Bill's Drinking Establishment

Bill's is your standard hole-in-the-wall dive bar; but it's a friendly place none the less. We walked in the door and people did look at us awkwardly, only for a second though. We found a seat at a high-top table near the bar and the bartender left the bar and came over to greet us. This may seem pretty basic but from our experience not all bartenders feel they ever need to leave their perch behind the bar. She was pleasant and quick to get us what we wanted. She even brought us some of their FREE popcorn with our beer and we didn't even ask! That was impressive and completely unexpected. It's the little things that count. I was literally amazed with the gesture. The only other thing she could have done to amaze me more would've been to salt my bev nap before placing my wet mug on it so the glass didn't stick to the napkin - but no one has EVER done that! Anyways, as soon as our pitchers (we were with a couple other people, not just the two of us) were gone, she was over right away asking if we would like another, which we gladly accepted because we were enjoying ourselves. Side note, they had comically small beer mugs (muglets?) and we took a picture next to our fist for perspective.  See the attached photo for a laugh.

Bill's is a great place to wind-down and have conversation. There is mega-touch, a pool table in back and did I mention, free popcorn?! I can see Bill's falling into the same general category as Al's Blue Toad because it is a neighborhood bar that most people would go to because they live nearby (and we did when we lived nearby.) Being on the main drag of Marion may not be a great way to attract business...but we did get a great parking spot right outside the front door!!!

In the grand scheme of things, we have decided there are two categories for regulars to fall into, hostile, and non-confrontational. This is definitely the latter. Some bars make new people feel unwelcome, and Bill's could easily slip into that rut, but I think most of the regulars and staff here know they need to grow to stay in business, and generally welcome anyone with a dollar a thirst for alcohol...which is the right attitude for a bar to take.

P.S. Bill's is another CASH ONLY ESTABLISHMENT :-P ATM charges $3.00 to use! Oh, and the pitchers were on the high end at $6.75 a pop!

The Grades:
Atmosphere: 6
Not a ton of seating, older, a little run down, and old dirty bathrooms.
Service: 6
We almost always get served and welcomed by the bartender!
Food: N/A
Only popcorn here. (FREE) 

Beaver Creek Saloon

This really should be a place that is not for us. It is smack dab in the middle of a residential area...a block off of 1st Ave...and just the kind of bar that you look at, and then pass it by. That being said, we love it. I kind of wish it was down the street from my house so I could go here more often. We liked it at the beginning of the last tour thanks in part to a great bartender who welcomed us with open arms. Since then, we have returned a handful of times and always enjoyed ourselves. This is definitely a place where the regulars will talk to you about anything and make you feel welcome. Some of the bartenders are more chatty than others, but they always make sure your drink is full. Not a lot to this place, one pool table, very well kept bathrooms, one long bar that you can walk completely around, and lots of TVs. They do karaoke every Saturday, I think Friday too, if thats your thing. Not much in the way of food, definitely more of a bar than anything. They do have a toaster oven and a microwave, and I noticed one of the gentlemen at the end of the bar got a pizza at 1 in the morning. No word on the price of said pizza, but depending on the amount of beer consumed, price may or may not matter. If you are going down 2nd Avenue looking for this place, go slow because its easy to miss. Give this place a try!

Side note, it is a cash only bar. You will run into these from time to time, but just an FYI. The ATM on site charges a $2.50 fee to use it.

The Grades:
Atmosphere: 8
For a hole in the wall, there is a ton of TVs, classy bathrooms, and it is very clean.
Service: 9
Bartenders will talk to anyone and rarely let a drink sit empty!
Food: N/A
I guess they serve frozen pizzas, etc...didn't try them, so you decide. 

Al's Blue Toad

It's only right to re-launch the bar tour with a couple cherry bombs and some Czech fried cheese, right?! Well, whether it is right or wrong, that is what we did. Al's Blue Toad has a nice bar atmosphere late at night but seems to be a well functioning local eatery by day, as well. There was a decent crowd but it was not as many as a bar would want on what is supposed to be their busiest night of the week. The Blue Toad has a neighborhood bar feel and we got the idea that it isn't necessarily a bar that you travel to, but one that people who live nearby would frequent. There is plenty of entertainment for bar patrons, though, including a awesome jukebox that looks like a giant iPad. It wasn't too loud that you couldn't talk (I'm always annoyed when I can't talk, let alone hear myself think) and the service was great. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful in making suggestions for the best value on beer, etc. She even tasted the Creole sauce that came with the Czech fried cheese so she could tell us what it tasted like before we ordered. HAH! Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and would go back if we had a reason to. You've gotta love when you order a cherry bomb and it comes in a 3/4 full pint glass for the price of a normal size one!

We liked this bar the first time around when we visited it, and this really was the same experience as before. It definitely has a lot of what we thought were regulars, but we did not feel out of place among them. The decor is pretty nice, but it was rebuilt after the flood, so everything is fairly new. The bar is pretty small, but mainly because they are cramming a bar area, and a restaurant area in a small space.

Side note: and thanks to my co-worker who told me about the Android application for TouchTunes! (the program that runs almost every jukebox in town) We were able to play "tunes" over the jukebox without even getting up! How efficient!

The Grades:
Atmosphere: 8
Not a ton of seating, and small, but everything is brand spanking new due to the flood.
Service: 7
Slower service, but the server was very chatty and helpful!
Food: 6
This may need further investigation, we have only had a few appetizers here, but they were generally good. 

Bar Tour Relaunches

Well, its official. We have restarted The Bar Tour v2.0. We visited the first two bars on the list, and we will be posting blog entries shortly from them. You can expect regular updates, as well as more uniform and constructive blog entries with version 2.0. As with all subsequent versions, there are improvements, which you are welcome to read about in our updated mission statement (found here)

As always, we welcome any and all comments, feedback, insults, etc.  Here are a few photos from our kickoff night!

Bar Tour Reboot v2.0

Hello friends!  This blog has been dead for almost a year because we were tied up with the addition of a new little rugrat to our family.  That being said, our life has stabilized, and Jen can consume alcohol again, and we are fully committed to continuing/finishing the bar tour.  We are going to use this opportunity to adjust our methods a little bit, adjust the rules, update the list, and start again.  Rest assured internet friends, this tour will not be interrupted.  Stay tuned for additional information!