The Premise


I moved to the Quad Cities area part-time in December 1996 and full-time in April 1998, and one thing I noticed very quickly was, for an area of this size and population, there seemed to be a very large number of bars.  Since spending time in bars is one of my favorite pastimes, I was abundantly pleased. 

Fast forward to February of 2009, and, as I was sitting in a tavern called the Meat Market on Washington St. in Davenport, it occurred to me that I had been to a great many of the bars, pubs, tavern, and clubs (as well as restaurants where I’ve bellied up) in the Quad City area.  I didn’t start counting them at the time, but I estimated I’d been to at least a hundred.

A couple of months go by, and I started thinking about this again – and this time, I did start counting.  I also started writing them down (I’m a ‘list’ guy – no, worse than that, I’m the type of guy that keeps lists of my lists).  I was amazed that on my initial count, I came up with 164.  Since then, by remembering (or having others remember for me) names of some of the places I had forgotten, as well as adding the new bars I had visited, the list has grown.

Here is how a bar qualifies for the list:

1.       Generally, eastern Scott and eastern Rock Island counties are what I define as the QCA (roughly, a 20 mile radius from the middle of I74 bridge).  Towns on the list Davenport, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley, Leclaire, Princeton, Eldridge, Long Grove, Blue Grass, Donahue, Maysville, and Buffalo in Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline, East Moline, Silvis, Hampton, Rapids City, Port Byron, Cordova, Carbon Cliff, Coal Valley, Milan, and Andalusia.  I also count Colona and Orion in Henry county. 

2.       ‘Bars’ can be the traditional bar, but can include restaurants, golf courses, bowling alleys, OTB, and wineries.  For bowling alleys and golf courses, you have to drink in the bar, not just go to the window or buy a beer from the girl in the cart.  If the establishment is more known as a restaurant than a bar, actual bellying up (not just having a drink in the ‘bar area’) is required.  Same with casinos.

3.       Many of the bars on the list are multiple entries at a single location - if a bar on the list closes and reopens as a different bar (whether or not there's a change in ownership), I’ll go back, have a drink, and pad my stats.   Also, if a bar changes locations, it’s eligible to be counted again (Bleyart’s Tap, for instance).  If ownership changes but the name remains, I do not chalk it up again (Rusty Nail). 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 31, 2013 at 11:51 AM

    I'm coming to the Quad Cities with a large group of guys for a bachelor party. Any suggestions as to which bars we should go to. As a whole the group is pretty rowdy and likes to drink.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 97WolvesApril 1, 2013 at 9:06 AM

    A little rowdy? McClellan Stockade in the Village of East Davenport, and there's 5 other bars on the block. More rowdy? Shenanigan's in downtown Davenport, with Mac's Tavern and Kilkenny's across the street, or O'Keefe's in downtown Moline, short walking distance from 5 more bars. You didn't say if you've got a driver, but all these areas, plus the District of Rock Island and Purgatory's in Bettendorf, are connected by The Loop (http://www.bistateonline.org/qctransit/index.shtml)

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