Scooter’s 1872nd bar, first visited in 2026.

It was pretty quiet when we first arrived, but began to fill up during our stay. Before we left every person we had seen at Brewhaus ended up being seen here as well despite many of them heading a different direction when they left Brewhaus. In fact, even one of the bar-backs had been seen by us bar-backing at Brewhaus!

This was a fun bar, with a gaming area on one side while the bar itself filled the other half. Like Brewhaus it also had a sidewalk seating area, though this one was much larger.

Each time I tried to take a picture of the outside there were people standing in the way, so I took the exterior photo early the next morning while no one was there.

I had a Dank Meme (pale ale) by Triptych Brewing and a Zombie Dust (pale ale) by 3 Floyds Brewing — the latter is the beer pictured below.

117 S 7th St
Springfield, IL 62701
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Scooter’s 1871st bar, first visited in 2026.

Our first of two stops was a long, skinny building with a rather beautiful bar along the front half and ornate vintage ceiling work. The back half had pinball machines and shuffleboard, and a small separate room of electronic casino games. While we didn’t notice it and it’s not in my photo, Google Street View shows a small area of sidewalk seating — it looks temporary though so may be seasonal.

I had two glasses of Moose Drool (brown ale) by Big Sky Brewing, a reliable favorite of mine.

617 E Washington St
Springfield, IL 62701
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Scooter’s 1870th bar, first visited in 2026.

We sat right next to the bar. The owner and staff were amazing — extremely friendly, helpful, and accommodating.

We were given a tablet to place our food orders, it allowed us to read about and see photos of every single item on the menu, and use sliders to configure the heat level for each.

Everything was so good we stuck around and had drinks to finish off. I had an IPA by Bira 91 (New Delhi), so in other words an actual literal IPA, followed later by a colorful cocktail called BB Rainbow.

503 N Prospect Rd
Bloomington, IL 61704
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Scooter’s 1839th bar, first visited in 2025.

755 Parker City Rd.
Creal Springs, IL 62922
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Scooter’s 1741st bar, first visited in 2023.

We had pork belly appetizers, then I started out with prime rib but when I found out I got the last piece and it was already cooked much farther than I like, they comped it and I switched to fish & chips (which were fantastic).

While this place has a quite respectable selection of craft beer — as tey should since it’s pat of their name — their massive collection of spirits is far more impressive.

I had an Alpha Klaus (porter) by 3 Floyds Brewing and a blackberry thyme bramble (gin-based cocktail) but apparently they ran out of thyme.

No thyme, no thyme, no thyme, no thyme
No thyme, no thyme, no thyme, no thyme
I got, got, got, got no thyme
I got, got, got, got no thyme
I got, got, got, got no thyme

736 SW Washington St
Peoria, IL 61604
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Scooter’s 1740th bar, first visited in 2023.

Outside is an expansive beer garded with a stage and a sand volleyball court. The bar hosts volleyball leagues, or at least tournaments, according to the stickers they gave us.

I had an Alpha King (pale ale) by 3 Floyds Brewing and a shot of Dough Balll (cookie dough flavored whiskey).

3708 N Meadowbrook Rd
Peoria, IL 61604
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Scooter’s 1739th bar, first visited in 2023.

We walked in to a jubilant crowd, and as free pudding shots were placed in our hands (they were handing them out to everyone) a voice rang out “It’s Cari with a C!” We looked over and saw the “Kari with a K” birthday party group from The Basket Case last night — minus Kari. They took a picture of us to send to her as proof.

This place used to be a neighborhood grocery store. I don’t know when it was concerted into a bar but it has been the Tartan Inn since at leas 1990. The current owners took over in 2017 or 2019 (I forgot which), and were now celebrating the recent purchase of the entire building as opposed to just the business.

I would not go as far as to call this an LGBTQ bar because the clientele seemed far more diverse, but the décor and welcoming attitudes show it’s definitely LGBTQ-friendly.

Outside is a courtyard with covered and open-air tables, and a separate building labeled “doobie den” that we didn’t investigate so I don’t know if that’s really is or not.

This was our favorite bar of the trip and one of my top favorite bars ever.

I had a pudding shot and a Santa’s Private Reserve (2023 stout) by Rogue Ales.

The Googly Eyes Bandit strikes again!

428 N Waverly Ave,
West Peoria, IL 61604
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Scooter’s 1738th bar, first visited in 2023.

The oldest continuously-operating bar in West Peoria, eons ago it was believed to be the garage for the house on the other side of what is now the patio. But it has also been an ice house and a barber shop. It was converted into a neighborhood bar in 1933 and quickly became West Peoria’s largest customer for Budweiser. For decades is operated as a stag bar, but today all are welcome.

I had Guinness, and we all gathered in the game room to play slots while the rest of the bar cheered on a football game us visitors had no stake in and didn’t care about. This was where I learned that there are so-called “penny slots” that have a 50-credit minimum bet. Excuse me, casino gaming manufacturers, but if the minimum bet is 50 cents that’s not a penny slot.

626 N Cedar Ave
West Peoria, IL 61604
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Scooter’s 1737th bar, first visited in 2023.

The south side of the building is the bar area, the north side is more for eating. In the far back corner is a bank of video slots, something it seems every bar in Illinois must have.

Along with breakfast I had an Irish coffee and a mimosa.

A Googly-Eyes Bandit has struck here. We would soon find their work in another bar as well.

515 N Western Ave
Peoria, IL 61604
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Scooter’s 1736th bar, first visited in 2023.

From the outside it looks terrifying. Down a back alley behind a bicycle shop, next to a creepy parking lot. But inside it was complete dive bar fun with friendly staff and friendly customers. We stayed for a couple of hours, singing songs and drinking drinks.

Among the singers, our group had “Cari with a C” singing, while another group had “Kari with a K” singing — it was that Kari’s birthday. This detail will come back into play tomorrow, 3 bars from now.

I had two Guinness, at least 3 shots that I can remember (1 lemon drop and 2 pineapple upside down cake), and sang Elvira just before we left.

610 W Main St
Peoria, IL 61606
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Scooter’s 1735th bar, first visited in 2023.

The beautiful and cavernous space has a rectangular bar island in the middle, with several different styles of seating areas surrounding it.
There’s a nice-looking pool table, and also a piano. Though I didn’t see it during our visit and only found about it later, there’s an almost equally spacious covered outdoor patio as well as open-air outdoor seating.

I had a Mochatini and a Dark Chocolate martini.

212 Southwest Water Street
Peoria, IL 61602
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Scooter’s 1734th bar, first visited in 2023.

This ended up being one of the more unique breweries I’ve ever been to. The farm has been in the same family since the mid-1800s, originally spanning 225 acres and included vegetable plots and an orchard. Much of the property was sold off in the 1990s, and in 2017 they get the idea to use the remaining acreage to grow ingredients to use in beer and begin a brewing operation.

The tap room is in a tiny building that was originally the farm’s “wash house”, containing a gas-powered washing machine. There is seating for about 5 people. Below, in the cellar, is where the beer is brewed. The brewing operation is so small that of the 9 taps, only 4 were their own beer and the rest were guest taps.

But don’t fear the “seating for 5″, because next door is an old detached garage that has been converted into seating for about 15-20. This building is heated by a wood stove and comes equipped with a wide variety of games to play while you’re having your beer. And in warmer weather (which some people did feel today was “warm enough” there is outdoor seating too.

Since they only had 4 of their own beers, I got a flight of them all: Almost Like Thanksgiving (strong ale, their first brew where nearly every ingredient was grown on their farm), Barn Roof Sledder (winter warmer), Tinsel Vibes (imperial red ale), and Castles Burning (Irish red ale). During which we played a game of Sorry! and I got my ass kicked.

We spent so long here that by the time we were ready to leave the sun was getting low. We decided to skip the other wineries and head back into the city.

1179 Douglas Rd
Metamora, IL 61548
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Scooter’s 1733rd bar, first visited in 2023.

This is a place you have to know is there and keep your eyes peeled in order to find, because even with GPS taking us straight to the driveway it still took us a moment to find it.

The spacious tasting room is surrounded by grounds with several outdoor seating areas, some overlooking a well-kept pond.

For my tasting I had the Cyndi Ros&eacture;, the Five-05 (a sweet white), the Sunset Red (sweet red), and the Winterzauber (a seasonal cabernet infused with chocolate and raspberries). We ended up buying a bottle of the Winterzauber.

700 Coon Creek Rd
Metamora, IL 61548
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OUT OF BUSINESS

Scooter’s 1732nd bar, first visited in 2023.

Because of the farewell party the place was absolutely packed.
Unfortunately they were out of nearly all the cocktails, so the two in our group who don’t like beer ended up not getting anything.

I had the Yülogy (winter warmer).

112 State St
Peoria, IL 61602
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Scooter’s 1731st bar, first visited in 2023.

I had fish & chips and a Brasserie Noir (2017) by Goose Island Beer Co. — Bourbon County Brand Stout aged in Brasserie Noir red wine barrels.

619 Southwest Water Street
Peoria, IL 61602
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Scooter’s 1730th bar, first visited in 2023.

Once side of the building is the brewery and bar, where food is also served including a weekend brunch. (It’s a full bar, not just beer.) Just outside the bar area is a an even larger, partially-covered patio.

The other side of the facility is an axe-throwing venue that, while partly integrated with the brewery, has to be booked separately.

I had the 2023 Barrel Aged Night Shift Regular (Russian Imperial Stout).

8012 N Hale Ave
Peoria, IL 61615
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Scooter’s 1051st bar, first visited in 2014.

We arrived too late to get to try any of the food they are famous for, but the smells from the kitchen as it was being cleanup up were salivating. The front portion of the building is the main bar area, while the back had more of a family restaurant area along with a covered/heated semi-outdoor seating area. There appeared to be an upper level as well.

We didn’t explore much here, we just sat at the bar relaxing with a few rounds of beer for the first time all day.

Due to the neighboring Superman statue and Superman museum, this bar’s signature drink is a bright green concoction called Kryptonite. However after hearing the list of ingredients we decided it was too complicated of a drink to ask them to make for us while they were busy trying to prep for closing.

323 Ferry St
Metropolis, IL 62960
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618-524-5525
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Scooter’s 935th bar, first visited in 2011.

A giant Jenga game near the front door caught our interest. I hearly bumped it walking past while several twentysomethings were playing. (Our table of late 30s/early 40s was by far the oldest group in here.)

2630 N Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60614
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Scooter’s 934th bar, first visited in 2011.

2211 W. Diversy Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
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Scooter’s 847th bar, first visited in 2010.

We were expecting a dance club, but stepping inside we found that it was nothing of the sort. It was a good dive bar just like all the others we had seen in town.

This was the busiest place we had been to in Quincy, which made sense since it was now the only place open. We grabbed a couple of Busch Light bottles and started out seated at the bar, but later moved to stand at the end of the bar.

A familiar-looking dude approached us. “Wow, you guys are still going at it?” he asked. “You really are going to all the bars in town.”

B explained to him how we were on a road trip and on our way back to Kansas City, and how we go barhopping everywhere we go and log all of the stops on a web site.

“So THAT’S why you were taking notes!”, he suddenly exclaimed as a look of realization and relief came over his face.

At that moment, I realized why this guy looked so familiar.

“You’re the bartender from North End Tavern, right?” I asked.

“That’s right,” he said. We were wondering what was up with the notebooks and the pictures you were taking.”

“But, you were in the other room shooting pool,” I protested, “how did you even see me doing that?”

“I was a scout in the Army,” he replied, “Nothing gets past me in my bar.”

So much for thinking I was being stealthy earlier. Oh well. Having a beer with the bartender from our first bar in Quincy made a good bookend for the evening now that we were at our last bar in Quincy.

906 Hampshire Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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Scooter’s 846th bar, first visited in 2010.

We finally found Player’s, but as we parked the car, two men stepped out and the lights went off.

“Are we too late?” we asked.

“Not if you hurry,” one of them replied, “the bartender is still in there.”

We went on inside and ordered a couple of bottles, promising the be quick. All of the lights were off, so we drank quickly in nearly total darkness.

The men from outside came back in, and B began to wonder if we were making them all uncomfortable. After a couple of minutes he straight up asked them if we were making them nervous, and reassured them that we were harmless.

We finished out beer and thanked them, and they locked the door behind us as we left.

Here is the least helpful interior picture of a bar ever… this is a pretty accurate representation of the light level in which we were drinking.

225 North 5th Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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Scooter’s 845th bar, first visited in 2010.

“17 miles,” he said, after checking the GPS.

It was then that I realized that the bar I was thinking of was actually located in Hannibal, not Quincy.

“Oh, hell, have it just find us the closest bar, then.”

After a short but tricky reroute down almost to the Mississippi River waterfront, we pulled up in front of Kutter’s Bar & Grill.

This was a large, clean, and very nice restaurant-bar. Our bartender, Tina, showed us some of their bar merchandise and told us a little bit of the history. For instance, the riverfront strip we were on had been a red light district several years ago. “Little Chicago,” is what the locals called it.

236 N. Front Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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Scooter’s 844th bar, first visited in 2010.

• While I cannot for the life of me figure out why we would have been driven north to Cherry Street after leaving Jimbo’s Place, this bar is in the right spot to have been seen in the rearview mirror if we then turned left onto 5th Street.
• Circling around the block to go back to it would have taken us to B&R Tavern.
• It’s the only building in all of Quincy whose satellite view shape seems to correspond with the photo I took. And believe me, I checked them all!

So why are we confused?

Because when we arrived, we saw a sign that said “Halftime Sports Bar” and recorded that as the name of this bar. But we can find no listing for a bar by that name in Quincy, nor can we find a liquor license issue to a place with that name.

So, I am working with the assumption that we were in French Quarters, and that at sometime in the past it was known as Halftime Sports Bar.

With all that said, the only note I wrote about this bar is “Beer was served in plastic cups.” That’s it, that’s all I thought to write. But, as you can see in the interior photos, it’s pretty similar to the other bars we had visited so far in Quincy.

1139 North 5th Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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(217) 222-9177

Scooter’s 843rd bar, first visited in 2010.

We had decided to stop this portion of the trip and head downtown to barhop on foot. But as we made a turn I noticed a bar in my rearview mirror and decided we ought to go ahead and stop. As I circled around the block to get to it, we found yet another bar! (I love this town!) We pulled up to what turned out to be the B&R Tavern.

We parked the van across the street from the bar, but just as we were about to get out, B’s phone rang. While he was on the call, I decided to pass time by taking pictures. But a man had just left the bar, and I didn’t want him to think I was taking pictures of him, so I waited, fumbling with my camera in the driver’s seat. After a moment B had got out of the passenger side and started pacing beside the van while on the phone.

The man who had stepped out of the bar would not stop looking at me, and I noticed him get on his phone. Thinking he’d never leave, I got out and walked around to the back of the van, pretending to rummage through our cargo just to pass the time until the guy would get out of my way.

FINALLY he got into his vehicle and drove away, slowly, talking on the phone the whole time. Meanwhile B’s phone conversation ended and he dashed on into the bar, entering the side door. I was still outside, and hadn’t taken any photos yet. I took one quick picture (which sadly turned out crappy as you can see above) and entered through the front door.

I stepped inside to see B seated at the bar, perfectly still, The female bartender, with her phone pressed to her ear, looked at me nervously, then seemed relieved. “Okay, the second one is in now,” she said into the phone. “I think it’s okay.”

As it turns out, this bar had recently been nearly robbed, and our arrival had set off so many red flags with the man who had just left that he called the bartender to warn her about us!

After she warmed up to us and learned about our travels, she had a good laugh with us about her worries. She then told us about the attempted robbery, and it’s a tale of criminal ineptness and stupidity with few rivals!

It seems that one of the B&R’s regulars came into the bar with a ski mask over his head, intent on robbing the place. The bartender, the same woman we were talking to now, immediately recognized him and assumed he was joking. She laughed in his face and told him he looked ridiculous. So he took off the mask, sat down and had a few drinks, paid his tab, and left. A few minutes later the Scrub-a-Dub Laundry across the street was robbed. The bartender was shocked when the police showed up and told her that she had been the original target of the robbery.

But it doesn’t end there. A few days later, out on bail, the robber had the cajones to show up back at B&R Tavern to shoot some pool! He seemed genuinely surprised when they kicked him out and banned him for life.

So, back to the B&R Tavern. This is a rather big bar with unusually clean restrooms. It had started out as a smaller building, then later had an addition wrapped around its north and west sides which now served as space for pool tables and restaurant seating. There’s also a newer outdoor area.

This place has been the B&R Tavern for about 20 years. Prior to that it was known by the longer form of its name, Bob & Rays, for about 50-60 years.

I wonder what “other unhygienic acts” they had in mind?

339 Cedar Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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(217) 222-7356

Scooter’s 842nd bar, first visited in 2010.

When we pulled up the bartender (who was alone) had just stepped outside for a smoke. He came back in to pour us our drinks, we offered to behave ourselves so he could go back out and smoke but he wasn’t comfortable with that idea.

We told him about our travels, and when we mentioned we were from Kansas City he list up, remembering visits to a huge hospital in Kansas City when he was young. The description he gave did not ring a bell with either of us, but we later identified it as the McCleary-Thornton-Minor Hospital in Excelsior Springs, MO. So, if you’re reading this, Mr. Bartender, that’s the hospital you were thinking of!

He also gave us additional info on the history of the town. The original German immigrants had set the town up with a church and a pub on nearly every corner. During Prohibition there were as many as 120 bars or more in town. By the 1960s that number had thinned to somewhere in the 70s. He estimated that the number was in the 50s today, which fit with the estimates I had made while planning this trip.

Our conversation about the town’s history came to an abrupt halt when a very distraught woman ran into the bar and pulled the bartender away from us. After several minutes passed, during which time we channel surfed on the TV to pass the time, the two returned from the back. The woman was in tears and just when we thought she was calming down, she started yelling at us and accusing B of being a cop. The bartender tried to assure her he was no such thing, but she wouldn’t believe it. So we took that as our cue to leave.

(I don’t know what it is about B that gives off the cop vibe, but this isn’t even close to being the first time I’ve seen someone in a bar accuse him of being a cop. Or from Vice Squad. Or an FBI agent. Or an INS officer. Or a private detective. Or a sheriff’s deputy. It’s crazy!)

B channel surfs during the crisis…

601 Chestnut Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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(217) 224-3361

Scooter’s 841st bar, first visited in 2010.

“The Club, formerly The Saddle Club,” the bartender informed us after I asked where we were. “And it was called The High Hat quite a long time before that.”

The bartender here was pretty friendly and helpful. He told us a little of what he knew about the town’s history. It had been settled by German immigrants, and he suspected this was a good part of the reason for so many taverns.

We asked him what place we should check out next, and he recommended a place called Jimbo’s. Though I had to re-ask him what it was called a few minutes later, we were quickly able to find it after we left.

1023 North 10th Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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(217) 222-7169

Scooter’s 840th bar, first visited in 2010.

This town is awesome!

We decided to start out with the one on the left, which was a tiny little converted house called the Silver Moon Tavern.

Officially the capacity was 21, but there’s only seating for about 16.

B chatted about football with the lone other patron, while I admired the broken shuffleboard game.

Gotta love this mugshot from a theft that occurred here a while back!

1020 N 10TH St.
Quincy, IL 62301
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(217)-228-0854

Scooter’s 839th bar, first visited in 2010.

Unfortunately it was pretty quiet in here and the bartender stayed in conversation with his friend after serving us up with some Busch cans, so I don’t have much else to say about this place.

1301 North 12th Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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Scooter’s 838th bar, first visited in 2010.

The Cedar Club was fairly busy, one of the busier bars we visited this Monday evening. The bartender gave us info about bar closing times (1am, except for a couple of bars open until 2am).

We noticed a virtual shuffleboard game, something we had never seen before until today, so we took our beers to the back to give it a try. It took some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it it’s very similar to the real game.

2001 Cedar Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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Scooter’s 837th bar, first visited in 2010.

Quincy is a dive bar lover’s paradise, with at least 55 that I had identified before we embarked on this road trip. In fact there are so many bars that as we approached town, I told B, “Tell The Bitch (our affectionate name for his GPS device) to find a bar near 24th & Cedar (an intersection I pulled out of my ass) and then we’ll work our way west from there.” As luck would have it, there was a bar at that very intersection.

Beer is very cheap at the North End Tavern (as it would prove to be all throughout Quincy), with domestic pints at $1.75 and Blue Moon at $2.25. We opted for our trademark 10oz beers, however.

We sat under a large back umbrella at the horseshoe-shaped bar. We were alone at the bar, save for a couple sitting catty-corner from us. The bartender was in the other room shooting pool with an unseen person, though he was quick and attentive despite being out of sight during his game.

The couple sitting at the bar kept watching us, and this made me too nervous to take pictures. But eventually they relocated to the back room, and I quickly snapped my shots before they returned. I was proud of myself for being so stealthy.

Eleven bars later, I would learn otherwise…

1130 North 24th Street
Quincy, IL 62301
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(217) 222-8103

Scooter’s 836th bar, first visited in 2010.

The main bar area had a pool table and a small stage area. To the left of the L-shaped bar was a little alcove with video poker/slots.

728 Bainbridge Street
Barry, IL 62312
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(217) 335-2023
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Scooter’s 835th bar, first visited in 2010.

We got to talking with some of the hunters, and learned that almost none of them were locals. Most of them were from New England and New York, and had traveled to Barry to take advantage of deer season.

We were particularly interested in the stories told by an older hunter at the opposite end of the bar. After launching into a tirade in which he described deer as vermin (comparable to rats and cockroaches) and called for them all to be shot and wiped off the face of the Earth, he ranted about several related topics “dear” to his heart:

• Bashed modern hunters who climb up in trees with all their equipment instead of being on the ground actually hunting the deer like Daniel Boone did
• Talked about how he used to shoot pigeons inside the city limits, and that the best way to hunt deer is to drive by and shoot them from your open window
• Talked about how, when he was a kid, he and his friends would take shotguns to school and keep them in their lockers
• Talked about how when he was a kid he’d shoot rabbits and sell them to old people (and people at ball games) for fifty cents each, and if he couldn’t find enough rabbits he’d shoot cats and clean & dress them so no one would know the difference

A couple of sound clips are available for your listening pleasure.

• Clip 1
• Clip 2

745 Mortimer Street
Barry, IL 62312
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(217) 335-3526

Scooter’s 834th bar, first visited in 2010.

Beer here was very cheap. For example, Fat Tire on tap was only $1.50.

The Still is divided into at least 4 main rooms, including a small bar area, a piano lounge, and a game room with pool tables. The piano is a baby grand, painted with Budweiser branding.

14758 Old Route 54
New Berlin, IL 62670
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(217) 488-3325
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Scooter’s 833rd bar, first visited in 2010.

It might have just been the fact that this place was brightly lit, and the horseshoe shaped bar resulted in everyone facing each other.

Shepp’s is a pretty big venue, with pool tables, shuffleboard, darts, and pinball, and a popcorn cart. There’s another room to the side with restaurant seating.

111 East Illinois Street
New Berlin, IL 62670
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(217) 488-6363

Scooter’s 832nd bar, first visited in 2010.

HALLELUJAH!!!

FINALLY, a coveted 10-oz pour. We love the 10-oz pour. Not only are you able to enjoy all the beer before it warms up or begins to go flat, but this is the ideal size for marathon barhopping. It is almost impossible to get full on these.

Normally 10-oz pours are common in dive bars, but they had been strangely rare so far on this trip. But from this point onward on this trip, they would prove to be the norm.

Nellie’s had a pool table and video poker machines, and also served the same Butch’s pizza as Curly’s. The web site also mentions a beer garden but we didn’t notice it.

For the majority of our visit, the bartender was standing nearby us ranting to one of her friends about candles.

2717 North Main Street
Decatur, IL 62526
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Scooter’s 831st bar, first visited in 2010.

It turned out we were in luck, because pizza was on special today — $5 for a large and $3.50 for a small. Our indecisiveness between pepperoni and sausage led to us accidentally getting one of each.

While we waited we partook of free sausages simmering in a crock pot. Apart from the bar there is also a DJ booth and a back room with a fireplace and video slots.

We were a bit let down at first when we found out the pizza isn’t made fresh here but actually comes from a local distributor (Butch’s). But this disappointment disappeared when the pizza arrived and we saw how good the meat toppings looked and tasted how delicious the pizza was. The shake-on spices supplied made it even better. It went along great with our $1 mugs of beer.

2683 N. Water Street
Decatur, IL 62526
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(217) 875-9800
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Scooter’s 830th bar, first visited in 2010.

5995 E US 36
Long Creek, IL 62521
US
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(217) 864-9227
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Scooter’s 829th bar, first visited in 2010.

There’s a someone larger room in the back with pool tables. I didn’t notice an obvious area for bands.

The distinctive feature of this bar is the ceiling tiles for sale. For a price, you can “buy” a tile and have any message you want painted onto it. (In retrospect, we should have done this!) As you can see in the third photo below, you need to be careful about what you choose to have printed on as the tiles are more permanent than some other things.

102 E 1st St
Hammond, IL 61929
US
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(217) 262-3049

Scooter’s 828th bar, first visited in 2010.

Kel’s is a big open room with an L-shaped bar in the far back. There’s a stage in the front, pool tables, Silver Strike, foosball, video poker, and an Extreme Hunting game. There’s also a stage in the front of the bar.

We played a game of Silver Strike that was going very well for both of us, until B “broke” the game in the 10th frame.

We enjoyed our “woodsy” Busch cans…

115 S. Main
Atwood, IL 61913
US
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Scooter’s 827th bar, first visited in 2010.

The actual bar is centralized and configured in such a way that the bartender can serve all three rooms simultaneously.

The movie “Knocked Up” was playing, so we stayed a little longer watching the flick with the other customers.

As we were leaving, I got busted taking pictures of the place by the owner. I rarely get caught when I’m being discrete, but this made twice so far just today. Damn. She seemed nervous about it but since I was leaving I just said “Hi”, smiled, and ducked out.

1003 E Southline Rd
Tuscola, IL 61953
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(217) 253-3172
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Scooter’s 826th bar, first visited in 2010.

We chose wisely, as we had a great time visiting this bar.

(Technically this was a bonus bar, as neither the GPS nor Google Maps had it listed. Dog House had been our original destination.)

Our bartender was the 21-year-old daughter of the bar’s owner. She’s a very busy gal, in addition to working at the bar she is in college and also in her 4th year with the Air National Guard. She was delightful to talk to.

There’s a grill right at the bar, and pool tables in a room off to the side. We were unsure if there was outdoor seating, it looks like it from the outside but I didn’t notice a way to access it.

The bar sells all sorts of branded merchandise (see the photos below), even including “It’ll Do”-branded thongs! (See photo below.) I bought a koozie — which they refer to as “huggies” in this region.

We noticed a prominently displayed “banned” list, a redacted photo of which appears below. I asked what you had to do to get such a public shaming. The stories were varied and about what one would expect. However the story of Blake, whose full name I wish I could reveal because it’s a classic name, takes the cake. I can’t remember the exact detail of the initial offense that got him in trouble with the bartender, but his act of retaliation against the bar led to sanctions against the bar from the Illinois ABC. Consequently, Blake is banned for life. In fact, he is SO banned, that it’s written into contract that if the bar is ever sold, any future owner must honor the ban. Sucks to be that guy!

Incidentally, as we were seated at the bar I noticed a sign on the wall that mentioned the year 1989. I looked at it more carefully, and began to laugh.

“Uh, you know how you mentioned the last 2 bars we were in first opened in 1989?” I asked B.

“Yeah,” he said.

I pointed at the sign. “Yeah, that’s the sign stating that you have to have been born by today’s date in 1989 in order to be served.”

So much for the wacky coincidence…

106 North Oak Street
Arcola, IL 61910
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(217) 268-5078
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Scooter’s 825th bar, first visited in 2010.

In addition to video poker and a pool table, this bar has something that’s still rate in dive bars but is starting to turn up in more and more dive bars: free wifi.

The original Teresa’s burned down in 1993, the building we were in replaced it soon after. Teresa still owns the bar today.

After we left, B asked me if I had notice that both of the bars in this town had originally opened in 1989. “No, I didn’t notice,” I said, “but that’s a pretty weird coincidence.”

Or so I thought, until we reached the next bar…

1806 E State Route 133
Hindsboro, IL 61930
US
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(217) 346-2239

Scooter’s 824th bar, first visited in 2010.

We couldn’t sit in the exact corner because of a big peanut vending machine in the corner. According to a sign on the machine, an M&M is hidden somewhere within the peanuts and if you get it in your handful you get a free drink.

The two of us plus the bartender sat for a while watching a History Channel documentary about Fort Knox.

1863 E State Route 133
Hindsboro, IL 61930
US
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(217) 346-2912

Scooter’s 823rd bar, first visited in 2010.

Behind us, the owner had the old CD jukebox completely opened up and he was making repairs to it. We were impressed that he had the know-how to do that.

The L-shaped bar is huge, unusually long for this type of bar. The owner later informed us it is 54 feet long.

We got to talking with the owner, and we were surprised to learn that he had been in poor health until recently and as a result the bar had actually been closed for the past 5 months. In fact, we walked in just minutes after he opened the doors for their first day back open! Indeed, we soon heard another customer excitedly call a friend to say “You’ll never believe where I am right now!”

The owner took us around on a short tour of the bar, showing us all the things he was having to put back together and showing us the artwork and paintings his son had made as decor for the bar. We told him all about our travels, and I began openly taking pictures.

In a flash (literally, except falsely so as you’ll see in a moment), the bartender dashed over. “Are you okay?” he asked the owner. “I saw the flash go off and saw these guys taking pictures of you.” The owner calmed him down and told him everything was okay. The funny part, though, I didn’t even have the flash turned on.

After the walk-through we went back to our seats and we noticed a siren light mounted on the bar in front of B. The owner noticed us notice it and flipped a switch, causing us both to leap from our seats due to the extremely loud buzzer sound it made.

We always love finding bars where we actually get to meet and talk with the owner. It was a really nice stroke of luck that we happened to walking in here first thing on re-opening day.

139 East Court Street
Paris, IL 61944
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(217) 465-3202
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Scooter’s 822nd bar, first visited in 2010.

The aspect I most remember about the bar, for whatever reason, is the autographed photo of Judge Judy hanging behind the bar.

The bartender and another customer were vigorously discussing the local Domino’s Pizza, specifically stories of how terrible their delivery service and customer service is.

The bartender told us about how, under a new Illinois law, she had to get rid of all her video slots / video poker machines. Oddly, this would turn out to be just about the only one of the 26 bars we’d end up visiting in Illinois today that did not have video slot/poker machines in operation.

112 East Court Street
Paris, IL 61944
US
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(217) 463-3505

Scooter’s 772nd bar, first visited in 2010.

This biker-friendly bar was the roughest of our five stops in O’Fallon, as we played Silver Strike we listened to an older gentleman at the bar angrily complaining about interracial marriage.

As would be expected, Mandy’s has a pool table and hosts live music.

Related links:

• Heavy Metal / Mas Tequila (Sammy Hagar) covers by Mediocre Metal
• Mediocre Metal medley from a gig at Mandy’s in O’Fallon, IL


108 E. State St.
O Fallon, IL 62269
US
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(618) 624-3760

]]> http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/mandys-east-state-bar/feed/ 0 http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/haneys-place/ http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/haneys-place/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:13:00 +0000 scooterj http://www.scootersbars.com/?p=6845 (Downtown, O Fallon, IL)

Scooter’s 771st bar, first visited in 2010.




We had planned to visit only 3 bars in O’Fallon, but this place just looked too tempting and we had to stop in. This style of 19th-century corner tavern we would later learn is common in this region.

The front room is very well-kept, with ornate and beautiful woodwork. The back room has a pool table, video games, darts, an ATM, and video poker.

We found that the rather old and worn out Golden Tee had several credits in it, so we played (with difficulty due to the aging trackball) until the credits ran out.














126 E. State St.
O Fallon, IL 62269
US
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(618) 628-1064
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]]> http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/haneys-place/feed/ 0 http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/the-outdoorsman/ http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/the-outdoorsman/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:12:00 +0000 scooterj http://www.scootersbars.com/?p=6841 (Downtown, O Fallon, IL)

Scooter’s 770th bar, first visited in 2010.




This was our third stop in O’Fallon as we walked around the downtown area.

A laid-back, neighborhood dive bar on the eastern end of the downtown area. This was a very clean smelling bar, as in we arrived right as they finished cleaning and the smell of cleansers still hung in the air.

There was a pool table, a covered patio, and a back alcove with video poker machines.






127 E. 1st St.
O Fallon, IL 62269
US
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(618) 622-1354
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]]> http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/the-outdoorsman/feed/ 0 http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/towne-lounge/ http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/towne-lounge/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:11:00 +0000 scooterj http://www.scootersbars.com/?p=6836 (Downtown, O Fallon, IL)

Scooter’s 769th bar, first visited in 2010.




We popped in here after our first visit to the local VFW and were greeted by an enthusiastic young bartender who really hyped the food. Later during our visit he was replaced by an older man we think may have been the owner.

Bottled beer only, though taps should be arriving in Dec 2010 according to the first bartender. We settled on the day’s special, $1 Natural Light bottles.

It was really too early for lunch so we skipped the food, but we learned that they have a fish fry every Friday.

The bar is decorated mainly with a golf theme. There;s a pool table, a small patio, and a small back room with video games and snack/smoke vending machines. There’s also free wifi.








119 W. 1st St.
O Fallon, IL 62269
US
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(618) 632-8886
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]]> http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/towne-lounge/feed/ 0 http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/vfw-post-805/ http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/vfw-post-805/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:10:00 +0000 scooterj http://www.scootersbars.com/?p=6830 (Downtown, O Fallon, IL)

Scooter’s 768th bar, first visited in 2010.




We pulled into O’Fallon a little after 11am on Veterans Day, looking for some veterans to honor. Unfortunately, when we first arrived, we found the place mostly empty.

This is one of the nicer VFW bars I’ve been to. It has lots of seating, shuffleboard, several video games including PowerPutt, an ATM, a nice patio area, and several additional rooms.

After our beer we spent an hour or so wandering around other watering holes in the area. When we returned the VFW was hopping as the town was gearing up for a parade, so we purchased 20 beer tokens to pass around to the men and women in uniform and give them out thanks.





Always love a Spuds McKenzie sighting!





223 W. 1st St
O Fallon, IL 62269
US
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(618) 624-2651

]]> http://www.scootersbars.com/2010/11/vfw-post-805/feed/ 0 http://www.scootersbars.com/2008/11/full-moon-bar-grill-2/ http://www.scootersbars.com/2008/11/full-moon-bar-grill-2/#comments Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:10:00 +0000 scooterj http://www.scootersbars.com/?p=5780 (Vandalia, IL)

Scooter’s 519th bar, first visited in 2008.




Been in business since 1988. Friendly local dive with pool table, jukebox, and an aquarium behind the bar.






120 S 6th St
Vandalia, IL 62471
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(618) 283-4873
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