Unless you want to shoot pool in a Really Nice Pool Hall with Great People around and Well Kept Tables!!
Seriously...I've heard so many people warn me about going to Red Shoes like I was gonna leave the place broke and naked...I mean I appreciate the heads up guys but I think all the worries are unfounded. I had a great time and left with my pants on and cue still with me plus a smile on my face.
The place doesn't look run down, it's clean, tidy and very well maintained. Nothing looks run down or smells bad it's really really proper. The equipments are great too, old GCs but level, great rails, clean and very well maintained. Tables are clean so much so that I can eat pizza with my hands without needing to wash, ok I did wash my hands but the water was clear when I washed.
I was the ONLY Asian there and at no point did I feel intimidated or un-welcome. Yes there were different races there, but they went about their own game and none of them was rowdy. Everybody there was civil. I'm elaborating this because I was warned that the neighborhood is not where I'd wanna be but I was there from 4pm to almost 12am... Granted I didn't roam the streets but if you're just playing pool what's wrong?
Granted there's a problem with Red Shoes...there are too many Johns in there! The owner's John and I was with 2 other AZers named Johns too...
So J-Flo(John Flores) works at Red Shoes and he introduced me to the owner John. The owner's a great guy, real funny and passionate about his hall. When he learnt that I was from Asia he bought me and the other 2 Johns a huge pizza(that huge that 3 big guys couldn't finish). He didn't have to do it but he was simply being a great host and it was a really kind gesture.
At this point you might think "ahhhh...Jive went with an inside person that's why everyone was cool with him".
I was at the pool hall with the AZer Crawf and nobody knew him there, so it was just the two of us for about 2 hours before J-Flo arrived and introduced us.
Anyway I feel really obligated to write this because I think Red Shoes might have gotten some unfounded negativity from the general public or other pool players who haven't been there. If you've not been there and you live in Chicago or is visiting I suggest you drop by Red Shoes and look for a John, any John should be fine
Once again a huge thanks to crawf and J-Flo for being such great host. It was genuinely a fun day with them and I just wish I had one more day with them. It's occasions like this that reminds me why AZ can be such a cool place. Who would've thought I'd be meeting and making new friends few thousand miles apart via a forum.
Here are some pictures I took.
Seriously...I've heard so many people warn me about going to Red Shoes like I was gonna leave the place broke and naked...I mean I appreciate the heads up guys but I think all the worries are unfounded. I had a great time and left with my pants on and cue still with me plus a smile on my face.
The place doesn't look run down, it's clean, tidy and very well maintained. Nothing looks run down or smells bad it's really really proper. The equipments are great too, old GCs but level, great rails, clean and very well maintained. Tables are clean so much so that I can eat pizza with my hands without needing to wash, ok I did wash my hands but the water was clear when I washed.
I was the ONLY Asian there and at no point did I feel intimidated or un-welcome. Yes there were different races there, but they went about their own game and none of them was rowdy. Everybody there was civil. I'm elaborating this because I was warned that the neighborhood is not where I'd wanna be but I was there from 4pm to almost 12am... Granted I didn't roam the streets but if you're just playing pool what's wrong?
Granted there's a problem with Red Shoes...there are too many Johns in there! The owner's John and I was with 2 other AZers named Johns too...
So J-Flo(John Flores) works at Red Shoes and he introduced me to the owner John. The owner's a great guy, real funny and passionate about his hall. When he learnt that I was from Asia he bought me and the other 2 Johns a huge pizza(that huge that 3 big guys couldn't finish). He didn't have to do it but he was simply being a great host and it was a really kind gesture.
At this point you might think "ahhhh...Jive went with an inside person that's why everyone was cool with him".
I was at the pool hall with the AZer Crawf and nobody knew him there, so it was just the two of us for about 2 hours before J-Flo arrived and introduced us.
Anyway I feel really obligated to write this because I think Red Shoes might have gotten some unfounded negativity from the general public or other pool players who haven't been there. If you've not been there and you live in Chicago or is visiting I suggest you drop by Red Shoes and look for a John, any John should be fine
Once again a huge thanks to crawf and J-Flo for being such great host. It was genuinely a fun day with them and I just wish I had one more day with them. It's occasions like this that reminds me why AZ can be such a cool place. Who would've thought I'd be meeting and making new friends few thousand miles apart via a forum.
Here are some pictures I took.
