Bar #23: Loafer's

2600 W. Lawrence Ave.

11:30pm, Wednesday, July 27

Price of Old Style: None (again!) - $2 High Life cans

We got to Loafers right before the skies opened again with the third insane thunderstorm of the week. There was a decent crowd, and everyone was DRUNK. Because it was raining so hard out, people were literally standing at the door smoking and blowing their smoke out the door. Unfortunately, no Old Style! WTF? And no PBR! $2 cans of High Life somewhat made up for it, but seriously...

After getting our beers, we hear one girl tell another: “you smell nice…like perfume and SoCo… I like it…”

There was also a guy whose normal voice was like Vince Vaughn at the end of Swingers…

We unwillingly met perfume/SoCo girl who proceeded to tell us that she was a huge Steelers fan, had meet all the Steelers players, went on two dates with Robbie Gould, had a 9 year old son, and worked at two other bars in the city… She also told us that they guy sitting on her other side wanted to date her, but that wasn’t going to happen. Who did she end up walking out of the bar with, yep…that guy!

At least she didn’t leave with the guy who spent the entire evening at the end of the bar watching “Murder, She Wrote”. He even had the remote! I guess he couldn’t get Lifetime Channel at home…

I’ll give Loafers credit…it is a good neighborhood bar, and with the characters that were hanging out there on a Wednesday night, I would have no problem going back for more. Now if they would take care of that Old Style problem…

Bar #22: Sunnyside Tap

4410 N. Western Ave.

11:00pm, Wednesday, July 27

Price of Old Style: $2.50 bottles

See: Sportsmans Lounge.

Once again, we were the only people in the bar… The bar is run by a couple in their seventies or eighties, and they were just hanging out at the end of the bar, watching TV on an old 20 inch tube. The old woman got us our beers – at least they had Old Style – and went back to the end of the bar, not really in the mood for conversation. How do these places stay open? I couldn’t help but laugh at the old 80’s beer posters on the wall, and they even had a Spuds McKenzie poster behind the bar! The only redeeming thing about Sunnyside was the old school jukebox towards the front…don’t see those much anymore.

Bar #21: Leland Tap

4662 N. Western Ave.

10:15pm, Wednesday, July 27

Price of Old Style: None - $3.00 PBR pints

The Leland Tap sits in the shadow of the Western stop on the Brown Line…attached to a liquor store at Leland & Western. It seems like a perfect spot for a drink after work, but alas, no Old Style. We get our PBR’s and notice the sign along the entire back wall that reads:

LELAND HOUSE OF LIQUOR

WE RESPOND TO YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS

You have to love a bar with humor. There was a good crowd, and it even had a little DJ booth in the corner, probably for the weekends. With any business, it’s all about location, location, location, and the Leland Tap / House of Liquor has that covered.