6/24/2015 Update:

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 a real nice job inside, with split log siding on the wall and a nice paint job.  Changing from “Bicycle Rack” to “Bike Rack” is a little more descriptive, as I’m sure we’ll see a lot of Harleys in the lot. 
   
I had resigned myself to only adding two for this post, until I saw on FB that Dooley’s in Eldridge was having a grand opening on July 4th weekend.  I hadn’t heard a word about this place, so I ventured out at lunch to see where they were located (northeast corner of 61 and LeClaire Rd interchange).  Since they were open and looked pretty busy, I stopped in for lunch.  The restaurant and bar are completely separated, but both share bland off-white walls with no décor other than flat screens.  It kind of made me think I was having a beer in a hospital cafeteria, BUT… they have deep fried bacon.  That alone makes it worth the trip.

As for what hasn’t opened yet, Barrel House on Utica Ridge in Davenport has got their signs up, and they’re finishing off the interior.  It shouldn’t be much longer for them.  Green Tree Brewery in LeClaire is waiting for their liquor license, and until they have that, they won’t be brewing any beer;  other than that small detail, it’s ready to go.  Gunchie’s in Rock Island appears to be where the least progress has taken place (the same ‘Coming Soon’ signs have been in the window since before St Patrick’s Day), but occasionally I still see signs of work going on.

Other Bar News:


  • The Starting Line is being resurrected in the same Davenport location that my wife and I went to when we first moved here in the late 90’s.  It had briefly become the Brady St. Pub, and was remodeled inside to totally segregate the bar from the restaurant.  The new owners, who are shooting for opening the second weekend of July, will be opening the bar section first while they work on the restaurant, then will revive Below Brady (not sure if the name will change) downstairs. 
  • I got the location wrong on Spartan’s Pub – I thought it was going in the Wendy’s across from K-Mart on Brady, but it actually will be one building north.
  • The owners of Steventon’s and Blue Iguana bought City Limits in Rock Island.  I’m not aware if they are planning any changes, but there haven’t been any yet.
  • HyVee has opened Market Cafes in Silvis and 53rd St. in Davenport, bringing the total of grocery store bars to 5 in the Quad Cities, with W. Locust in Davenport, Milan, and Rock Island (the only one we’ve been to) as the others.  Though I don’t include them on my “What’s Left” list, that’s four more I can hit as I get closer to 600.
  • It appears that the Barrel House’s planned location in LeClaire has met with some resistance from the city council, and is on hold.
  • Rumor has it that there will be a pinball themed bar opening in Moline, and that they recently purchased one of the original Pong games.

The Starting Line gets added and The Bike Rack and Harrison St Pub come off my What’s Left list, which now stands at 11.

I had to make changes in a couple of my Top 10 lists.  Since two of the worst QC dives have closed (Shannon’s in Hampton and L’il Cow Bell in East Moline, they had to be replaced.  Lampliter Inn in Walcott and Sneaky Pete’s in LeClaire (the smell is back) take their places.  In addition, I recently tried the Breaded Pork Tenderloin at Go Fish, which has apparently won awards.  I used to think there was only so much you can expect form a tenderloin, and it was a flattened out, usually pretty dry piece of meat that’s diameter was 6 inches bigger than that of the bun, and the batter was what determined if I liked it or not.  At Go Fish, the pork is thick, juicy, and almost too tasty to bother putting it in breading, but the breading was great, too.

I mentioned last post that the RiverBottom ChopHouse has changed hands, and the new owners (incidentally, they are also involved with the new Starting Line) are beginning to make some changes, including opening Sundays and weekend breakfast and lunch.  My favorite change so far is luring Hall of Fame Bartender Mary out to Port Byron.  It’s a great addition to an already exceptional staff!  Two side notes:  Mary has now bartended for us at 7 different locations, breaking a tie with Destiney (Doc’s Inn).  Also, we were able to see all of our active HOF bartenders since my last post;  along with Mary, Nam at Duck City and Sheila at Yankee Doodle.

Speaking of exceptional staffs, Chip at R Bar and Thomas at Steel Head Tavern have been added my Favorite Bartender list. 

Bars since the Apr 15 post ( * - new to my list):

* Dooley's
Pub 1848
Mulligan's Valley Pub
Yankee Doodle
Jimmie Lee's
RiverBottom ChopHouse
Daiquiri Factory
Blue Cat
129
Moe's Burgers & Brews
Front Street Tap Room
Kilkenny's
Red Lantern
Governor's (Bettendorf)
R Bar
Osaka (Dav.)
Paddlewheel
Rudy's Cantina
Grumpy's Saloon
Bleyart's
Brix
The Phoenix
Red Ginger
The Doc's Inn
Steel Head Tavern
Ubriaco's Trattoria
Parkside Grill
Harrington's
* K & T's Bike Rack
Bierstube Moline
The Outpost (Fulton)
The Edge
Go Fish
Wide River Winery (Clinton)
Candlelight (Clinton)
Sneaky Pete's
Bent River Brewery (RI)
Ichiban
Bierstube LeClaire
Jeff's Bar Too (Moville, IA)
Old Chicago (Sioux City)
Me & Billy
Rooster's
Biaggi's
Circle Tap
* Harrison Street Pub
Bass Street Chop Bar
Bad Boy'z Pizza
North Shore Inn
Caddy's
Buffalo Wild Wings (Dav.)
Applebee's (Elmore)
Chili's
The Grape Life
Rick and Kathy's
Duck City Bistro
Broken Saddle Saloon
Christopher D's
Rookies

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