Welcome!
Some people collect autographs, some collect antiques, others collect stamps. My hobby is a little different, I collect bars. This site represents my collection, documenting each bar I visit.
This is not a review site, there's plenty of those already. Most posts in this bar diary are slice-of-life recaps of the half hour or so I spent having a beer. I hope you enjoy browsing through my collection!
--ScooterJA Few Random Favorites
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Illinois Archive
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#1872: Celtic Mist Pub
Posted on January 2026 | No Comments(Downtown, Springfield, IL) Scooter’s 1872nd bar, first visited in 2026. There were several bars available to choose from on the downtown square, but since we were planning to go to... -
#1871: Brewhaus
Posted on January 2026 | No Comments(Downtown, Springfield, IL) Scooter’s 1871st bar, first visited in 2026. We arrived in Springfield too late to visit out hotel’s bar, so after getting settled in we headed out into... -
#1870: Bloom Bawarchi Indian Restaurant & Bar
Posted on January 2026 | No Comments(Bloomington, IL) Scooter’s 1870th bar, first visited in 2026. This place was a lucky accident! We had plans to eat at a small Indian restaurant in Springfield, but icy road... -
#1839: Clad & Cordon Vineyard
Posted on July 2025 | No Comments(Creal Springs, IL) Scooter’s 1839th bar, first visited in 2025. We stayed on their RV campground on the first night of a 9-day vacation. We tried pretty much all of... -
#1741: Thyme Kitchen and Craft Beer
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Downtown, Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1741st bar, first visited in 2023. My last bar in 2023 was the venue we selected for our NYE dinner reservation. We had pork belly appetizers,... -
#1740: Friendly Valley Tavern
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1740th bar, first visited in 2023. Our last dive bar for this trip opened in an old bunker in 1947. The oddly-shaped building features a low and... -
#1739: Tartan Inn
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(West Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1739th bar, first visited in 2023. We decided to visit just one other bar in West Peoria, and it was a choice between Owls Nest and... -
#1738: Mike’s Tavern
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(West Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1738th bar, first visited in 2023. The town of West Peoria has a cluster of neighborhood dive bars, and we decided to explore a couple of... -
#1737: West Town Tap
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(West Bluff, Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1737th bar, first visited in 2023. This dive bar serves breakfast from 6am-2pm daily, so seemed like a good place to start the day. Most... -
#1736: The Basket Case
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(West Bluff, Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1736th bar, first visited in 2023. We hadn’t been to a dive bar yet on this trip and my wife wanted to sing, so after... -
#1735: Martinis On Water Street
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Downtown, Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1735th bar, first visited in 2023. We saw this place — one of two venues occupying an old train station (the other a BBQ place) —... -
#1734: Evergreen Farm Brewing
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Metamora, IL) Scooter’s 1734th bar, first visited in 2023. Our original plan was for our next destination to be Tres Rojas Winery in the nearby town of Washington. But When... -
#1733: Bent Tree Tasting Room at Old Mill Vineyard
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Metamora, IL) Scooter’s 1733rd bar, first visited in 2023. We decided to begin the next day by driving out into the countryside to visit a winery. We picked this one... -
#1732: Bearded Owl Brewing
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Downtown, Peoria, IL) OUT OF BUSINESS Scooter’s 1732nd bar, first visited in 2023. When we found out that this brewery was closing for good this weekend, its position on our... -
#1731: Kelleher’s Irish Pub & Eatery
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Downtown, Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1731st bar, first visited in 2023. We decided to pick this place for dinner because it had a good menu and looked pretty. The bar area... -
#1730: Industry Brewing
Posted on December 2023 | No Comments(Peoria, IL) Scooter’s 1730th bar, first visited in 2023. I drove up to this brewery early in the day because it seemed unlikely I’d get a chance to visit it... -
#1051: Fat Edd’s Roadhouse
Posted on August 2014 | No Comments(Downtown, Metropolis, IL) Scooter’s 1051st bar, first visited in 2014. The final stop on our 9-states-in-1-day pub crawl, arrived it with 32-1/2 minutes left to spare! We arrived too late... -
#935: Crossroads Public House
Posted on November 2011 | No Comments(Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL) Scooter’s 935th bar, first visited in 2011. Stopped in here around 1am after the LebowskiFest and a subsequent driving tour of the city. Our local friend... -
#934: DRB’s at Diversy River Bowl
Posted on November 2011 | No Comments(Logan Square, Chicago, IL) Scooter’s 934th bar, first visited in 2011. Bowling alley bar, well-separated from the bowling alley itself. Visited this while here for Lebowskifest 2011. 2211 W. Diversy... -
#847: Twilight Zone
Posted on November 2010 | No Comments(Quincy, IL) Scooter’s 847th bar, first visited in 2010. Back at the Cedar Club, where we learned of the 1am bar closing time in Quincy, we also learned that there... -
#846: Player’s 5th Street Pub
Posted on November 2010 | No Comments(Quincy, IL) Scooter’s 846th bar, first visited in 2010. After Kutter’s we knew we were “Kutting” it close to bar closing time. We looped around the downtown area looking for...
