Bar #14: Nilda's Place

7:00pm, Wednesday, July 6

1858 W. Iowa St.

Price of Old Style: $3.00 cans

Nilda’s is one of those places that hasn’t benefited from the gentrification of Wicker Park. It’s in a tough location, on Iowa street that is just far away from Damen Ave and Chicago Ave that it could go unnoticed by residents who have lived in the neighborhood since it became the “hip” place to live 10 years ago. Face it, the action is on Division or Chicago, and if you’re not there, you’re in trouble.

We entered the open door with a little hesitation… No lights were on, a woman was cleaning up some wrappers from a take out meal, and there was tiniest dog I have ever seen scurrying around the place. Almost stepped on the poor thing. We asked if they were open, and the woman said “si”.

Nilda is a fascinating woman…here is what we learned in the course of drinking our Old Styles, in the dark:

· She came here from Puerto Rico and opened the bar 25 years ago and lives upstairs

· The neighborhood used to be real rough…there have been a few shootings mere feet from her doorstep

· The smoking ban really has hurt her business

· The dog’s name is “Cosita”, which means “little thing”

· When she spoke to us, she spoke English, but repeated many words in Spanish, and waited until we said them as well. Not being rude, but more of a “if you’re gonna drink in my bar, you’re gonna speak a little of my language, and I’ll help you”. I really appreciated it.

· Has 3 children and 5 grandchildren, two of which graduated from UIC and IU last year.

· Has three parakeets in a cage behind the bar

· Doesn’t keep set hours…if the door is locked, just knock. She may be curled up on the couch by the door taking a nap

· Five years ago she was offered $1 million for the building, and she declined. The building has recently been valued at $190k

· When she retires, she wants to move to Alaska

Bar #13: Rainbo Club

Wednesday, June 29, 11:30pm

1150 N. Damen Ave.

Price of Old Style: $3.00 tall boys

Rainbo Club doesn’t have an Old Style sign, but it is worth including in The Project. Everyone knows Rainbo Club by their neon sign, but when you have another sign that was made exclusively with Old Style, you get an exception.

The Rainbo Club has 4 things going for it: (1) the perfect ratio of seats at the bar, booths, and open space for everyone else to mill around; (2) a photo booth; (3) a great bar set up (see review of The Levee); (4) distinction of being a popular hipster hangout.

This place used to be one of the smokiest bars I had ever been in, along with Ronny’s and Glascott’s, but the smoking ban hasn’t really slowed this place down. It was packed at 11pm on a Wednesday. No TVs, no overpowering music…just a bunch of people having good conversation. An added bonus is the art gallery on either side of the front door. I am assuming local stuff, but in a great display area, and some really good pieces. We asked the bartender about the defunct stage behind the bar…he said that it was mainly for Polka bands that played there in the 1930’s.

Even 80 years ago the Rainbo Club (or whatever it was called) was cool…

R.I.P.: Czar Bar

1812 W. Division St.

The Czar Bar is a half-block west from Phyllis' Musical Inn. It's been closed for years, but the sign is still hanging there. Check out this great write-up on Czar Bar by Sean Parnell for his Chicago Bar Project.

Bar #12: Phyllis' Musical Inn

11:00pm, Wednesday, June 29

1800 W. Division St.

Price of Old Style: $3.75 bottles

We had planned on seeing some live music at Phyllis’s, but we ended up playing a game of H-O-R-S-E instead. The band that was supposed to play that night didn’t show up, so the bar wasn’t that crowded. The stage was a good size – they could definitely fit 100+ people in there for shows. There was also a Galaga and Ms. Pac Man machine towards the front. Arcade games while listening to live music...that sounds like a good Friday night. Apparently they sponsor a softball team, because there was a bag of bats in the corner...I guess that is one way not to lose them--keep them at the bar. The team was not very successful...there were only 3 trophies above the bar and the bartender told us that the players of Gold Star (bar across the street) come by every year showing off their softball trophies they win.

We sat at the bar for a little bit, there were only a few regulars there this night, including an older guy drinking a can of Hamms. Impressive… We also noticed there was only one beer on tap--Moosehead--which came out of a tap sticking out of a huge old blue cooler.

We then realized there was an outdoor patio, and walked out to one of the biggest beer gardens in Wicker Park. And, to top it all off, there was a basketball hoop attached to the brick wall. We hooped it up for a bit, but at 11pm a guy came out and said he was closing down the beer garden. It was Hamms guy! We complied with his request, understanding that it was late on a Wednesday and there are residences around the bar, so we went in and chatted a bit with Mike, aka Hamms guy. Mike is originally from Milwaukee, and has been running the bar for 17 years. He also told us Phyllis’s has been around since the 1950’s. Although we didn’t see it that night, the bar has definitely benefited from the gentrification of Wicker Park. The place is always packed on the weekends, due to the fact that the live music is usually free and they still have cheap beer (for the area). It seems like Phyllis’ Musical Inn will continue to be a Wicker Park fixture for years to come.