A few weeks ago Rudy and JB put together an awesome pub crawl for all of us using Logan Square locations both known and unknown to us. GalPal teased me for taking part in such a "bro" activity ... I told her we were actually taking it back from the bros! Here is how it went.
Stop One: Logan Bar & Grill
A faceless, kind of corporate feeling, generic place. There was almost no one there. It was early on a Sunday on a holiday weekend though. I've been there once or twice in the past and the staff is always friendly so while it's not the kind of place I would usually hang out in, the reasons are purely aesthetic. However, it was a nice chill place to kick off the pub crawl.
Stop Two: Cole's
This was the find of the day. Cole's is new, Photogal had raved about it, and it's an old man bar own by an, er, young man. It kind of reminded me of The Burlington's vibe, only bigger with both a pool table and a back room that sometimes hosts bands. the decor was winningly shabby and the staff was extremely polite. So polite they offered us baked goods! (Cookies made by the owner's girlfriend and brownies made by his mom.) I'll definitely be paying this place many return visits.
Stop Three: Helen's Two-Way
This place is a dive. I love it. I've been there many times but it had been at least a year since my last visit, so it was nice to stop back in for a beer. Oh wait, I have been there more recently! I went there with GalPal after our first time at The Whistler! Well, that's more a testament to the potency of The Whistlers drinks than it is of my love for Helen's. This is also where we started to add a few people to our party.
Stop Four: The Whistler
We took over the patio. We consumed incredible drinks with unpronounceable names at reasonable prices. We all donned sunglasses to show Rudy why you do NOT wear sunglasses at night. Rudy, Balls and I stuck ridiculous poses. This is where the fun really started to pile on, luckily just in time for GalPal to join us after the photo shoot she was in all afternoon!
Stop Five: The Rocking Horse
Aaaaaand, this is where the evening almost slid off the rails. Douchebag central. Just wall to wall jerks. We rescued a few of our friends who were there waiting for us and beat it as quickly as possible. I did a shot just to say we stopped there but couldn't wait to get out.
Stop Six: El Cid
By now everyone was ready for some food and El Cid really hit the spot. We all got a huge table, consumed many frosty margaritas, and I ate a mountain of tacos. Even more friends joined us, a bit of good natured verbal sparring erupted, and the evening was back on track! There are a jillion Mexican places in Logan Square and honestly El Cid is not really distinguishable from any of them food-wise, but the place does have a killer patio and great ambiance.
Stop Seven: Whirlaway
Ah, Whirlaway ... the original Logan Square hipster bar is still, well, the most hipster attitude-y of the Logan Square scene. the place is comfortable enough, but I've never felt 100% comfortable there. Plus, i was running low on cash by this point and there was no ATM machine in sight! (This is one of the bad things about the Logan Square stretch of Fullerton - for the most part, if you run out of cash after 10 p.m. it's a huge hassle to find a cash machine. They all require a 20 minute walk.) So, Whirlaway was O.K., but most of our party seemed to be spending most of their time on the sidewalk which is why we finally decided to hoof it to...
Stop Eight: The Burlington
Yeah, what a surprise. Of course we were always going to end up here. Even after testing so many different drinking establishments in a single day, The Burlington remain my favorite Logan Square bar.
Now, I can't wait until NEXT year's Logan's Run DIY Logan Square Pub Crawl!
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