Tell us about your favorite bar

[mordecai]

Originally Posted by edinatlanta

Oooo! Chicago bars! Can't forget Miller's Pub! Lost so much of my dignity there in about 45 minutes.

oh yeah, chicago. i used to visit my sister at northwestern and she would take me to some great bars in the city. violet hour is one that sticks out in my memory. always had a good time there.

 

[Piobaire]

If we're going to branch out into bars we have not spent many nights drinking at, I would have to toss in the Velvet Tango Room. Only been once but had a fantastic night and it is so well known for being a quality bar.

 

[Axelman 17]

This thread is useless without good NYC bars:

My favorite bars for good cocktails:
- Death & Co
- James (Brooklyn)
- For Defiance (Brooklyn)
- Cienfuegos
- Vandaag
- Elsa

My favorite bars for beer:
- Marshall Stack
- Spitzers
- Against the Grain

 

[TwoFours]

I second the guy that said McSorleys in NYC. best bar ever

 

[ErnestoG.]

http://www.cerveceriainternacional.com/ lived about 2 blocks from there for 4 months. such a sick beer bar

 

[Bradford]

Favorite bars in various locations...

In Tucson, Bob Dobbs - a neighborhood bar by the university which is a great place to watch a game, eat a meal or just hang out with the regulars.

In Grosse Pointe, MI, The Rustic Cabins - I haven't been there in 20-years but I doubt it has changed. It's another neighborhood dive bar with the claim to fame that Jack Kerouac used to drink there.

In Sacramento, I don't yet know. Probably the bar at Morton's. It's in the office building next to mine, has a great staff and is nice place to stop after work.

 

[impolyt_one]

Originally Posted by Bradford

Favorite bars in various locations...

In Tucson, Bob Dobbs - a neighborhood bar by the university which is a great place to watch a game, eat a meal or just hang out with the regulars.

In Grosse Pointe, MI, The Rustic Cabins - I haven't been there in 20-years but I doubt it has changed. It's another neighborhood dive bar with the claim to fame that Jack Kerouac used to drink there.

In Sacramento, I don't yet know. Probably the bar at Morton's. It's in the office building next to mine, has a great staff and is nice place to stop after work.

I'd be down to drink at a bar Kerouac drank at. I drank at an interesting place in Ginza that had the autographs of Yasunori Kawabata and Yukio Mishima framed together.

 

[billsayers]

Favorite local bar: Seven Grand in downtown Los Angeles. Proper whiskey bar with a rustic interior. Place is packed to the gills on the weekends but I enjoy going there on the weekdays when they have live music.

Favorite dive bar: Donna's in Gardena. The undisputed king of dive bars - cheap drinks, dart boards, ****** jukebox with 90's rap music blaring, small TVs playing SportsCenter. I never left this place fit to drive.

Favorite foreign bar: Cobblestone in Dublin. Irish pub with live trad music and open mic in a separate room. Listening to the amateur open mic acts was probably better than any concert I've ever been to.

 

[PeterMetro]

Funny, favorite bars can be for so many reasons - some of mine are not because of any redeeming qualities, but just because I ended so many nights there. Regardless:

Angel Share, New York. A hidden cocktail obsessed spot before hidden cocktail obsessed spots were en vogue. Quiet and intimate, if there isn't a seat for you, you can't come in.

Brandy Library, New York. Clubby, with big leather lounge chairs. An exhaustive list of whiskeys. Similar to Angel Share, there's a no standing policy.

Blue & Gold Bar, New York. A true dive. Haven't been in a while, but 3 songs on the juke box were 50 cents and a game of pool 75. They were famous for not making drinks with more than two ingredients.

Bar at the Soho Grand, New York. Swank without being trendy and, like the rest of the Soho Grand, dogs are 100% welcome.

Charlie's Kitchen, Cambridge, MA. For no good reason. The food is pretty awful, but the beer is cold.

Clubhouse of the Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton, MA. The real deal. As WASPy as it sounds. Members and guests of members only.

Constellation, Shanghai. Like Angel Share, but in China. Just about the only place here with a decent bourbon list. Luckily, it is a fantastic bourbon list.

Monkey Lounge, Shanghai. Walk down a foul smelling, trash strewn alley, open a non-descript door, and find relaxed lounge with Varnier Fanierre at a very reasonable 700 RMB a bottle. It may be filled with expats, but find me a bar in Shanghai that's not.

 

[Sazerac]

Anyone else know the Subway Inn on Lex and 60th (61st, maybe?) It's a weird old joint tucked in an unlikely UES neighborhood. It's literally falling apart and the bathrooms are out of Trainspotting. I once threw away a pair of shoes after trying, unsuccessfully, to use it.

I'm also a fan of Jimmy's Corner. It's the only remnant left of the old Times Square.

 

[TwoFours]

Originally Posted by Sazerac

Anyone else know the Subway Inn on Lex and 60th (61st, maybe?) It's a weird old joint tucked in an unlikely UES neighborhood. It's literally falling apart and the bathrooms are out of Trainspotting. I once threw away a pair of shoes after trying, unsuccessfully, to use it.

.

haha yeah. great spot for a beer before heading up to yankee games.

 

[TheIdler]

Can Paixano, also known as the Xampañeria, in Barcelona. It's gotten ridiculously crowded lately, but I have had so many good times there, it doesn't matter. You used to be able to get a bottle of drinkable cava for something like 3 euros, awesomely greasy tapas, and a perfect mix of locals, tourists, and students.

The Peculier Pub was probably the place I spent the most time when I lived in New York--a few blocks from where I lived, decent selection of cheap beer, and just a perfect atmosphere for relaxing.

From San Francisco, I think my favorite was the Black Horse. It's ridiculously tiny and no frills but a great atmosphere.

I guess as much as I love places where you can sit on fine leather and sample hundreds of scotches, it's the dives that will always be my favorites. Also, they should be within stumbling distance of my home.

 

[speedfreak]

I've recently discovered Le Lion (http://www.lelion.net/) in Hamburg, Germany. Drinks are superb, and it has a very old-school feeling. Apparently, it has also been voted within the top 50 bars worldwide by Drinks International.

 

[Gus]

The first few years that Pravda was open (NYC) it was a memorable scene. But then their two best, upstairs bartenders moved on

Cesar on Shattuck in Berkeley was an amazing place for tapas and cocktails for a few years but then the owners got distracted. Its still a pretty good place.

I guess I have to find a new favorite. I better do more research.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Le Lion reminded me that I absolutely love the bar at Pershing Hall hotel in Paris. The drinks are extremely over-priced and not stand-out good... but the asmosphere and decor are top notch. I always go there for at least one round when I'm in town.