Quad Cities Bars

My wife and I went in to the Market Café at the Hy-Vee in Davenport (Utica Ridge and 53rd Ave.) not expecting it to look any different than the one in Rock Island, but it actually looked more like a bar, and an upscale bar at that, with a nice sandstone (I think) back bar.  That is where the difference ends.  Your still sitting with Hy-Vee employees whose shift just finished, just beyond the produce section. Hemispheres Bistro opened in what had been the Red Crow Grille in Bettendorf.  Most of the remodeling looks like it was in the bar area, giving it a little more separation from the dining room.  While being a high end setting, it’s not cold, and would have been very welcoming if the staff wouldn’t have had their laptops and papers spread out over it. Analog Arcade Bar in Davenport may be the most unique bar that’s opened in the Quad Cities in years.  As advertised, it’s packed with pinball, vintage video games such as Asteroids, and even skee-ball.  It’s definitely des

After a few delays, Gunchie’s has now opened their second location in Rock Island in what was the old Hunter’s Club (most recently, Dyce’s Sports Bar ).  Those of you that have been in their west Davenport location will be surprised.  The place is modern and full of exposed brick and fieldstone, and plenty of flat screens.  Though I haven’t had it yet, many people have told me they have the best pizza in Davenport.  I can foresee watching some college football here and seeing how the pizza stacks up against Bad Boy’z or Poor Boys . Spartan’s Pub actually opened almost three months ago in what was the Oceanside Lounge on Hickory Grove Rd. in Davenport, while I was still driving by where I thought it was going to be on Brady, just south of Kimberly (thanks to Rick Martin of quadcitiesdiningguide.com for the heads up).  As far as the place I didn’t get the sense that they’d changed much, though it had been a while since I’d been to the Oceanside.  Still a serviceable neighborhoo

Barrel House opened its third restaurant / bar on Utica Ridge in Davenport, in what was 100 Montaditos.  No extensive remodeling from the miniature Spanish sandwich place that it had been, except to lengthen the bar (which was really just the cash register before), and open up the unused space on the south side.  The result is more like the original in downtown Davenport than the one in Moline with its expansive bar.  I knew Muddy Waters in Bettendorf had been sold some months back, but it took until July for them to change the name to Harley Corin’s .  Since that was the only change that I could see, I wondered why it had taken them so long.  It was explained to me that in changing the name, they wanted to step back from being known solely as a blues bar.  I asked who was scheduled to play in the near future:  Mercury Brothers, Avey Brothers, Zac Harris.  I guess there will be a transition time. Welcome back to a familiar name in Davenport!  The Starting Line reopened just

I fell a bit shy of my goal of getting to 560, as the bars I had hoped would open didn’t pan out as I had hoped.  I even put off posting for a month longer than usual so I’d have something more to write about (nah, probably just lazy).  However, I did make it to three new bars, bringing my total to 558 . Harrison St Pub in Davenport is roughly a third the size of the old Lumpy’s (the rest is now a tattoo shop).  It opened early May, and when I stopped in for lunch, they were bringing the tabletops in for the pub tables.  The wings were a little underdone, but the bartender was friendly so I figured I’d stop back after work someday.  I tried to do just that, and found that they’re only open until 5:00 pm, though she said that in July they’d be extending that until 8:00.  Odd. Also in Davenport, The Creekside Inn reopened as K & T’s Bike Rack (they also shortened the first name they had on a banner, Kutch & Tob’s Bicycle Rack, which was quite a mouthful).  They did