Page created 22 Nov 2002 by ulyssess00
URL: http://www.barflynews.com/
I thought that here within the diner that there should be a special place to discuss those special places where one goes to wet one's whistle. just been to a bar you think people should check out? travelling abroad and been to a dive unlike any other? share... and buy a round while you're at it.
good idea g.
so ive been hearing about this place since before i was going to bars... let alone was of age. and tonite was my first time there. wow, this place is an absolute gem.i honestly could hardly tell the difference between the piped-in 40's jazz and the live band. and man... the ghosts that live on in this place... its uncanny. the decor is vintage chicago and the crowd, while slightly yuppie, was still eclectic and interesting. i arrived around midnite- right before the band's last set- and paid a $5 cover, but i am told that if you get there after 1:00AM you can skip that cover.
if i can skip that cover regularly, i could see myself becoming a regular. weekday nights between midnite and one seem to be the prime time to visit. and drinks were pretty cheap considering the type of place it was. my maker's rocks was $4.50 and my saphirre martini was $6.50. not great, but not bad either.
oh yeah, i went with a one mr. A L Spata- whoose presence is long overdue in the diner.
i forgot to mention the cocktail waitresses at the green mill who make a point of getting to know their customers and are nothing short of absolutley lovely.
The Green Mill is open until 4am on the weekends with live music all night long. THe afterhours jazz party with Sabertooth is always a good time and the cover drops to $3 after midnight (or 2am I can't remember).
My favorite dive with a great dart board, though they did just up the cost of their Leinenkugel's pitcher to $7, oh well that's still butt cheap. Small and good for a weekday's round of darts, speaking of which where is Evan?
missed bluestone at the 'wood tonite. my car wouldnt start when i left work and by the time i got a ride, it was way too late to see them. damnit.but i ended up hitting a few bars with some work friends.
the first place was the "tiny lounge" which ive been to twice before. its at addison and lincoln and is a classy little place tucked between a currency exchange and a convenience store. and when i say "little" thats what i mean. the place is a "tiny" "lounge". three booths, a bar with about 15 stools, and a small back room that can fit about ten people. very low lights, very modern-classico design, and very friendly staff and customers. drink prices are average for a yuppie place- $6.00 for my maker's rocks. but they have a good assortment of wine. music is provided by a 100 disc changer housing cds selected by the staff... everything from creedence to ben harper. this place shuts down at 2am.
the second spot we went to was the "fireside." (not to be confused with the "fireside bowl".) this place is like a dive bar without the dive. its on ravenswood just north of bryn mawr. they have an outdoor garden, that- thanks to space heaters- was actually warmer than the inside. they also feature one of those newfangled digital jukeboxes. you can download songs that the jukebox doesnt have for twice the price of a normal song, and you can ensure that your song will be played next for 5 times the price of a normal song selection. i chose a few smiths, prince, and bowie tracks but didnt get to hear them before we left. this place stays open till 4 am and until 5am on saturdays. dont know how cheap it is cause i didnt pay for shit.
I couldn't name 5 bars in Chicagoland that I've been to, even though I grew up there. But I can name at least 6 in Cesky Krumlov, in the Czech Republic.Best bar, probably ever, is the Mud River Saloon in Eagle River, WI. What can you say about a place with a live otter named Happy? Then again I've been in a bar with a live pig, and there's a nice one up here with a roaming pack of dogs and 50 cent pool.
I honestly haven't been to too many bars, it just too expensive. though of the ones i've been to Danny's (at damen and dickens) is the one I've liked the most. It's got a really chill, yet also really dark atmosphere, dark enough so that even if you just four feet away from someone else you still have a feeling of privacy. Most of the light that is present comes from crts that don't display anything except static, and lightboxes that have been placed in the corners of the room, they also have a nice slide projector. It's also good for laughs, the sheriff is usually aroung (an old man in a cowboy hat) and if you're lucky, the opium lady comes by selling cookies and op. sometimes brownies too. If you go, give me a call, I'm almost always willing to go.
i went to danny's tonite. very cool. my second time there. candles and "light boxes" provide the only light. its in an old house. and newcastle's on tap! yeah! missed the opium lady though. the dj tonite was spinning experimental ambient and dub/ dancehall. on tuesday they are having an electro-punk nite with all early 80's post-punk and pre- industrial no-wave music. i'm stoked.then i hopped over to innertwon pub for last call. its on thomas just off of damen. one block south of division. yo... i totally remember spending a nite here with a ton of you people... it seems like it was for oldpossumus' birthday... best damn juke box ive seen anywhere. and about two dozen yard sales worth of velvet paintings. this is a very cozy place to sit back and maybe play some pool. probably any nite of the week, too.
The Fireside is one of my favortite places to eat, but I've only been there drinking once, they have a great menu, are open late, and the patio is very cool in summer and winter. Their meatloaf is the bee's knees.
i love the fireside too. great food. good beer list.
it's by far not the greatest bar i've ever been to, not even close but, my cousin in law works there so i go every other week wich is almost more then the wood for me.
i was wondering if there is anyone that might be intrested in getting together wed. night a the hidden cove they are open really late! let me know here. all are welcome. just thought it could be fun to get a group of cats together for our own thanksgiving.
The Fireside is a great place with a pub-type atmosphere & their food is top-notch for a bar. And yes, they have about every beer known to man. Back in my drinking days, I even found "Old Speckled Hen" there-- made exclusively by Morrell's, a brewery in Ogggsford that I was told several years ago was shutting down...apparently it's still kicken'. My friends all said Hen tasted like dirty dishwater. Danny's is a great place but I was banned from there after an obnoxious ex was trying to cut his hair with a steakknife at the bar (don't ask). The Wrigleyvile Goose Island is one of my favorites...I didn't know they had that huge back room until I saw the Bluestone/Red Vinegar show there recently. You can never beat the Abbey, at Elston & Grace, for off-the-boat IRISH PEOPLE and great live Irish music. My fave for live jazz is the Green Mill. The Sabertooth Quartet on Saturdays can't be beat with a stick. Shady neighborhood late at night, so bring your mace.Is the Hidden Cove that karaoke bar over on...maybe Western? I vaguely remember shouting Beatles songs there one night.
This Diner is going to get me fired, I've been here all day rather than working. C-ya.
so i was there last week.it was a busy busy saturday nite. i was very.. how should we put it? i was being a very good patron of drinking establishments that nite... and i was wearing cowboy boots. when i wear my cowboy boots, i love to dance in them. i can do this really cool spin on one heel and i love it. well, someone was singing a prince song, i think, and i got up and started dancing. and spinning... and spinning... and spinning, until i fell backwards, nocking over two other dancers and coming pretty close to nocking over a table, too. i got up, hung my head in shame, and walked back to my table, greeted by laughter and jees from my companions. and this girl who had been giving me the eye from accross the bar all nite (you know, THE EYE?) stopped giving me the eye after that. i have no need to meet the ladies these days anyways.
and to top it all off, i waited an hour and a half to sing "love me" by elvis presley (not "love me tender," "love me") which is one of my favorite karaoke songs... and they stopped calling names ONE NAME before i was up.
but it was all worth it to see laspata do a michale jackson dance, complete with finger points in the air and crotch grabs. i will remember that until the day i die.
i may be down for the cove wednesday after our bowling night. no work the next day, and turkey dinner is late afternoon. should be fun. i'll do knocking on heaven's door again unless they've somehow gotten new gnr since i've been. jen's cousin rocks. she bought me a beer there last time i came in. maybe i'll buy her one this time. what's her name again? i find myself needing to hear a name way too many times before i remember it. that sucks.
jen's cousin brian's wife is sarah and she works at the cove. so, i will be keeping her company wed. night before thanksgiving cause she wil be there all night long. so, please someone come out with me.
Morrells was closed and moved. After being brewed in Oxfordshire for over 200 years, they are now brewed in Dorchester by Thomas Hardy Brewery (which no longer brews Thomas Hardy Ales since they were also sold). Morrells was sold in 1997 and then moved a year or so later. The beer is still good, but it's too bad the histroic brewery was closed.
Lukas, how did you know this about Morrells??? Impressive. But that is cool & useful to know. Old Speckled Hen is pretty vile, I guess no one's missing much. I remember seeing Thomas Hardy ales in England 'cause Laurent was reading "Jude the Obscure" at the time & we thought that was cool.
Lukas is a veritable fountain of beer knowledge. And after "studying" for hours he's a literal fountain!
there's a bar we went to down on the south side (like cicero and 87th) and it is a real cool place. they have lots of microbrews that you've never heard of. trust me, you haven't heard of every beer in there. some, maybe. but not all. and they are good. and the bartender was super cool, and didn't even charge us for our beers as we werer the only people in the place at the time (right before close on a tuesday) and we were talking to him and he was super awesome. we should get a crew down there.
yo i am totally down for some karaoke action.this time i will probably leave my cowboy boots at home. but i will probably bring my laspata. who else is going?
oh yeah-ATTN: SMITHS/ MORRISSEY FANS: this saturday nite, delilah's on lincoln is having an all- smiths/morrissey nite. and maker's will be on special for $2.
ATTN: PRINCE FANS: this sunday nite berlin on belmont will be having an all-prince nite. its put on once a month by the official prince fan club of illinois.
that's a holiday weekend to be thankful for!
hidden cove, near the cozy corner. just a little north on lincon and foster. across from the dominics.
who's in?
Saturday we splurged (hooray for loan refund) and went out to dinner and afterwards walked up to Adams Morgan and went to The Reef. We got there early enough to get seats in front of one of their 6 enormous saltwater aquariums. They ere out of the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar but had other fine beers including Red Hook for $3 (crazy cheap for Adams Morgan). They even had on pretty good music so we just sat and drank some beer and watched the fishes and the crabs and other aquatic life. THe other great thing about the Reef is that it's on the second floor and so you have a nice overlook onto 18th. When we left there was a long line to get in and we felt all special. We decided that we wanted to go back weekly and sit at the same aquarium so we could watch the same fishies. I also wish I had a pencam because there were the coral formations in the tank that were absolutely beautiful with crazy bright colors and texture.
Didn't know where else to put this.....If you can, get your hands on a some Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale 2003. It's a barleywine style ale they brewed for the millenium and oh my it is delicious.
where are you living now lukas? Last I heard I thought you were out east. the reef sounds cool.
well, actually, silver spring MD...but close enough.
I seemed to remember DC in a conversation somehwere, but wasn't sure. I'm actually heading out that way in April, taking a little trip with Meagan, her mom, her sister, and her best friend Lila, and I'm liable to be insane by the end of it, but it'll be good times. I'm still working on a threesome with MEagan and Lila, but no go, Lila even lived with us and nothing happened! Gosh what kind of world is it if a guy can't live with his fiance and her best friend and not get a little menage trois action!! :P
Lila is a cool girl. she should be on here. and i should hang out with her more.
dude i just signed up for a free johnnie walker tasting for march 13th.(they're having some outside of chicago, too.)
Milk and Honey. (bar in NY nad London)read the house rules and then read the interview with the owners.
sounds very cool. Something said in the interview reminded me of the map room on armitage. The kind of place you go with people you know, not trying to meet someone.
i like this part:"We spend a tremendous amount of money on the ingredients and basically we scrimp on nothing, we squeeze our own apples for the apple juice, we squeeze our own pineapple, which is horrifically expensive. We don't bring fresh juice in from out of house that was actually squeezed three days ago. We squeeze ginger roots to make ginger beer. We make our own pomegranate molasses which is what grenadine originally was."
i had no idea grenadine is actually from pomegranate! and i must admit that while am a fan of ginger beer, i have never had fresh ginger beer. after working at my restaurant in AZ, its hard for me to drink any OJ that isnt fresh squezed.
man, if I new this existed... Anyhow, every friday we go turtle racing. I shouldn't say every friday, but most them...Anyhow its a Big Joe's 2&6 on Foster and Ravenswood. They supply the booze and the turtles it is an awesome time.
You know, I always wanted to go there... do they still have live Jazz?
ms. thomas used to sing there, i don't know if she still does. And it was part of our one-time foster bar crawl.
they still have Jazz on Sunday's I suggest you all go, casue sadly its pretty dead on Sunday's. But friday is how he makes money to keep the sunday's going.
I spotted Anders, uh just realied their's most likely an assload of anders, but I only know one, at turtle racing...i didn't say hi. not sure why.