Another March

Tomorrow I am going on a 95^th street march. I haven’t marched down 95^th street since my bachelor party. That night I blacked out the last two bars. Hopefully, this night goes a little better. Anyway here is a rundown of the path we will be taking.

Whitney’s – This is the bar located at the Hilton. I know the Hilton is really on 93^rd but it is a great place to start a march. I don’t have many memories of the bar. The restaurant is another matter. I had the biggest crush on this girl I met at De Paul who was way out of my league. When I learned she was from Beverly that cinched it. So, finally she agrees to go out with me and she wants to go to Whitney’s. I spend more money on dinner then I have in my checking account only to have her shoot me down at the end of the night. Have I mentioned how glad I am to be married now and not have to deal with bullshit like this anymore?

The Hot Corner – This used to be called Oak Lawn Liquors back in the day. It was sketchy as hell back then. The name change came about five or six years ago and it has gotten a little better. It has a nice pool table and the drinks are not all that outrageous. My only real memory there is watching Mark Prior’s first Cub start there.

The Gaslight – Ah, the Gaslight. I have spent a lot of time in here. The owner is kind of a dick though, so I haven’t spent a lot of time there recently. Still, it has a very good kitchen and on Monday night’s you can’t beat the quarter hot dogs. My main memory of this place was spending a Thanksgiving Eve there and the bar was filled with mostly people in my posse.

Deja Brew – Deja is a newer bar on the march. It has been there awhile now, but was not in the original march we did back in the day. A younger crowd frequents this place. It has a very nice beer garden and a great kitchen. (I highly recommend the nacho platter they have. It is killer.) A lot of time spent there, I guess my main memory will be one of the first meetings of Tony’s then girlfriend, future wife. She got a little over-served and wound up tossing her cookies in the bathroom.

The Goalpost – I have been going to the Goalpost through three different configurations. I still prefer the original one they had. The first remodeling basically cut the bar in half but did provide a nice front beer garden. Then Oak Lawn made them move so, now they are in a different location. My favorite memory of this bar was back at the original configuration, we were there on a march and an 80’s band was playing. The lead singer was up there jamming away on a keytar.

St. James Place – Another bar, I’ve been to numerous times. Not a big place but it has a nice friendly quality. It has a lot of good beers on tap and it’s not that expensive. Still, my main memory of this place is being there watching game six of the 2003 NLCS and watching the Bartman play and then the Cubs self implode. Wally had bought shots for us as a good will gesture in the top of the 8^th. I told him I would drink it as soon as the Cubs won. I never did drink that shot.

George’s – Now here is a bar that I have never been able to get a handle on. Some nights you will go there and no one is there except the local bar flies. Then on other nights the place will be packed with young kids barely twenty one. I like the place because it has cheap drinks and a great scuffle board game. My main memory of this place is getting into an argument with Brian Janey over which burrito joint in Summit was better El Famous or El Farrol.

BJ McMahon’s – Here is where we end the night. Hopefully I will still be upright by the time I get there. An Irish pub that has a very underrated beer garden and kitchen. I have spent a lot time in this place as well. They used to have fifty cent drafts on Wednesday nights so, it seems like every Wednesday when I was in my early twenties I spent it drinking at this place out of a frosty mug.

I also should mention a bar that has re-located that used to be part of the 95^th st. march, Brandt’s Tavern. A shot and a beer joint that stood out because it had a ping pong table. There was nothing like having a couple of drinks in you and then trying to play ping pong. I know it takes up a lot of room, but more bars should have ping pong.