Bar #43 Madison's (Deceased)

Eventually, while traveling to all the bars you will run into the -ests. The bar with the best food. The loudest bar. The bar with the cheapest shots or the cheapest people. This week I went to what may be the diviest bar in Lakewood. I went to bar #43, Madison's, expecting just a dive bar but what I found was a family.

I entered Madison's, running late, expecting that Johnny would beat me there. He didn't, so, I was alone when I entered. Madison's is the kind of bar that could get completely quiet when a new person enters. Tonight was drunk old people night and they didn't care that I was there even as I stared blankly at everyone expecting to see another Every Bar in Lakewood shirt. Everyone was over the age of 55.

They didn't seem to have any beer taps but had an area where taps should be. So I started of with a bottle of Yuengling. They had a 2 for $3.50 deal going on all their domestic and bottom shelf beers. So my second beer was a Miller High Life. It seems the high life tastes like fizzy, slightly tinny, water.

How Miller High Life saved Johnny's Grandmother

Johnny's grandmother had gotten sick many years ago and needed emergency surgery. Due to allergies she was unable to handle anesthetics. She sent her husband across the street to get the only thing that was going to get her through the surgery, a six pack of Miller High Life. After chugging 4 or 5 of them down she called on the doctors. It was a success.  The operation still hurt but it never would have been able to happen if it weren't for her favorite beer.

Food includes bags of chips and free pretzel rods.

The bar took up two sides of Madison's room. Behind the bar was the beer, booze, a bunch of random stuff and a microwave. The room also had a tv, mp3 jukebox and table. Later we found a second room, it was mildly creepy because it's lights being off, showed signs of disuse and a sign naming it the Insane Asylum. Originally we thought that was a reference to the women's bathroom. It offered a pool table, dart boards and some old, awesome booths with pleather covering.

The crowd though drunk and old were very friendly. Throughout our time there various people came up to meet to us. A nice couple, Helen and Dave, enjoyed talking to us about their regular bar. There were two themes that were hit upon repeatedly while we were there.

The first was family. Their patrons know each other and over time care about each other. Madison's creates a comfortable environment to spend their evenings. They share their lives and become family. The family theme spread into the staff and ownership of Madison's as well. Lisa's, bartender, mom was in an issue of Nightlife and they had collected 30 issues for her. They showed the magazines off for years. The Madison family has also suffered a loss this year.

The second theme was change. The owner of Madison's passed away leaving the bar to his brother. As they say, with every ending comes a new beginning. Many are hopeful that Madison's future will brighten this year. Among possible changes that may come could be the opening of the second bar in the backroom. As much as Helen loves her friends at Madison's she is hopeful that changes will be coming that will bring in new options, new life and new customers to an old corner bar.

Lisa the bartender brings the same pride to her job that I've seen repeatedly at the so called dive bars. The pride of doing a good job, making her customers happy and showing them respect, along with pride in the business that she is part of is seen in her work. Lisa does not drink at work because it's disrespectful to her business and patrons. It is obvious that she cares about this bar.

Madison's is a dive bar. It's got a bunch of random stuff on the walls accumulated over the years. It serves your normal domestic beers plus a hand full of Great Lakes options. If you're hungry, they've got some random varieties of potato chips. What makes Madison's a bar worth visiting is everyone there, whether it be customer or staff, wants Madison's to be. We were welcomed by the people being paid to be their and the payers. They want their bar to be successful, to grow and, to bring in your business. This may not be the diviest bar but it may have been the most inviting. You should come check out bar #43, Madison's, they're waiting for you.

Real Life Hidden Picture Search:  Scuba Helmet, Ohio State Football, Alien, Thelma, Blue Car, Giant Stein,
British Chips, Victorian Booze, Robert Ebert, Elvis, Miller High Life, St. Pauli Girl, Mexican Bear, Indians

12401 Madison Ave.

216-226-9851

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Bar #32: The Patio

After thirty-two bars I have seen a lot of different types of bars. They come in different sizes with different types of options, like food, craft beers, and games. I think I've wrote that before. The question is, are the bars still unique or are they just a repetitive handful of different options? The Patio is bar #32 and is prepared to show that a good bar is more than what's for sale.

The Patio had perhaps a dozen patrons inside at 9:30 on a Wednesday night. Most of them were very drunk. I hear the Patio, like another ironically named bar, gets busy in the later evening. This is also, another spot that the bartenders and waitresses from other bars like to frequent. Katie, the general manager, was bartending and quickly recognized me from when we met on St. Patrick's Day. So, I would get my free round of drinks and great service but as I have been told repeatedly, the latter is her norm.

The bar itself has some tables, random cooler than normal bar signs, dead animals and Christmas lights. Many of the items in the bar were left after parties. The music varies widely depending on who has taken charge of the juke box. It's got your standard darts area and now has the Screaming Rooster's skee ball machine (still says the old bar name on its digital screen.) There is a bathroom on the first floor and one in the basement with padded ceilings for your convenience.

No food for you....Fine, you can order a pizza.

I drank my first Oberons of the season and they were good. This is probably one of my top 5 beers. To be a top 5, it has be a beer that I would always want to drink. I may like a Christmas or a Scottish Ale more but I wouldn't always want one of those. Everyone should find something they like on tap. Four months out of the year the Patio is the top seller of Fire Ball shots in Ohio, this includes beating out the bars of Ohio State.

Our whole group was offered a beer and shot by a random bar patron who hasn't heard of this blog before. This seems to be something that just happens at the Patio. Everyone buys each other drinks all night. Both times I've been to the Patio I've found the atmosphere very friendly. The people are always real open to talking and aren't shy about coming over to talk to you first. “A place where neighbors are automatically friends.” The bartenders tend to remember their patrons names and favorite drinks. Respect is big in this bar and fights are not permitted.

The Patio originally had an outdoor motif with a garden lattice on the ceiling and beach like surroundings. The wood furniture around the bar is actually made from fallen Lakewood trees. The Patio is controversially the oldest bar in Lakewood (a claim I will be researching later for a genealogy bar blog.) The bar in the patio is the original, it has simply been relacquered many times over the years.

The patio doesn't offer anything unique that can't be found at another bar. After meeting two different bartenders and different patrons of the Patio it turns out that doesn't matter. The Patio is the friendliest bar I've been to in Lakewood so far and it'll leave you feeling like you spent the night with a bunch of your friends even if you came alone. The Patio's main selling point is its people and really, isn't that the difference between drinking out and at home. I look forward to my next trip to bar #32, the Patio, and so should you. Even if it's your first time there.

 15615 Madison Ave

216-221-7111

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Bar #25 The Sloan Pub

Who is the best person to ask what bar you should go to? I could ask an expert, but answering myself is a sign of insanity. If I ask Facebook, I will get the most popular bars. If I google it, then I get the bar with the least complaints. This week we go to the bar recommended by people that work in Lakewood bars. Sloane Pub as picked by its peers as Bar #25.

Sloane Pub sets itself apart from the main stream bars. It even sets itself apart from the main street bars as the only one not on Detroit or Madison Ave. After passing signs telling about its humorous rules and love for socialism, I entered to find a clean and welcoming bar. The stools were comfy and had backs to them. The bartender was friendly, helpful and gave me my beer in a frosty glass.

They still have a juke box with actual cds in it. The patrons kept it running all night long and I liked every song they played. The unofficial song I was told was “I Want to Fuck you Gently” by the Tenacious D.

They had Labatt, Yuengling and a light beer on tap. Sloan Pub had enough different types of bottled beer to keep everyone else happy too. I had Yuenglings, my go to unoriginal beer. They cost me a dollar.

The Sloan Pub also has a shuffle board machine. The bartender made sure the machine was properly saw dusted for us before we played. I won the two games we played by a narrow margin. This included a final last ditch shot that knocked two of his weights out of the 4 point slot and leaving mine in its place...Which was more exciting than it sounds.

The regular crowd is a mixture of servers and bartenders from other bars (we came here by The Rush Inn's recommendation), old men and young townies. The locals, many of grew up on the neighboring streets, love this bar more than any bar crowd I've met so far. They carried a strong enthusiasm for Cleveland and Lakewood specifically. Everyone at the bar were friendly and always weighted to make sure if they were passing they didn't interrupt game when we were playing.

Sloane Pub aims to be a laid back, fun bar where you'll never feel judged. This is the bar to go to when you don't want to deal with the other bars. Sloane Pub is the type of bar where everyone knows everyone's name. The Sloane bar is a good bar to go to to be yourself. If you don't have a bar to call your own, come to bar #25, The Sloan Pub.

Awesome: Frosted Mug, Customer Service, Bartenders Choice

18196 Sloane Ave

216-221-2237

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Week 5: Tarrymore Inn (Next Generation in charge)

One of my earliest fans was actually one of the bars in Lakewood. They continued to support me as the weeks went on; leading me to want to visit them early on my list. I made the decision to visit after I used up my initial reasons of going to the first bars: secret bowling party, a possible shivving, boobs and of course the possibility of a drunken Santa showing up (he didn't). The time had come, on Wednesday Every Bar in Lakewood went to a bar without clever name, a cook or even a website (they have a fairly active Facebook page). Bar # 5 is the Tarrymore Inn and it is awesome.

The first thing you notice when arriving at the Tarrymore Inn is that their parking lot has plenty of space. Upon entering, I was warmly greeted by Cheryl the bar keeper and one of my clients from my daycare, whom I'll refer to as Cookie's Mom. The Inn had your normal assortment of random things, promotional beer items, giant I-Phone, video gambling machines, and dart boards. The beer is cheap. There were two beers on tap one light, one not. I chose to the dark side with my first Genesee. It wasn't bad. It had that slightly bitter old-man beer taste. I approved and drank them all evening. My Genesees were upgraded by being served in glasses straight from the freezer.

Now that we were beered, Cheryl and Cookie's Mom gave us a tour of the bar. First we were brought to the secret free party room. It has additional tvs, seating, dart boards and a unisex bathroom. To get all this for free you just have to get your beverages from the bar.

 We then moved out to the Tarrymore Beer Garden. There are many patios in Lakewood but I believe there is only one oasis like this. There is a variety of different seating and notables in the garden. The patio collects decorations including a hidden Santa, a gnome, even a tomb stone. The Tarrymore has also grown a cover over some of its seating to protect against the sun and rain.

The giant I Pod was actually a combination mp3 playing jukebox and boothless photo booth. We had fun with both.

I won at darts. The boards were in good condition. The darts were nicely weighted. You throw across the width of the bar creating the exciting possibility that if a quiet drunk person stumbled by at the wrong time my stainless steel dart would give them a new orifice. Today's lesson, always look both ways before crossing a bar.

The Tarrymore Inn historically was a mill bar. People would come in during their off time or on their way home and grab a beer and a shot. They and their fellows were tired and just happy to get something cold and relaxing into them. The Inn is still that sort of bar. The patrons of the Inn, come here to get a couple drinks and enjoys each other's company. Also, for the machines and the dart tournaments. All the regulars have nicknames for each other and are friendly to the new people coming in (myself included.)

I met a nice woman named Pat in the Hat. She is the Inn's version of Norm, minus any physical resemblance. She has her stool, that it is unanimously agreed, will be buried with her some day if the occasion arises. But she is nice and welcoming, would never kick a person off of her stool. It is always given up to her regardless. She says she is another brick in the wall, perhaps a brick before there was a wall.

The Tarrymore isn't special because of the building or the beer it carries. The Tarrymore Inn is worth visiting because it's built with the people that visit and work there. Where they know your name, treat you right, and post your birthday on the wall. You'll leave happy, nuff said.

Awesome: Bar Family, Frosted Mugs, Customer Service, Photo Booth, Amazing Patio

13356 Madison Ave

216-228-6476

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