One nice thing about this blog is that I get invited to different bars and restaurants I’d probably never, ever go to because they’re a little bit out of my comfort zone as far as traveling goes. The most recent invitation comes from Haynes on Main in Mackinaw, Illinois. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to Mackinaw, but one of my best friends, Nancy lives there and this is a good excuse to go and meet her and have a couple of beers and dinner at Haynes on Main. So it’s time to go to the MBIP mobile and put our good friend Mr. GPS into service, because I have no idea how to get there!
Okay, we're out here in the MBIP Mobile and Mr. GPS has calculated the ride and it looks like it's going to be under 30 minutes to get there. That's an easy trip, I don't know why I haven't ventured out to Mackinaw before this!
Off we go and believe it or not, there's a snow flurry going on out here. Oh no, it's back!
Okay, that was pretty painless, just a short jaunt on the highway and here we are in Mackinaw at Haynes on Main. Traveling time was less than a half an hour. This is an historic bar, it's the first place to have a liquor license since the days of Prohibition here in Mackinaw. The building has been standing on this corner sine the early 1900's.
Here's a photo of the building back when it was a drug store in the 1900's I found online.
Let's go in and see if this liquor license works in here...
We'll just mosey on up to the bar and order a beer...
Check it out, it works! Here's pretty bartender Leigh serving up an ice cold beer. Okay, the evening has begun on a very nice note!
As I turn around from my place at the bar I see a familiar face...
It's Nancy, one of my best friends who lives right here in Mackinaw! Leigh snapped a photo of the two of us and we sat and we sat and caught up with each other on Nancy's home turf of Mackinaw!
We checked out the menu and I learned that there's going to be some new additions to it starting this Monday, so that gives me a good excuse to come back soon!
Kasey took our order and while the food is getting prepared, we'll take a little tour of Haynes on Main.
This place has a huge inventory of craft beers, there's over 80 selections in bottles from this cooler up front...
To this one in the back. "Absolutely!" I love the attitude in this place!
And the craft beer is not limited to bottles, here's four quality selections on tap.
Here's a shot of some of the lit up bottles on display behind the well-stocked bar.
Single lights hover over the bar and illuminate it in an orange hue.
Here's a board displaying the nightly specials at Haynes on Main.
Batch 19 is a perfect beer to be serving in here seeing that this is the first place in Mackinaw to be able to serve suds to the public since Prohibition!
Polished wooden tables line the brick wall opposite the bar.
Here's a table up in the front window where you can have a drink and watch the action on Main Street in Mackinaw go by.
As we make our way back to our table, dinner is served by Leigh! I love it when that happens!
Nancy got the nachos and that is one large order! I think she'll be having some of those for breakfast and lunch today!
I got the steak sandwich which comes with homemade chips and I got an order of their spicy "Boom" sauce on the side.
The sandwich has juicy slices of steak topped with mushrooms, grilled onions, melted provolone cheese and slathered with their signature bourbon sauce on a hoagie roll. It looks fantastic!
And it tastes even better than it looks. The sauce is just a little sweet and it plays well with the savory steak and onions flavor. The crowning touch is the hoagie roll, it's bakery fresh and just slightly toasted adding a pillowy crunch to the sandwich. Delicious! And Nancy said her nachos were top-rate! I'll have to come back to sample the new additions to the menu that are coming up next week soon!
I loved this Boom sauce too, so spicy and flavorful with the homemade chips!
After dinner, Carol, who owns Haynes with her husband Patrick came over and said hi to Nancy and I and Nancy shot this photo of the two of us showing off our business cards, ASDC style! Carol told us that she and Patrick quit lucrative full-time jobs to open this bar in Mackinaw, which is the town's lone saloon. It's been thriving over a year now and judging by the crowd, the food and the friendly atmosphere in here, it's a gamble that has payed off. You should check this place out soon! Thanks to Nancy for coming along and hanging out and mucho thanks to everyone at Haynes on Main for a fun night out in Mackinaw! We'll see you all tomorrow...and hey, let's be careful out there!
Haynes on Main
108 S. Main Street
Mackinaw, Illinois
(309) 359-6246
Related posts: Beers @ Meadows Tap, Sky Harbor and Jimmy’s Bar.