Bar #58 Lizardville

It is a rarity in this blog that I get to go to multiple bars owned by the same people. Rarer yet, though logical, are those two bars being in the same building. This unique situation is enhanced because its sister the only bar to get a negative review out of every bar in Lakewood. Lizardville is bar #58 and seeks to redeem the Winking Lizard name.

We parked by their side entrance upon arriving. It's not the most inviting route, bringing you by the dumpster and using banners for its signs. However it is quicker and doesn't require scaling steps from the building's main entrance. As I was taking pictures out front, one of Lizardville's employees happened to come outside and offered to take my picture with the sign. He (Jarvis) would be the first of many very friendly and very helpful employees.

We entered a dim but inviting environment. There were unique whiskey and beer signs around the bar. But when you enter you won't see any of that. On the wall above the bar there are 300 bottles of whiskey. Their prices range from a couple bucks to a couple thousand. We later found out that there are multiple lines of security that prevents after hours theft. If you aren't a whiskey drinker you just have to turn around to see wall after wall of bottles of beer. These are available to take home or your bartender can cool them down in 5 to 10 minutes.

All seating is on bar stools and unless you are approximately 5 foot 8 or above, depending on your torso to leg length ratio, your feet will dangle. A note to those people who are looking to open a bar or at least update their chairs: if your average adult's feet don't rest on anything while sitting in their chair, there will be probably be temporary discomfort and numbness. If your customer's legs start hurting while at your bar they will leave much earlier costing you money and will decrease their chances of returning, costing you more money. In other words, short people drink beer too; give them a chair they can sit in.

I couldn't pick a beer from the wall due to the ridiculous amount of options. I instead went with my regular beer source, the tap. Our super helpful bartender Joe picked my beer for me following my description. The Columbus Creeper IPA has a sour smell with a big head. It is light, bitter, with a bit of sharp fizz. A quality beginner IPA that's only available on tap, and it's worth a taste.

Kelly went with Eagle Rare Single Barrel whiskey out of Frankfort, Kentucky. It had a clean, light flavor and was just about the easiest drinking whiskey I've tasted. Warning, it drinks like water and will lead to quick intoxication. Actually, the warning should be it drinks so easy that by the time you're feeling it you will need to plan on crawling home in joyous, blurry confusion.

They have a good soft pretzel with a great cheese dip and a spicy mustard that's not too spicy. I also went with the bacon, cheese burger. The bacon was perfectly crispy and the burger itself tasted like it just came off your grill. Downsides, were the prices were still a little high and you can't get the deals from upstairs.

If you want to drink something a bit more interesting, Lizardville also ages some of their liquors into, hopefully, better liquors. These include whiskey, rye and vodka with orange peels.  Dylan was trying to remember a whiskey he liked but all he could remember was that old was part of the name.  The bartenders took down all the "Old" whiskeys until we found the correct one.

The bartenders are very knowledgable about their beers and whiskies. They enjoy talking about them and will even help you out picking the bottles you'll be bringing home. This is the ultimate beer and whiskey nerd haven in lakewood.

We walked into Lizardville with a sense of dread, after a previous reptilian themed bar had fought so hard to fail the previous blog. From the moment we got there till we left, they only strived to impress us. The bar had a comfortable quiet environment surrounded by booze and beer with a couple of TVs. The food wasn't really worth the money but it's still pretty good. We even returned here after leaving a different bar later in the same week. If you like lots a great service, beer and whiskey, then go to bar #58, Lizardville right now.

14018 Detroit Ave.
216-226-4396
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Bar 11 The Winking Lizard

Depending on what you are looking for, this week I went to a great bar or this week I went to an awful bar. It's like me and peanut butter. I can't stand peanut butter but I like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. However, I don't like those Easter egg peanut butter cups because they are too peanut buttery. Bar #11, The Winking Lizard, is my peanut butter cup. The questions is, did it have enough chocolate to hide a bad experience?

The Winking Lizard is inside of a huge old BPOE Elks Club (as I learned from Stephen Udycz in the comments)  and it kept a lot of the original wood work. The entrance room gives you the option of heaidn upstairs to a private room, to the left is the dining room, downstairs is the bowling alley and straight ahead was the main bar area. The bar is a giant room full of old wood work and giant signs and tvs. There's plenty of seating and bar space. Johnny had already gotten a table, so I sat down and waited to put in an order.

Twenty minutes later, I gave up and went to the bar. The bar service was quick, helpful and polite. They have a large amount of beer on tap, I had an Arrogant Bastard. It's a nice complex beer full of alcohol and an awesome.They also have a giant variety of pop flavors, numbering over 100.

Food was real good too. I had five spicy bbq wings that weren't special but were very yummy and were actually a little hot. I also has these fried cheese wedges and really, what could be wrong with fried cheese wedges. By the time I got my food, one of the bartenders had switched my account away from the bar and back to our waiter. I let him know that I couldn't get service and I guess it was new kid. Luckily for me the manager was “helping” him now.

Closed bowling alleys are high on the creepy list.  They should do haunted bowling.

Service from then on ran every 40 minutes. This included time between ordering and getting beer and the time from when we wanted our check and were able to sign the receipt. Our waiter received $3 tip which was $1 for every word he said to me (he would only talk to John but did his job well when he did it). The last of the peanut butter is that a basket of cheese, 5 wings and 2 beers cost me $30.

Best Skee Ball in Lakewood

Now there are lots of fun stuff in the Winking Lizard, there's pool, skee ball, even bowling in the basement (it was closed that night). There is plenty of good food and beer everyone will like. The tvs are large and the sound system attached is excellent. I also love what they left of the building's original aesthetic. This is what many bars would like to be if budget allowed.  That being said, The Winking Lizard is a big chain bar that has the capabilities of dealing with poor service and it is implied in the cost. This is my second trip to a chain bar for this blog and both times the service as been poor and slow. Perhaps my standards are higher after visiting bars whose owners and employees are personally invested in their service and patrons. In the end I had a good time but when I got home I complained.

 I've been to the Winking Lizard before and I'll probably go back again. The Winking Lizard is the default bar of Lakewood.  It's the bar people go to when they need the majority of people to agree on it.  So go, have a good time and check off The Winking Lizard even if it is a peanut butter egg on occasion.

Awesome: Skee Ball, Games, TVs,  Food

14018 Detroit Avenue

216-226-6693

http://www.winkinglizard.com/

Also, I'll be Tweeting from the bars on my bar nights as well.   https://twitter.com/EveryBarLKWD