Okay, we’re nine days into 2015 and we haven’t hit The Red Barn yet this year. Time to correct that right away! And since I have the night off of work, I’m going to take a cab there and have several beers tonight, so off we go!
For some reason my fucking camera won't work and all the pictures are coming out fuzzy like this and it's freezing out here! The wind chill is around 79 degrees below zero and I'm about 34 seconds from being frost-bitten.
This is a little better, but it's not perfect. I think this would be a good time to mention that I fucking HATE winter! And you know it's true hate when I use all capital letters and italicize the word, something I usually would never do.
Finally! Let's get inside and warm up!
Ah, it's nice and toasty warm in here, and since it's so cold and windy out, a lot of people are staying home, which translates into plenty of seats at the bar. Let's go get settled in for the evening!
Look who's back, Cherry, looking pretty as ever! When we last saw Cherry she was getting ready to head out to Bali, Indonesia to teach English and take supplies to a school out there. She's back and said the trip was a success and she made a lot of new friends over there. One other big development has happened in Cherry's life...
She's married! Congratulations, Cherry and welcome back to the Red Barn!
There's Thomas on the other side of the bar this evening flashing a mischievous grin!
Spuds MacKenzie is standing attention behind the bar and check out the Homer Simpson clock behind him, I've never noticed that before! D'oh! I've been coming here for decades and still find new things I've never seen in here!
Here's the half dozen beers on tap to choose from if you're in a drafty kind of mood.
The Red Barn ended up buying their Nutt Hutt, as opposed to Mike's who told the company to shove it when they said they weren't going to service it any more. You can read about that in Phil Luciano's column right here. And check out the photo credit in the story!
They still have all the Christmas lights lit up in here and it looks very festive tonight!
The booths opposite the bar are all lit up as well.
This back corner booth with the Schlitz beer chandelier looming overhead is my favorite booth in here. One of the reasons is...
The Sean Kenny carving on top of the table! That's a reminder that we should hit Kenny's Westside Pub soon, it's been a while!
There's the Barn-Ville stage in the back of the bar which has an open mic night every Tuesday and Friday and it gets pretty lively in here!
A photo from the back of the bar.
Suddenly...a cup o' darts!
MBIP Butch's Pizza Party? More on that soon, keep on scrolling in the free world!
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Cherry is holding down the fort.
MBIP pal and semi-regular, Amber arrives on the scene looking super cute in her fuzzy-wuzzy winter hat! Check out Gumby, he looks a little uncomfortable in that sideways position Amber is holding him in.
Red Barn regular Jim has Gumby back in his upright position and all is well.
A final Gumby shot for the evening, a silhouette of Gumby in front of the candle on the bar.
And now for the news about the MBIP/Butch's Pizza Party. This Sunday we're having a Butch's Pizza Party here at The Red Barn with free Butch's Pizza while it lasts. It's my 50th week on my Year Of Pizza tour and we're going to celebrate the almost end of the tour right here! The party starts at 5PM and if you're reading this you are invited! We hope to see you this Sunday! If you don't stop by we're all going to talk about you behind your back! We'll see you all tomorrow!
The Red Barn
621 West Glen Avenue
Peoria
309-692-3792
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