As we conclude the regular season in Major League
Baseball, what better time to reminisce about one of my more adventure-filled
weekends from this past summer when I somehow joined a pharmacy school alumni
group on a Wrigleyville rooftop to enjoy a midsummer game in the classic St.
Louis Cardinals-Chicago Cubs rivalry.
But I’m getting way ahead of myself. After all, getting there is half the fun,
right? That’s what my friend Kent and I
thought when we planned a multi-stop small town bar crawl along Interstate 55
from Springfield, Ill., to downtown Chicago.
The game was on a Saturday, so we left noonish Friday to allow plenty of
time at each stop we chose. And, of
course, some “small” towns were larger than others. Case in point: our first stop at the Alley-Bi Saloon in
Lincoln, Ill.
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| Kent is pumped to go into the Alley-Bi. |
I chose the Alley-Bi on the recommendation of a friend who grew up in Lincoln, and it turned out to be a great first stop. And nobody told me about lunch counter.
Nothing fancy, just burgers, dogs and other sammiches hot off the grill and potato
chips in a bag. But it hit the spot for
lunch. I had to have bacon and tomato on
mine. Now this is a burger!
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| Me and my big mouth ... |
I washed it down with a Miller 64, and as we ate Kent and
I caught the start of the first game of the series on the TVs behind us. I can see where this place gets a lot of
downtown business, especially on a Friday when people are looking to get an
early start on the weekend. Several
customers had already gathered around the pool tables behind the lunch
area. I would definitely put the Alley-Bi
on my list for a return visit on another road trip.
Next stop: A place
that’s more true to the definition of small town bar, Pour Richard’s Tap in
Odell,Ill.
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| The entrance to Pour Richard's |
About 90 miles up I-55 from Lincoln is Odell, a farm
community of about 1,000 people. It
appears to have several old alignments of the original Route 66 going around and
through it. One of those alignments took
us to the small downtown area where we found Pour Richard’s. Actually, I found it online and it looked
intriguing, but I really can’t remember why.
When we entered, we officially became the second and
third customers of the afternoon. It’s a
dark but cozy place with an American Legion feel to it. As fate would have it, it’s the town’s Cubs
bar (good for me). The other bar in
town, naturally, caters to a White Sox crowd.
We chatted with the owner for a couple of beers (cheap bottles, as you’d
expect, about $2), then decided to toodle on to our next scheduled stop to further
whet the whistle – Dwight, Ill.
Like Odell, Dwight contains several swaths of old Route
66. It’s somewhat larger at around 4,200
people. It’s just far enough south that
it feels rural, but you can still sense the expanse of the Chicago suburban
sprawl creeping up on you. It’s probably
no more than 20 minutes outside of Joliet.
The original purpose for us going off I-55 and into downtown
Dwight (which I discovered actually seems pretty lively) was to check out JT’s
Saloon.
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| In addition to looking quite rotund in this picture, I'm squinting because the sun was in my eyes. At least that's my excuse. |
Much to our surprise, JT’s is actually kind of cavernous
on the inside. It has a large bar area,
another area set aside for two pool tables, a corner reserved for live music
and several other games, including shuffleboard.
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| Nice bar, nicer bartender |
It’s a typical sports bar placed in a relatively
small town. Nothing else set it apart for us, except for
the fact that it was where we had our first Jaegerbomb of the day (never a good
sign to start those before dark).
With Kent revived, we walked down the block to try Turtle’s
Tap. We noticed a full-service restaurant
on one side when we entered and a more cozy-looking bar area straight
ahead. And the friendly bartender made us
feel quite welcome.
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| The welcoming Turtle's bartender |
If I recall correctly, I believe I had a rum and coke
here from one of those tempting Malibu bottles behind her. I’m fairly certain she talked me into
it. The menu, from what I remember, also
looked pretty interesting. I’d definitely
come back to give the food a shot.
Anyway, as the afternoon began to fade away, we made our
way out of Turtle’s …
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