The Great Townie Bar Adventure?

As mentioned by Bobblehead over on Churchill’s Cigar, the bar on First Avenue formally known as Rick's Grill and Spirits has changed hands and is now 2 Dogs Pub. After a minor remodel, 2 Dogs should have opened for lunch today according to a P-C article published Saturday. Expanding the number of draft lines to 24, the owner told the P-C he plans to focus on selling craft beer. A customer loyalty program (a mug club, perhaps?) could be in the works.

While I applaud the change, I suppose I will shed a proverbial tear for Rick’s. (A real tear would be a stretch.) The last time I was there, Rick himself, absolutely sloshed beyond belief, sat at our table and started telling us how much a diehard Cubs fan his dad was. He started telling us a story to prove his point about five times, but never once got around to finishing it. (I think Rick knows Mervgotti, which is why he approached our table.) The food was good (there was a veggie or garden burger on the menu), the beer selection was decent, and it was outside the range of roving gangs of heavily perfumed frat guys and sorority girls. But I am sure the same will go for 2 Dogs.

Such is the appeal of IC’s outlying townie bars. At least I think. I have to admit: I do not have as much experience with them as I do the holes in the wall downtown. But, as Bobblehead may be suggesting, a cross-blog comprehensive review of them could be in order.

Of course, what exactly is a townie bar? Is it any bar outside of the downtown core and walking distance for bar-crawl-shirt-wearing college students? Does it include the bars and restaurants along The Strip and the stretch of road colloquially known as 965? (Interestingly, the only part of Iowa Highway 965 that still technically exists is Coral Ridge Avenue between the Interstate 80 interchange and US Highway 6. Everything north was turned over to city and county authorities.) Does it need a certain socio-economic clientele and character? Do American Legions count? That is something Bobblehead and I will need to determine if we do this.

Regardless, there are a lot of bars I have not been to in the area. Eggys (NL), Gus’ (CV), Nickelodeon (CV; I have no clue if it is still open), whatever that bar is near Bruegger’s on First Avenue (CV), Flannigan’s (CV), Coach’s Corner (IC; the Rick’s of the west side), Caliente (IC), Grizzly’s (IC), and Shakespeare's (IC). I suppose you can add 2 Dogs to that list since I have technically not been there. As a beer nut, I guess it behooves me to pay a visit to each, though beer and bar culture are probably totally separate beasts.

So: what say you, Bobblehead?