Okay, it’s that time of week when we’re joined by our weekly guest star, the man formerly known as Vern Damico, my friend, Jim/Karl.
Karl picks the bar the night’s he guest stars, so scroll on down and we’ll find out where he’s taking us to this week!
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Bar Number 220: Brick Lounge Bar & Grill, Wednesday, September 23, 2026
There he is, looking fantastic behind the wheel, my friend and yours, Karl!
He informed me that this week we’re headed to Washburn, Illinois. And off we go!
And through the miracles of the interwebs, we’re here already.
Karl chose the only bar in Washburn, The Brick Lounge Bar & Grill. It looks like a nice place!
There’s Karl doing his weekly doorman duty! Let’s go in and see what’s happening in here.
They’ve got a nice, wooden bar in here. We’ll grab a couple seats at the end and get settled in for our evening in Washburn!
Kelsey was the pretty and friendly bartender on duty and here she is serving me up a can of Budweiser Select 55.
We’ve drank a lot of Budweiser on this tour, but I think this is the first Budweiser Select 55 we’ve had. Cheers!
There’s Karl enjoying his drink at the bar and he’s wearing another one of my brother Jim’s SwamiStuff t-shirts. This one features a drawing of Mick Fleetwood that my brother drew and designed back in the day. Very cool!
The Welcome sign announces that they now have draft beer and there’s the five beers on draft pictured right below it. I love it when things work out like this!
Karl and Punky bonded at the bar over their common love of the Minnesota Vikings!
Here’s a shot from the other end of this nicely polished bar.
They have a full menu in here and there’s dining tables opposite the bar and up in the front of the room.
Let’s go see what’s in this room that’s opposite of the bar…
There’s a nice game room back here complete with a pool table, dart boards, a pinball machine and some arcade style games.
Meanwhile, back at the bar…
Karl’s dinner has arrived!
Karl got the double cheeseburger with French Fries and as usual, he’s soaking the fries in ketchup. I don’t think the original Karl is going to be happy about this.
Hmmm…you need to put mustard on them French fried potaters…mmm hmm…
Karl said the cheeseburger and fries were very tasty and cooked to perfection. But the food didn’t stop there…
Here’s Kelsey serving up a half order of their homemade onion rings, which is a house specialty here at the Brick Lounge Bar & Grill.
Wow, these are some of the best onion rings I’ve ever had!
They’re crispy and lightly breaded and seasoned to perfection! And this is a half order! I can’t imagine how big a full order would be!
These tasty, homemade onion rings are definitely worth the half hour drive to Washburn!
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The Drinks
I had three cans of Budweiser Select 55. Thanks to Kelsey for the wonderful service in here and thanks to Karl for driving and hanging out for the night! It was definitely a fun evening in Washburn, Illinois!
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129 S. Jefferson Street
Washburn, Illinois
309-248-7609
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Bar List, Rules, Banner Art & Donation Link.
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