Wrigleyville Bar Project: Redmond's Ale House

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: Redmond's , 3358 N. Sheffield Ave.

Douchebag Factor (1-10, with 10 being this guy): 3

Who You'll See Here: Even though it's in Wrigleyville, Redmond's seems to hold on to the neighborhood bar vibe. Even the waitresses possess the Girl Next Door look. You can't go wrong there. The crowd was a bit more chilled and socially refined than what you'd see at one of the bars closer to Wrigley Field.

What to order: Finally, a place in Wrigleyville that has some decent beer on tap. Add to that a stellar selection of bottled beer, and you've got a place to that appeals to the common meathead partier (me, raising my hand) that downs the High Life while still currying favor with the Thinking Man's Beer Drinker. Unfortunately, I can't offer any food advice. I saw some people eating, and from what I recall the burgers and fries looked pretty tasty. I'd venture to guess that the food selection is your Standard Bar Fare. (Browse the menu) I've been told by more than one person that the Sunday brunch is quite good.

If you were to see a celebrity here, it would be: Todd Hundley, Dan Jiggetts, Bill Wennington.

Website: http://www.myspace.com/redmondschicago (Jeez, guys. How about some effort?)

Summary: It's not terribly big, just two rooms, the front room boasting a long wood bar, and the back room having some tables and a small bar. The bartenders and the wait staff were very friendly which was yet another way Redmond's distinguishes itself from the competition. Depending on your allegiance, it's a Wisconsin Badger bar, but since we were there out of season, it was a none-issue. If you're there to catch a game, they had plenty of TVs in both rooms. I recall a large TV over the bar and smaller ones dispersed elsewhere. The cold and rainy weather was not conducive to enjoying the outdoor tables, but they did look they'd be mighty nice on a summer day.

One negative of the night was a DJ spinning his records. The place is a bit too small for those shenanigans, it was too loud, and the crowd that night did not appear to be composed of people who were normally into that type of entertainment, and certainly not ones who'd go to Redmond's for it if they'd wanted to indulge. Especially not cool if the DJ is of the "I don't take requests" mentality. It's okay buddy, I'm sure your dad would have hugged you if you'd only asked. Rejoice, I was assured by regulars that having a DJ was not a regular occurrence.

Random/Funny/Vulgar bar story of the night. Our small entourage was composed of six people, with two of them being a couple. At this point in the night, things were getting very hazy and all were quite inebriated. My buddy with the girlfriend started to get The Urge, and being a local, knew there was a bathroom in the basement - a womens only commode with 4 stalls. He and his girl decided to use this place as a makeshift Poke Shack, and went at it. Stunned when the bathroom door opened, they froze, and heard a gal sit down in the stall next to them, who proceeded to...wait for it...back out a growler, and a loud one at that. Ah, good times at Redmond's!!

Thunder Matt Rating: 9 empty Stella Artois bottles out of a twelve pack. Judges note: points have been deducted for a MySpace website.