Bar Crawling in the Sloop

To start off the weekend a co-worker organized a small bar crawl in the Sloop. Although we weren't sure how long we would crawl our itinerary was pretty aggressive:

• Kasey's Tavern (701 S Dearborn)
• Buddy Guy's Legend's (754 S. Wabash)
• Wabash Tap (1233 S. Wabash)
• Weather Mark Tavern (1503 S. Michigan)
• Reggie's Music Joint (2105 S. State)

So we got out of work early and rendezvoused at Kasey's around 2:30 on Friday afternoon. Everyone in the party was excited to check out Kasey's for a variety of reasons. One of our crawl patron's great grandfather owned the bar during the early part of the 20th century and from what we could tell the bar might have had some fixtures from that time (ie - the old school ceiling). According to their website it has the 2nd oldest liquor license in Chicago.

Overall our experience was great. The beer selection was robust and the waitress was knowledgeable and gave great recommendations on brews. However, after a couple rounds we quickly realized it was going to be tough to stay on track for the crawl (which seemed to be expected).

Based on some conversation within the group, we quickly called an audible on the itinerary and headed two blocks west to Villain's bar and grill (649 S. Clark). For the majority of the group it was a new spot. Upon entering the eccentric and dimly lit bar we quickly sat down at the first booth we saw. The waitress then brought us their brew and food menu. If you've never been, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the exotic and lengthy beer menu (which was even larger then Kasey's). After we studied the menu, we put in an order for a round and added some appetizers for good measure (Tatter Tots, Villains quesadillas and Mac-n-cheese bites).

After a couple rounds of good beers, a second order of Mac-n-Cheese bites and a couple random friends meeting up it was time to move on. Realizing it was already later then expected (maybe 6 or 6:30?), we decided to jump over a bunch of the planned bars and go straight to Reggie's. Upon getting out of cabs and descending on the music joint, we were quickly faced with a dilemma; the annoying $5 cover. These types of obstacles can easily derail a bar crawl and that's exactly what happened. Since this is America we put the decision to a vote and it was decided 4-3 to skip Reggie's and head towards Chinatown. As an FYI, Reggie's had a pig roasting that everyone could have ate with the payment of the $5 cover (it smelled delicious). Although we didn't go inside, Reggie's had a solid crowd from the looks of it and is something we hope to check out soon.

Anyway, off to Chinatown and Three Happiness (209 W. Cermack). This place is usually packed, but to be honest we've only been during lunch. For dinner, it was nearly empty which was fine because at this point nobody cared and we were ready to grub (or at least I was). We opted for the sharing method which was a good decision. Although it might not be the best Chinese food in the world, it hit the spot after a couple adult beverages.

All in all a good time in the Sloop. Although it didn't go as planned (what bar crawl ever does) it seemed like everyone had a good time. And come to think about it, can we even call it a bar crawl if we only went to two bars and a Chinese restaurant? Regardless, we're calling it a bar crawl.