S. Bar

I love dives. I really do.

We were on our way from Milwaukee to Rockford, IL and were alerted to a traffic jam on the interstate. Determined, we pulled off and decided to cut down through some small towns around it. Big Bed happened to be one of those towns.

Richy's appeared on the horizon and cold beers sounded just right. We pulled in to the dirt and gravel parking lot and entered into a cross between a veterans bar and a dive.

Inside, there are a handful of pool tables, a few TVs and a big oval bar in the middle. The bartenders were two burly women with rough voices - they welcomed us right in!

I was right. The beers were ice cold and really hit the spot. There isn't anything fancy about this place, including the "snacks" on the bar: appetizer-size styrofoam plates holding hard salami, cheese and crackers that had been handled by gosh knows how many people. Do folks actually eat this stuff?

Besides the drunken regulars, we were probably the most exciting thing to hit this place since 1997. But I didn't care - our roadside excursion was still fun!