Good bars and taverns do exist in small town America, but I haven’t really seen one in a city over 25,000.

At my prior address, the corner pub (whose name escapes me now) was a lovely hollowed out block of concrete. It wasn’t anything more than a place to hang out and get shit-faced. But it did that really well.

It closed down about a year ago: Dave (the barman) died after a long illness, his wife Lily had a stroke, and the two owners got too old to control anything.

It’s since re-opened (The Hyde Park Lounge—see, I remembered!) but I’ve not been back yet. Soon.

Chicago has neighborhood bars. Many of them are even dog bars (where you can bring your dog during the day to have a pint, or a coffee, read the paper, play a little pool). You go to the bar in the morning before work (to see the neighbors, get some coffee and a paper) and you come to the bar after work (to see the neighbors, get a pint, watch a game on TV).

The U.S. has corner stores that sell hard liquor and guns.

The U.S. has corner stores that sell hard liquor and guns.

Used to. Shame, now you have to go to Wal-Mart.