No frills, no fuss: Sundown Inn a friendly neighborhood bar

Glitz! Glamour! Sundown Inn Pub in Glendale Heights has none of this - unless you consider HDTVs to be glamorous. Rather, Sundown Inn is the type of neighborhood sports bar that draws the folks in by the barrel-full. Fancy-pants bars would kill for the attendance here.

Motif: Sundown Inn is what every neighborhood bar should strive to be. One large room encapsulates the whole bar, simple as that. No need to break the bar up into different sections. Do that, and it's much harder for bargoers to socialize (or in other words, yell across the room at each other).

Upon entering, you are greeted by a long bar which customers can approach from three sides. The walls are decorated with plenty of beer/sports memorabilia and televisions. In the back corner, there are darts and two pool tables that see plenty of action throughout the week.

One of the defining aspects of a neighborhood bar, to me, is a cigarette machine. Sure you can't smoke in a bar in Illinois, but that cigarette machine is still there. Are you going to catch a cigarette machine at a big, overproduced sports bar? Absolutely not. In my opinion, smoking is disgusting, but for some reason these machines help reinforce where you're at: a neighborhood sports bar.

Crowd: It was obvious that the bar patrons knew one another, whether they were at the same table, or the same side of the room. Watching one guy who was playing pool yell over to someone at the bar really shows the sense of community. Attendees' ages also ranged quite a bit from those who probably just turned 21, to others who could pass as their parents or grandparents.

Service: The service at Sundown Inn was extremely friendly. This is the sort of place where you get to know your bartender over time.

Liquid consumption: Domestic bottles are what you expect at Sundown Inn: Budweiser, Bud Light, Miller Lite, MGD and Coors Light. This is not where you go for fancier craft brews, oh no. In fact, if you went for a nicer beer, like a Hacker Pschorr, you'd probably just be drawing attention to yourself. Be sure to check out the neon board next to the bar as it displays the daily specials like the all-too-tempting $2 domestic bottles on Tuesdays.

Food: During my visit, there was a buffet, but that was for the Bears game. Normally, Sundown Inn has no food, so eat beforehand because drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea. Just consider the game day buffet a surprise treat.

Sounds: I showed up at Sundown Inn during a Bears game, a game that they won, so the crowd was definitely jovial. The audio was going over the loudspeakers as bargoers chatted with each other.

Parking: Sundown Inn is conveniently located in a strip mall which has its own large parking lot. Finding a spot should never be a problem. Just don't do what I did and pull into the lot next door at the church and expect the two lots to be connected. Because they definitely are not.

Overall: If you have ever been at a worthwhile neighborhood bar, you should feel at home at Sundown Inn. While areas like Glendale Heights are being built up more and more every day, establishments like Sundown Inn still exist, tucked away, offering plenty of charm.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Sundown Inn Pub</p> <p class="News">1775 Bloomingdale Road, Glendale Heights, (630) 510-0400</p> <p class="News">Hours: Noon to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, noon to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday</p>