the weather outside is weather

Simone, Colin and I went to Lilly's last week, a bar north of Fullerton on Lincoln. One of my co-workers from the restaurant tends bar there on Wednesday nights, and I hadn't been there yet, so I roped my roommates into going.

It looks like a regular DePaul bar from the outside, but the inside more closely resembles an old dungeon with some furniture in it. The floor is uneven brick, rounded and smoothed over time and completely loose in several places. Concrete archways are scattered throughout, painted a dark blue, and the lighting is pretty low. There are a few mismatched tables with chairs and stools here and there, in no real arrangement, and seemingly purchased individually from thrift stores or taken from back alleys.

The bar itself is an old, "L" shaped wraparound, with the tap in the corner. The beer coolers consist of three different Rubbermaid tubs, half filled with ice sitting on the floor behind the bar. A selection of imports and domestics float inside, next to a lone bottle of Jaegermeister. A small sign above the register on the back wall reads, "cash only."

There was a band playing a mix of rock, bluegrass, and country on the small, raised wooden platform in the front of the bar, and when they were done playing, the bartender's ipod provided the musical entertainment.

Colin's eyes went all dreamy as Wilco, Modest Mouse, Spoon, and Kevin Drew poured out of the house speakers. There were fun conversations, Simone spoke in Spanish with a guy I work with from Guatemala, and we got a hefty discount when I paid the tab.

I'll be heading back, that's for sure.