Area: (1500 Block of N. Harrison St):  Lumpy’s, Stickman’s, McButt’s.  (Big Daddy’s left off intentionally.  It’s a shithole)

Brady – Rookie’s, Stadium Club, Bley’s Tap, Bowl-Mor Lounge.

W 3^rd and Pine St. – New Wooden Nickel, New Opendore, The Quarry, Scott’s Shovelhead Shed.

Five Points – Circle Tap, Pour House, The Hat, Firehouse Bar & Grill, Oceanside Lounge.

North Bettendorf (18^th Ave and 53^rd St) – The Clubhouse, Habanero’s, Crust, Red Crow Grill.

ON THE ILLINOIS SIDE:

Augustana (14^th Ave and 30^th St):  Black Ram / The Grotto, Cool Beanz Coffeehouse, Cavanaugh’s Hilltop, Against The Grain.

East of the District (Between 3^rd and 4^th Ave, 20^th and 23 St):  Polish Pub, Rooster’s, Rozz-Tox, Lucky Shamrock, RPM Sports Bar, Body Shop.

Uptown Moline (15^th St, between 14^th and 16^th Ave):  Rascal’s, Les & Molly’s, Casey’s, American Legion.

Moline (I don’t honestly know if there’s a nickname for this area or not, but it’s on 16^th St, between 23^rd and 25^th Ave):  Wunder Y, The Yankee Doodle, The Belgrade.

Downtown East Moline:  Hey Bryan’s, Racer’s Edge, The Keg, Jimbo’s Knucklehead Saloon, Pulse, Old Palace, American Legion, Parker’s, Li’l Cowbell.

Downtown Silvis:  The Avenue, Frank’s Club Napoli, Jesse’s Saloon, Rick & Kathy’s Lounge.

Back with a Key West travelogue edition in November!