At least, that's according to the waitress of Darwin's Bar & Grill. In Chicagoist's recent article concerning the pub, they state that an NES, a long-time fixture there, was removed by the new owners because it was considered 'bad for business'. I'm not exactly sure what that entails, whether they mean that patrons had something other than their drinks and the wall to stare at so they drank less, or whether the NES attracted riffraff and scared away more affluent locals, but apparently it really brought the place down.

That's a shame, because it's tough finding public places embracing games in Chicago, even if it's just on an NES. Sure, there's the landmark Dennis' Place arcade (where you can game, but can't drink or eat), or if you want to head downtown, Dave & Busters (where you can drink and eat, but have to put up with too many three year olds). Hell, back in the day when unitdaisy and myself organized club events we always managed to drag out a Dreamcast and a video projector, just so those who weren't so into the music could bask in big-screen Crazy Taxi or Soul Calibur goodness.

It's possible the NES didn't necessarily work into Darwin's evolutionary motif, but that's what additional consoles and televisions are for! They could have a mini-Game On, right in the pub! If so, I'd certainly make the effort to add it to our routine pub list (along with the Riverview Tavern, Duke of Perth and early morning football/soccer at Ginger's Ale House). Oh well, there must be another local pub out there that has something other than Golden Tee on the gaming tap, right? Right?