I don’t normally go out on Wednesday nights simply because I don’t like feeling sluggish for my classes on Thursday. Yeah, my first class isn’t until 11 a.m., but still, I need my beauty sleep. Last Wednesday, though, my roommate Brittany was planning on meeting up with some friends at Jim Hegarty’s Pub, 1120 W. Wells St., for “double your dough.” Since I’d never been to Heg’s on a Wednesday night, and I’m pretty poor, “double your dough” sounded like a good idea.

I didn’t go to Hegarty’s with too high of expectations. I’d been there once before, and I knew that it wasn’t fancy. Hegarty’s is the definition of a dive bar. It’s dimly lit, grimy and broken down. While there are two bars, one at the front of the pub and one at the back, only the front bar was open. It wasn’t overly crowded but most of the seats in the narrow pub were filled.

We went straight to the bar to put down our money, since you have to put it down before 10 p.m. in order to get a tab that is double that amount. Here’s how “double your dough” works. Brittany and I compiled our money and put down $10 at the bar, which meant that we had a $20 tab. $20 got us two mixed drinks each, so it was a good deal.

Brittany and I went to the back of the pub, where our friends occupied two of the round tables next to the restrooms. Everyone was in high spirits and happy to socialize mid-week. That’s the great thing about a place like Hegarty’s. It’s simple. It’s a place where you go to have a drink and talk with friends; there is no gimmick. I appreciate that in a bar.

Also, the music at Heg’s isn’t too loud to carry a conversation. That’s my pet peeve at bars and pubs. I like to sit down and talk with my friends, and when music is too loud, I can’t do that. Of course, in a club, I like loud music — better for dancing!

While we didn’t stay at Hegarty’s all night, it was a great place to start. We had a couple of drinks, caught up with our friends, then ventured on. I’ll probably go back. I do have one complaint, though. We tried to take our picture in the photo booth at the back of the pub, and it was out of paper. Talk about a bummer!