8/31/2017 Update: Adjusted Barhopping
Eight
additions to my list with this post, so let’s get right to it!
The Other Bar (same owner as The
Office in downtown Davenport) is located on River Drive in Moline,
across the courtyard from River House (be wary of buying a drink here and
taking it out to listen to the music; River House frowns on that). There
are two levels, and I didn’t go up the stairs but I’m told there’s another full
bar on the second level. I felt pretty old in there, as the staff and
most patrons looked to me to be of high school age.
Grease Monkey in Colona is a larger
version of the Service Station in Milan (which I wrote about in my March 2016
post). Like The Service Station, they did a really nice job of making it
feel like a garage; unlike The Service Station, the kitchen is already serving
food.
Rico’s Tropical Café on Harrison in Davenport
hasn’t changed much from Stickman’s, though it’s been years since I’ve been in
there. Unusual menu items, such as a Venezuelan Hot Dog, and, their
version of nachos, Fried Plantains.
We finally stopped in to Baked Beer &
Bread Co. in the Village of East Davenport during the
Criterium on Memorial Day. As you enter, to your left is a
subterranean bakery, but the bar is really not visible until you walk down the
stairs and enter the back room – there, it’s surprisingly bigger than it looks
from the outside, with a nice big stage with live music Fri-Sun. Everyone
seemed to enjoy the food, and the menu is unique (the Chorizo Sweet Potato Mash
was wonderful). They also have an in-house Nano-Brewery.
The Clubhouse closed up its Bettendorf
location and moved to Davenport, in the building that now houses Ashley Home
Furniture. From the outside, the front makes it look much larger than
their old place in Bettendorf. In fact, it’s about half the size.
Unlike the old place, this is not set up for music (although the acoustics in
the old place were awful), and there’s no pool tables. They are
concentrating on golf, with the same four simulators they had in Bettendorf.
When did Davenport become New York City?
Okay, probably too early to make such a comparison, but that is what UP
Sky Bar looks to be going for with this lounge on the rooftop of the
new Current Iowa hotel, where there is a great view of the Mississippi and
downtown. We sat outside (where it’s all couches) for a while, but
figured out it was going to be quicker if we went inside, where there is a long
bar on the west side, plus tables and chairs, to order drinks and food.
For this kind of bar, the drinks were reasonable and the food from their
appetizer menu was good (bacon wrapped shrimp were excellent). While our bartender
was good and personable, my wife pointed out to me that no one else working
there was smiling.
Triple Crown Whiskey Bar & Raccoon Motel is located in what
was the Musician’s Guild, across from the Black Hawk Hotel in Davenport.
The full title of the bar is almost as big as the bar itself. When I was
there, it looked like it sat 12 at three tables and 10 at the bar, and I was
told that when there is music (regional and national acts 2-4 times a week),
they take out the tables so they can accommodate up to 70. The whiskey
selection is good, but not quite what you’d expect for a place with ‘Whiskey
Bar’ in the title. They managed to make the inside look like it’s been
there for decades instead of the 5 months it’s actually been open. Stuffed
animals and vinyl records are on the walls, and old baseball cards adorn the
bar.
My eighth and final addition for this post
is Nico’s Hispanic Fusion in Moline. I couldn’t detect
that any remodeling since it was Las Regias, but they have a cool
new menu. Like Rico’s, it has some typical Mexican items on the menu, but
goes further by adding some Caribbean and South American choices. I had
the steak Patacón, a Venezuelan sandwich that uses fried plantains for
bread. It’s still not really a drinking destination, though.
With the 8 additions, my new total is 614!
* Changes: Bootleggers (Village
of East Davenport) is now Boot’s Western Saloon and Re-Fresh in
Moline became Soiree.
* Closings: Davenport got the lion’s share
of bar closings, with five - Drink (which I hadn’t had a
chance to get to since it changed from Larry Bob’s Oasis), The
Field House in North Park Mall, Rivertown Pub (which
was long the Rusty Nail), Hero’s Pub, and just days
ago, Kelly’s Irish Pub! I guess the business they do on St
Patrick’s Day wasn’t enough to sustain them through the year. Also
closing was Deep Pockets in Moline, and The Paddlewheel closed
and will be knocked down (as well as the Twin Bridges Inn, so that will cut
down on meth lab fires) to construct new apartments. The owners of the
Paddlewheel are now running Captain’s Table in Moline.
* New Bars that I’ve yet to go to: Jaded Java
/ Jackpot Lounge, a coffee / wine / martini bar (that also has food), which
is apparently East Moline’s answer to LeClaire’s 129.
* Bars in the works: Cycling and drinking
has been a thing in the Quad Cities for a while, with bicycle bar-hops common.
Two new bars are in the works to accommodate the fad: Looking at a
September opening, Ruby’s Bicycles, Beer, & Brats, which, along
with a panini restaurant, will be in what was Jaguar Alley on Third St in
Davenport, and Crawford Brew Works, which broke ground this week on
a building on Devils Glen Rd in Bettendorf that they’ll cohabit with Healthy
Habits. They are shooting for a February opening. Also opening soon
will be Princeton Ale House, which will be in the old Kernan’s location
in Princeton.
While I hit 8 new bars, I only reduced the number
on my What’s Left list by one. Only four of the new bars I hit were on
the list (Rico’s, Nico’s, Grease Monkey, and UP didn’t exist when I last
posted). I dropped Passion Karaoke, as I’m pretty sure they’re
closed, as well as Happy Joe’s PizzaGrille in Milan, as I’m
thinking it’s still more of a restaurant than a drinking destination (unlike
the newer ones in Moline and Davenport). Drink closed before I had the chance
to get there. So those seven were dropped and I added six (three of which
aren’t open yet): Ruby’s, Crawford Brew Works, Princeton Ale House,
Boot’s, Soiree, and Jaded Java. The What’s Left list stands at 15.
As I’ve written previously, my old drinking buddy
– my liver – isn’t putting up with my crap anymore (I can still have a drink
now and then, just not nearly what I used to), and though this has changed my
bar going experience somewhat, it hasn’t kept me away and I still manage to
have some fun. Here are five of my favorites barhops over the last year
with little or no alcohol:
8/28/16
(I really meant to post this by 8/27/17, so it would have been within the
year): A group of Parrotheads invaded the Channel Cat, with our
first stop on our aquatic bar hop was at the Isle of Capri Casino – I had a
little luck there, and was able to buy a round for all at the Lone
Wolf (Pepsi for me). Next stop, the only floating bar in the
Quad Cities, the Oasis. From there, a visit with Skip
at Rudy’s Cantina, then to the patio at Bleyart’s Tap.
Back on the Channel Cat for some food and drinks at TGI Fridays,
capped off by a stop at Harrington’s in Port Byron on the way
home. 6 Bars, 2 drinks.
11/4/16:
Again with the Parrotheads, but in Key West. First stop was the new Blue
Macaw to here our friend Jimi Pappas. Our next stop was at Schooner
Wharf, where our First Friday of November tradition is many raw oysters and
many drinks – I did have two beers here, but had to pass on the oysters (when
your liver is properly functioning and you eat a bad oyster, you get a belly
ache; when it’s not, the mortality rate is above 30%, I read). A visit
to Captain Tony’s to hear Jack Wolf, then a final stop
at Agave 308. 4 Bars, 3 drinks
2/5/17:
My wife and I met up with my sister, brother in law, and brother to meet my
cousin and her husband from Scotland in New York City, and I was greatly
pleased to be able to take them on a tour of downtown Manhattan in a stretch
Lincoln MKT. When asked by our guide if we wanted to go anywhere that
wasn’t on the regular itinerary, I asked if a stop at Molly’s Shebeen,
an Irish pub we enjoyed on our last trip there, was doable. After that
stop, our guide had the driver stop at McSorley’s Ale House.
I think most agreed the pubs were the highlight of the tour. Our guide
Laurie seemed to take a shine to us as well, as she kept us company at the
hotel bar (GastroBar) for a few more cocktails. 3 Bars, 3 drinks
3/4/17 After 32+ years, I still love doing a
barhop with just my wife, hitting places neither of us have been, as well as
visiting old favorites. I used to consider an official barhop to be a
minimum of five (something that’s rare these days), and it’s not often we can
hit two or more places we’ve never been in one day. This particular
Saturday we added three to my list (Treehouse, Black Sheep,
and Van’s Moline), plus stops at Rudy’s Cantina, Paddlewheel, and
Harrington’s Port Byron. 6 Bars, 2 drinks
5/2/17 We’ve been fortunate enough to vacation in
St. Maarten four times in three years, and three times we took the ferry across
to Anguilla, where there are some of the most beautiful beaches in the in
world. On our last visit, we stopped at Elvis’ Beach Bar (and
met the king himself!), but were disappointed when we found out that Garvey’s
Sun Shine Shack is closed on Tuesdays. Undaunted, we returned
to Dune Preserve, rated by CNN Travel to be the best beach bar in the world. Our
first time there we met the owner, an old reggae singer named Bankie
Banx. We’ve always hoped to catch him singing, but that typically happens
only on Wednesday nights (after the last ferry leaves), or on Sundays, when
were usually getting on or off a plane. They did have entertainment that
day: a singer who was the great niece of Bob Marley, and a sax player
that played the first set from his bar stool before moving up to the
stage. While this was going on, we swam in the Caribbean, then sprawled
out on an 8’ X 8’ cushion under framed cabana with fishnet walls and
roof. Al the while, Bankie was in and out, either smoking or rolling a
fatty. Eventually, he did get up and sing a couple (Have You Ever Seen
The Rain and I Shot The Sherriff), making our day in Anguilla a success.
Back on St. Maarten, we stopped at the Cabana Beach Bar (our
hotel pool bar), then ate oceanside at Karakter Beach Bar.
Great tropical hop! 4 Bars, 2 drinks.
8 Year Stats: On April 30 of this year, I
completed 8 years of tracking (only posted about it for 6 years and change)
which bars I had been to, including when and how often. From my
meticulously maintained spreadsheets, I submit these stats (# of QC Bars does
not include the 120 that closed prior to 5/1/2009):
As promised in
my last post, some more images of Caribbean beach bars:
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