Murphy's changes aside, the two bars are not comparable for the older and nostalgic folks here. Murphy's is 30 years older than Legends.
Funny thing is my post sounds like I was at Murphy's all the time. I was not, since (at least during my tenure) they were one of the few places that carded hard 21, and I did not get there until well into senior year. Gully's, R&R, O'Malley's were more frequent haunts but are all dead now.
You mean Ireland’s?
Cliff Hagens Ribeye
That's called "character" good sir.
Gully’s in the summer was the place to be. But as soon as I turned 21, I hardly went anywhere but Murphy’s—Bacon Mega Cheeseburgers, freshly cut fries and (pre-craft beer) pints of Guinness, Bass or Harp in a real glass instead of plastic cup.
My parents always pronounced it like it was the name of a cliff, not a person’s name, kind of like how you might say Mount Hagen’s with the emphasis on the first word as opposed to the last. For most of my life, I didn’t know that was a person’s name.
I believe @PNWIllini is saying he's older (or at least was in town earlier) than you.
I’m saying my family went to Ireland’s in the 70s. Later on it turned into Cliff Hagen’s. And then just The Ribeye.
They no longer have fresh cut fries. Big let down the last few times I have been. Frozen fries. I admit they would be great fries at another spot but not compared to the old fresh cut.
Aww man, you guys hade me craving the old bacon cheeseburger & fries. That is disappointing.
The ribeye steak sandwhich at the Esquire is very good. Not a family sit down meal kind of thing, but great pre or post game sandwhich.
Bar hopping in my days on campus ('70-'74) went something like this. White Horse, Murphy's, Whitt's Inn, Stan's Gridiron, Dooley's, Brown Jug, House of Chin, Red Lion, Chances Are, Thunderbird and occasionally the Rose Bowl (downtown Urbana) for some country flavor.
Of those only Murphy's and the Rose Bowl still exist.
I was ‘76 - ‘80. Adding Second Chance and Boni’s and of course the original Kam’s.
The bar scene on campus was legendary at that time. The Lion had live rock bands on the weekends and was big with hippie types. Second Chance was built on the site of the Brown Jug after it burned down. The Jug was an absolutely great campus dive. Live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Dirty, dark, smoky, packed with college kids and LOUD. Both bars fit the times perfectly. Second Chance was more sophisticated and not nearly as popular. Dooley's was a very popular bar with frat boys, sorority chicks, guys who wanted to check out the sorority chicks and students from out of town. So packed that shooting a lap (circle around a bar centered in the room) could take a half hour or more just winding through the crowd. The Fire Marshal was apparently oblivious. Chances Are drew bigger acts (eg. The New Colony Six, REO Speedwagon before they hit it big) but was difficult to get too as it was just a couple of blocks from the Amtrak depot. Eventually went "gay" (not that there's anything wrong with that). As I recall, Stan's closed. Dooley's became Kams.
As I’ve said before, I waitressed at Second Chance from 1971-74. It was an upscale sorority/fraternity bar with red shag carpet, a beautiful oak bar with majestic oak columns and mirrors in the back bar room (the original bar from the 1890’s World’s Fair in Chicago that won the Pabst Blue Ribbon) and “Frosties,” frosty mugs of beer for $.50, to rival Dooley’s with its green shag carpet and huge goblet beer glasses. Bub Barthlow owned Chances R and opened Second Chance. We had live bands on Sunday nights, including Head East (who played to maybe 20 customers at first). We also had a grill in the front room that had the best cheeseburgers! BTW, both Dooley’s and Stan Wallace’s Gridiron made up the original KAM’s…Ahhh, memories.
