Wrigleyville Bar Project: The Full Shilling

With the name Saloon included in our moniker, one could surmise that we here at TMS like to drinky drinky. One that would make such an assumption would be correct, thereby throwing out the whole, 'when you you assume you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me' bullshit. We're here to profile some of the local watering holes around Wrigley, so that you aren't the poor sap who gets dragged into going to the Cubby Bear before the game, wherein you are soon left wondering how your life spiraled out of control so quickly. Tommy Buzanis has pledged to help out with this column, as he is no stranger to the bottle, but you can rest assured that those promises are as empty as his shot glass. So here it is, another sporadically timed, mildly entertaining column that you can only find here at the TMS. Actually you can probably find lots of info on Wrigley bars in a much more concise and helpful format, but that's neither here nor there.

Today's Bar: The Full Shilling, 3724 N. Clark St.

Douchebag Factor (1-10, with 10 being this guy): 2

Who You'll See Here: More of your 'everyman' will hang here. Groups of people looking to have fun in a place where you don't have to shout at one another to be heard. Of course, lots of Cub fans waiting to go to the game. Also the Guy In The Hotdog Suit is frequently spotted out front. The wait staff was predominantly female, mildly attractive in the girl-next-door kind of way.

What to order: Why, the Tabletapper, of course. Sure it's a novelty thing, but do you want to be the only table that doesn't have one? Didn't think so. Not sure if it's a good buy or not, but when in Rome...

If you were to see a celebrity here, it would be: Glendon Rusch, the guys from Gov't Mule, Kyle Farnsworth (because he'll drink everywhere).

Website: nah, brah. At least I couldn't find one.

Summary: Frankly this place was a breath of fresh air compared to the normal Wrigleyville bar scene. I didn't have to wait for a half an hour to get a table, and I didn't have to set off signal flares to get a waitress over, I didn't encounter a herd of frat boys sporting tribal armband tattoos (although the waitstaff's favorite hobby seemed to include getting large back tats that hang out of the shirts at all edges). The bar itself was Irish in decor, with a spattering of Cub memorabilia on both sides. Bricks are the dominant motif, but it's not too dark. The east side of the building features the typical windows that allow plenty of fresh air and people watching. TVs are not a problem, they feature a flat screen about every six feet, all viewable from high tables, booths, or from a bar stool.

The food was pretty good. It was greasy and hot, with the menu featuring typical bar food, the exception being an emphasis on tater tots. I wanna say it was $1.50 for a half a pound of them, which is a nice companion to the $14.00 table tappers.

If I had one complaint about the place, it would be that while all of the TVs were tuned into the Cub game, half of them appeared to be on a cable feed while the other half were on satellite, therefore throwing off the synch between the two. It's a tad bit annoying when the sound doesn't match the picture and/or half of the bar cheers or groans before you see what happens.

Thunder Matt Rating: 8 empty Old Style cans out of a 12 pack, possibly 9 if you have a window seat on a warm, sunny day.