Andy's Dam Inn is definitely unusual.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Joe Orr Road Rod, good dolphin and cluv are definitely list unusual/unique type places. Keep 'em coming!

_________________
Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Most places I can think of for this list closed in the last five years or so, either due to death of the owner or the smoking ban.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

You're making me think of Johnny's on Lincoln & Paulina.

I would say Rose's- also on Lincoln- could be categorized as unusual, if only because of Rose and her crazy son.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Sea of Happiness on Wabash.

This is a whole 'nother thread.

_________________
I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

You mean Sea of Happiness or Bars of the Past in general?

I was always partial to Joann's Piano Bar on State. R.I.P.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

No, bars of the past, in general.

http://www.chibarproject.com/WholeList.htm#Gone

(I wish this list had more Uptown and Rogers Park on it, though.)

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

Chaser's, Fiddler's Green, Char-A-Lar, and the late lamented Top Hat!

I was working at Cas & Lou's Restaurant and I worked with a bunch of Mexican guys. My Spanish was really sharp at the time. So one night we got off work and a guy named Juvenal said to me, "Vaminos, Beto, al Gorro!" I wasn't sure what a "gorro" was. I thought it was some kind of cap but I wasn't positive, so I replied, "Donde?"
Juvenal: "El Gorro!"
Me: Que?
Juvenal: "Es una cantina"
Me: Bien, bien.

I had no fucking clue where "El Gorro" was but we rolled up Morse and pulled up in front of the Top Hat. Good times!

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I spent most of my prime drinking years in Rockford and Indy, so all I can really contribute is The Vu (Voo?), Big Nasty and The Rockery. Probably more about the good times than unusual drinking spots. I wish Justin's still had those Gil Thorp shirts.

_________________
Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Underground Lounge.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

1056 on Damen was a great dive bar. They used to play cartoons and old Kung-fu movies on the t.v.s.

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@audioidkid

Is the Twisted Spoke still around? Smut and eggs

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

yeah. still has the killer roof-top deck. they moved the bar from the small Grand-facing back room to the Ogden facing front room.

Makes it less homey on off-nights there. That small back room bar was a good, quiet place to have a last drink or two on a Sunday night (esp their Bloody Mary) before the work week kicked in.

Is the bar just north of twisted still there?

There is a cool Irish pub on Noble and Erie named J Patricks.

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@audioidkid

Used to be a place called Player's on Ogden just North of Spoke. They renamed it Mahoney's. Place is awful.

Player's has another location up on Ashland near Fullerton that's popular with the motorsports crowd.

That bar has been several different things. I think there was a shitty BBQ restaurant in there prior to Player's.

Clutch 459 is a good spot though.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I cannot believe I didn't remember this obscure neighborhood bar The Newark Nook, formerly Rosie McNulty's

This is one of the few bars you will find in the outer city smack dab in the middle of a residential block. It is just north of Devon on Newark by St. Thecla's Church. It is like walking into a friend's basement to drink. No frills. Old school chicago cop riot helmets are the decoration. There is no reason to search it out but if you are in the Edison Park area or getting a dog at Superdog, it is an interesting place to have a drink.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

If i want to drink with surly cops I'll go to Murray's on Pulaski.

_________________

It's not Murray's anymore. The girls sold it. It has another Irish name I can't think of right now.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

There is a joint like this on the 5100 block of Oriole, in either Harwood Heights or unincorporated Norwood Park, too. Just a bar in a woodframe house smack in the middle of a residential block. There used to be a place on Eastwood just east of Dunham Park where the dad's could drink Old Style while waiting out a T-Ball game, before such a thing was frowned upon.

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I don't remember half the time if I'm hiding or I'm lost

Where is Superdog?

Is it anywhere near McDowell's?

_________________
Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

the twisted spoke.

what's unusual to me is that it's set up like a biker bar and has radical metal music but is infiltrated by hipsters. get the fuck out of here, and go back to logan square!

arrow on ogden.

literally a sign that is an arrow pointing you in. place is very spacious but DEAD because it's in the middle of nowhere.

here's a bar i like: jefferson tap. get to smell the rich aroma of chocolate thanks to it being in the west loop and near blommer, it's open till 5am on saturdays, and it has green line and lagunitas on tap. and the music's pretty good. neighborhood bar, apparetly owned by cops.

You know them too JORR?

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Yeah, I used to drink in there occasionally. I think it's called McGill's now. Anyway, it's not unusual. Just a regular Chicago bar.

There are a couple unusual joints out west on Belmont. They're both Polish bars with buzzers. One of them is a tropical drink place called Paradise Club at about 7100 west. It used to be called Grace D's and they had a monkey in a cage in there. The monkey is gone but the tropical drinks are still there. If you get buzzed in and aren't a regular they'll act suspicious as if you're a cop or a city inspector.

The other one is about a mile further west and it's called As Time Goes By. It's a cool looking place inside and out. They're not as uptight once they buzz you in as they are at the Paradise. This feels like it could be a mob hangout for Eastern Euros.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

maybe JORR can confirm, or not...bar called Memories on Clark. i was in a show that featured characters from this place, allegedly real people. midget fights, wet tee shirt contests, and a guy with a gun.

i've never been to this place. our writer was a tad overdramatic. the show was named after the bar.

It is or was near Devon and Clark. I'm not sure if it's still there. I bet Tall Midget knows.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I know that bar at the NW corner of Devon and Clark. It always seemed like an odd location at the starting point of ethnic Devon Avenue and a strip of gay bars on Clark. Those Rogers Park bars all seem to have a loyal patronage of people on a block by block basis that goes back generations.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Wrigley Field

_________________

Memories is/was across on the east side of Clark and a little bit south. The one you're talking about is called Dino's (The drink will flow and blood will spill and if the boys want to fight, you'd better let 'em). It's just south of Touche' and Jackhammer. Let your Bear flag fly!

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

pretty sure memories is still around. the writer promised us we'd go to it after our closing show but he has yet to live up to any of his promises...including PAYING THE ACTORS.

sorry.

anyway, i've seen it on google maps. it looks so out of place in that little area.