Wally's

Since our move in February, my roommate Ericca and I have been staring out our big bay window at the bar across the street. Now, you can tell just from looking at the place that it is not the classiest of places, for one, it doesn't even have a sign with a name on it, just a big light up beer sign. This rather than deterring my/our curiosity only created a sense of mystery. The mystery was increased when Ericca first spotted the owner, an old man who is perpetually wearing a gray art deco-ish cardigan who comes an idly stands outside the bar at intervals.

Earlier this week, Ericca and I found ourselves a little antsy and were pondering what to do when we remembered that the Chicago Blackhawk's hokey game was on. Trouble is, we don't have a TV. Solution? Go to the mystery bar!

And so we did. And words can hardly describe what must be called Wally's. It is in some ways exactly how I pictured it: a strange, masculine time warp. Wally the owner is quite old, and speaks with a heavy Polish accent as can be expected from our formerly heavily Polish neighborhood. He was very kind and turned on the hokey game for us and chatted with us. Surprisingly, Wally also speaks Spanish, which reflects the current make up of the neighborhood. Wally told us he has had the bar for 31 years, so I guess he has adapted as the neighborhood changed around him.

When I say change, I only mean his interactions with his clientèle. There is no way the interior has been updated in those long 31 years. The wall behind the bar was covered with quaint signs like this one:

A Women Should Know Four Things
1) How to look like a girl
2) How to dress like a lady
3) How to think like a man
4) How to work like a dog

There was also a fair amount of genitalia paraphernalia, a phrase i never expected to use in this blog. Most of the bottles themselves were quite dusty and I hadn't heard of about half of the old liquors assembled at the bar. In the two hours we were there, he sold a total of seven beers, including ours.

It was essentially like finding myself in a wood panneled, grimy, macho strong hold that was at the same time welcoming and homey. I'd say it's safe to say that the next hokey game (the Blackhawk's won that night and advanced) we'll find ourselves back there and it's also safe to say I will again avoid the Women's restroom...