We've got about a foot of snow here in Denver and another 6 inches possible today. We'll be getting out of work around noon, which means one thing: Go to the bar for the afternoon. As anyone who lives in a snowbound part of the country, you know there's nothing cozier than a bar with a ton of snow just out side the door. I 'll probably be hitting S. Broadway. There's a strip of good bars there, no clubs. I can't say which is my favorite as they all have good characteristics (and characters). I'll hit Skylark, 3 Kings Tavern, SoBo 151 and Barry's. FOCUS: What's your favorite bar and why?
Bulldog Lowertown (St. Paul) - There is a great selection of beer (mostly Belgian and a lot of local seasonals). They have my Surly and Bells on tap. The wait staff is phenominal and after seeing you there once or twice, they all introduce themselves by name and ask yours (and they are very good at remembering). The food is second to none for cheap bar food. The best though - the wide range of people you get. Anything from the typical "biker", to the standard middle/upper management, to hot 22 year old women, to your earthy hipster. It's also walking distance to the "X" (Xcel Energy Center where the Wild play) and they have shuttles on game nights. Any of you in the TC would really enjoy this (they also have them in uptown and Nordeast). Oh, and it's across the street from my condo and the owner is my neighbor one door down. I think that impacts my decision making process. http://www.thebulldoglowertown.com/home.html
My favorite bar is The North Country Brewery in Slippery Rock, PA. I must have spent four days a week in that place for the year I lived in town. Their seasonal beers are amazing, the annual pumpkin lager is made with thousands of pounds of fresh pumpkin and their Imperials and IPAs are delicious and nearly combustible. The Stonehouse Stout is amazing. I've travelled a lot, had many a fine stout in Ireland and England and many more in breweries across the US. None of them come remotely close to this beer. The mug club is great, the ceramic shop next door makes the mugs, each guaranteed at least 26 ounces, but some are much larger. Getting in early on the annual new mug offer netted me a 36 ounce monster. For an investment of $40 I could fill it all year for the price of a pint. Every Monday they have amazing live bluegrass, Wednesday is wing night featuring whole wings for $2.00 per pound. The bartenders know your name and drink within three visits and there are plenty of great regulars. I always ran into someone I could shoot the shit with, no matter what time of day I walked in. Damn, I miss that place.
My bar of choice is a place called Downtown Danny O's. I like it because it's got a decent amount of beers available, they don't rape you with prices, there's a couple pool tables and dart boards, they've got three bars (one of which is on the second floor and has a retractable glass roof and rooftop patio), and there are TVs everywhere. For a bar, the food is decent, too. But, most of all, I like it because it's about 100 yards from where I live and I can get blasted and stumble home very easily.
My favorite bar near my home town in Westminster MD is http://www.johanssonsdininghouse.com/brewery/index.asp There is a fine dining restaurant that is on the ground level, very great place to grab some lunch or dinner oh also you can pick up a growler of beer made in their brewery amazing IPA and 2 others that they brew there. Under neath there is the "down under bar and grill" its the choice for night life from the students at the college and locals alike. Decent drink specials 6 pool tables, live bands etc... My favorite bar where I go to school is Mc Gillicuddy's Irish Pub in Montpelier vermont...pretty slim pickings up here in vermont when it comes to bars in my area. But this one has amazing food and pulls off the Irish pub look and feel without it being to camppy.
I have two to contribute, on opposite sides of the country. Falling Rock Tap House in downtown Denver, Colo. It has about 70 beers on tap, reasonable prices, and what can only be described as a uniquely Colorado atmosphere. It's within spitting distance of Coors Field, making it the perfect place to have a few pregame drinks. Rum Runners in Wilmington, N.C. What every college bar aspires to be. On Wednesdays, it has .75 cent well drinks and shots. Wilmington is a college town on the beach, so Rum Runners fills with hot, toned and tanned UNC-Wilmington chicks. There are also dueling pianos played by fairly talented musicians, at least when I lived there. I think I went every Wednesday in college between when I got my fake ID sophomore year and graduation.
I would link to the website of my favorite bar but they don't have a website. They don't have food either, or a decent selection of beers. They're open on Saturday from midnight until the sun comes up. That, and the fact that it's located in the red-light district makes it the hangout for of duty hookers. A great place to drink a couple of beers before going home at 4 am.
So far my favorite bar in NYC is Yer Mann's pub in Queens. They have 35 cent wings on Thursdays, and although they charge $6 for a beer like every goddamn place here, its a decent atmosphere. They used to film scenes in "Kings of Queens" here. I stay away from Manhattan as far as bars (as I cannot stand the prices or the atmosphere) with the exception of Cafe Wha in SoHo. A $20 cover for peak times, but the people there are very cool and the music is very top notch. I know we have a lot of New Yorkers here, and I'm looking for a good place somewhere in Brooklyn (close to the East River). Any suggestions?
My favorite bay has to be The Fours in Boston on Canal street. There is also one in quincy that is damn good too. Tons of sports memorabilia and a good place to watch a game.
Any bar that doesn't have one of these things. They suck ass with their premeasured gimic. Free pour is the only way to go.
"Free pour" as well as free drinks are ALWAYS my favorite kind regardless! Focus: If you ever spend time in downtown Indianapolis (god help you) check out a place called Nicky Blaine's, it's located in the basement of one of the buildings on Monument Circle (center of the city) in downtown Indy. It's well known for it's variety of expensive cigars, single malt, darkly lit enviorment with red velvet drapes/furniture, vegas style carpet and larged framed photographs of Abraham Lincoln on one side and JFK on the opposite. It's quite probably the only drinking establishment in Indy that can hold a candle to anything in Chicago.
The Fours is a great bar! Also a favorite for Umass Alum and fans.... Like the perfect girl I didn't realize how much I enjoyed Barcie's in Amherst untill it was gone. Tiny place that could fit maybe 50 people so it was always hopping whether or not class was in session. Strong drinks, hot girls, and good music. No douchy club music, not much hardcore rap, mostly classic rock! Just thinking about all the fun we used to have there brings a tear to my eye. If you have ever been there grab a beer, turn up your speakers, and click for a trip down memory lane http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccxKgntF ... re=related Official page http://www.barsies.net/index.php
Dude, what are you talking about, Indianapolis has some GREAT places. You're just in the wrong area, get out of downtown. Even though it pains me to say it, the best bars in Indy are closer to Broad Ripple. Fishers also has some awesome spots...I can't remember the names of any of these places because I don't live there anymore but you get the drift.
Near UC's campus in Clifton my favorite hang out bar was Murpheys Pub, and Irish pub that was a block from my last apartment down there. From the outside it looks like a standard hole in the wall bar. There are actually two bars one in front and one in back. The place is huge with multiple rooms for darts and pool and an outside "garten" area for smoking. It has a mix of different people, mostly UC students but a lot of locals. Which means the prices aren't outrageous. If I ever owned a bar this is the type of place I'd like to have. http://www.murphys-pub.com/ The other favorite of my friends is Longworth's in Mnt Adams. This is more of an upscale area of Cincinnati thus more expensive and more of an "it" spot for affluent (read: smoking hot) clientele. What I like about it is that it has both a club type area as well as a live band area. It also has a rooftop bar section which I think is an awesome feature for any bar. [url=http://www.longworthsmtadams.com/]http://www.longworthsmtadams.com/ [/url]
The Edison in downtown LA. It is located in the old boiler plant of a huge building, and looks like they stole the design for the place out of the movie Metropolis: The highlight used to be 35 cent martinis for 2 hours on Thursday Nights. My friend and I set our record of 15 in an hour and a half, our bar tab was only 5.25. Yet even though there were delicious, dirt cheap martinis, there were only a couple of other people drinking them in the whole place. Everyone else was drinking 8 dollar Stella's and other shit.
Focus: Sofie's SS Saloon in McAllen, TX. It's like a Texas version of cheers. THey have an old school, non-computer juke box that has nothing by Garth Brooks or the Beatles, but a wide selection of Stevie Ray Vauhan and the Rolling Stones. There is a shuffleboard table, and a pool table with loose velvet. The best part though, is the people. The owner and his girlfriend run it, and even when I have only had enough money for a couple of beers, they would still serve me more because they knew I was good for it. I love that place.
The Corner Bar here in Evansville. Its the epitome of dive bar. Cash only, sell cigarettes and chewing tobacco, only food available is of course a big, greasy burger. No imports, domestics only. Served in can, bottle, and up to 44oz draft for $3.00. The way it is built there is two long, narrow rooms and one larger room at the end. They've started doing a karaoke in the open end and it has been getting crowded to the point they finally started checking IDs. Luckily, no hipsters are present, just a bunch of urbanized rednecks and gorgeous college coeds.
I have two favorite bars. Back home, it's the Mainstrasse Village Pub in Covington, Ky. They have a huge selection of beer, two pool tables, mean, surly bartenders that don't put up with anyone's shit, and the coldest Jager I've ever tasted. You can expect to find all sorts of customers there on weekends, everyone from smoking hot college girls to 300 lb bikers with tattoos on their heads. My other favorite bar is the Mean Eyed Cat in Austin, Texas. This place is done entirely in the theme of Johnny Cash. Concert posters, photos, newspaper clippings, and all sorts of other memorabilia cover just about every square foot of the walls. Outside on the back patio there's a huge mural of the Man in Black. It's a pretty cool place.
Seeing as I go to school in Bloomington, IN we have a bunch of bars that are fun to frequent. By far though my favorite woul be Kilroy's on Kirkwood. Its been around forever and is all around just a great atmosphere. $2 Tuesday's and $3 half pitchers of whatever you want on Thursdays and also every day for happy hour from 5-8. There's always a Philly Cheesesteak cart set up right outside as well that has amazing food for dirt cheap.