Hail to the Cubbie backers both locally and a bit farther away, as they and other Chicago sports fans belly up to the bar
(s), although they might have some competition for getting their game on the main screen.
— There have been some Cubs fans, who also are friends of the bartenders and therefore have some pull in determining what sports channel is turned on, taking in Chicago postseason
baseball games at Dick’s Bar and Grill. When the Cubs got blown away by the Mets, and again, fell one step
short of a World Series berth, those guys were devastated, but hey, being fans of that team they said they are
quite used to it. (As an aside, the thing the whole group said they’d found more enjoyable is there occasional
trips straight west  across Illinois to Iowa, in large part because of their notorious strip clubs).
Across the way in St. Paul — think of it as Hudson West — the fans at the Bears Bar that also is notorious
for showing some skin, Alary’s, found the Cubs appearance to be enjoyable while the ride lasted. The infamous
bar has had its share of workers from western Wisconsin, and one of the latest hails from New Richmond and at
one point shared stories of favorite venues with some Twin Cities patrons, who also are very familiar with St.
Croix County. The server said that her best fave is JJ’s sports bar and grill in Hammond, and she got no
argument from her beer-swilling patrons.
The longtime owner of Alary’s and its namesake, who played for the Bears decades ago, recently passed away, and
the newer management types say there will be changes made, such as drink specials. But what everyone, or at
least that often-referenced 49 percent in the population, wants to know is will those comely bartenders still
serve in bikinis.
— The bricks have been laid, in the downtown and on The Hill. At Buffalo Wild Wings, a hallmark of the recent
fullscale renovation is that one long wall, all the way up to the ceiling, has been redone with brick covering,
giving a homey appeal, as is done with the presence of lots of booths rather than high tables. Fitting is that
across one of their even bigger TV screens the other evening, was a simple headline saying, for whatever
reason, “brick by brick.”
Likewise, the ongoing renovation at Pudge’s, in this case of the complex’s northern parking lot, shows a
similar length of brick, or should I say stone. That’s because in this case that like B-Dubs also involves an
east wall, the pieces are bigger, much like concrete blocks, and the wall goes on for the same length as at B-
Dubs, although not the same height. The Pudge’s front door is now reopened following adjacent renovation that
had it shut down for a time, and bartender Whitney marked the occasion by taking a photo of the first patron
coming through. From the back of her post behind the bar, and across from it, new decorative effects had been
installed or re-exposed that include old-time foil wall covering, which meant the announcement of the specials
of the day have been shifted over to the location that had been the front window, now blocked.
The latest change is on the north wall and a portion of the west wall, where police-line-yellow-tape is
strapped to hold up whole sections of plastic tarp, with “caution” written in two languages. A big TV also has been at least temporarily relocated.
Just above the windows that had formerly been part of an art studio just to the north — a building that has
been slated for a winery to have a synergy with Pudge’s — are now signs that say Negret Wine Co.
Yet another downtown venue noted for its stone, this time bigger, as in boulders that fit in a stylish way
around a bar, is the lower patio at Smilin’ Moose.
Shifting gears, some things are signs of the times, and others are from a bygone era.
— An area auto body shop has had an odd choice of beverage in their vending machine — a couple kinds of beer
in a can. I was curious about whether you could buy beer in this way, potentially, 24 hours a day, so I stuck
in a few quarters but they did not take. Apparently this machine is a holdover from a long bygone period. But I
still must say, only in Wisconsin would you find this.
— Two more local bar and grill stalwarts have passed on, Denny McGinley and Kevin Smith, and their passing has
not gone unpublished on the marquees of various venues. Kozy Korner in North Hudson described patron Denny as
the man, myth and legend, and added about Kevin, the longtime operator of the Sports Club in Hudson before
being afflicted by a stroke, “Heaven received another angel, RIP Kevin.” The signs continued at the Agave
Kitchen, with the message: “Goodnight supper club legend Mr. Smith.
— As a last ode to Halloween, a singer with the One-Man-Band was wearing “boo” socks that were noticed by Jeff
because of the accompanying tennis shoes that are much like his in color and style, and also were pointed out
from the stage by the other singer at the time, Tracy.
— Since it’s fall, kudos for Stone Tap for placing outside their door a place to sit on, not benches, but a
good old-fashioned hay bale. You expect to see lots of potted flowers on main street, but not this.
— This T-shirt says it all when being worn at Dick’s Bar and Grill when it hosted a ravenously attended season
premier party for the Walking Dead series, right after airing of a Green Bay football game: “If the Packers or
The Walking Dead are on TV, you are not allowed to talk to me.”