# Tell me About the Unique Local Bars in your Area **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 2016, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837 "2016-12-29T09:32:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/1 "2016-12-29T09:32:57Z")
Not the ones who bought a bunch of s\*\*\* at an auction and bolted it to the walls - I’m talking about local places that have real history. I just spent hours at _My Brothers Bar_ in Lower Downtown Denver. If you walked by it you’d never know it was a bar. There is no signage whatsoever. It looks like someone’s quaint old house. Inside, there are no Televisions and the only music is classical determined by the bar staff, who can also make you a perfect Old Fashioned or pour a great Guiness. This was the hangout for the Beat writers of the 1950’s. Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, Alan Ginsburg… There is a framed letter on the wall from Cassady (written from prison) asking a friend to pay off his bar tab. The whole place reeks of history. Yours? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/2 "2016-12-29T12:38:07Z")
[Manuel’s](http://www.manuelstavern.com/#history). A timeline of the history is [here](http://www.ajc.com/news/manuel-tavern-closing-timeline-the-year-old-bar/NwR06JXigO5W0466AHQGKK/). I didn’t realize until reading that that it was where Carter made the announcement that he was running for GA Governor again (for the second time, this time successfully). Before they closed for major renovations (they’re now reopened), folks from the university where I work and another one up the road did 3D scans of all the rooms and are creating a virtual walk-through of the pre-renovation space. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/3 "2016-12-29T13:23:05Z")
[House of 1000 Beers](http://houseof1000beers.com/), usually just called “the house”, is my go-to place for refreshment. Opened originally by a beer lover at the beginning of the craft-beer craze, the house has blossomed into a fine dining establishment. True to its name, there are over 1000 unique bottles/cans as well as 40 draft beers and an occasional cask. Originally the only food was chexmix. Then one day a local chef approached the owner with a vision of fine dining in a bar. That took off and is going strong. Monthly beer-food pairings sell out in minutes. Breakfast events have included a donut-beer pairing and a crepe-beer pairing. What a way to start the day! ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/4 "2016-12-29T13:40:34Z")
I’m in the UK so you can’t swing a cat without hitting a pub that’s at least 100 years old. My local, the Prince of Wales, dates from the 1880’s but has been updated several times over the years. In 2009 it was CAMRA regional champion making it one of the top 16 pubs in the country. It’s been the local CAMRA branch pub of the year every year for the last 10 or so years. Down the road is The Ship where in 1860 the first international bare-knuckle prize fight took place. Sadly, The Tumbledown Dick is now a McDonalds. > [@wikipedia](#): > > The Tumbledown Dick is a former public house on the site of a new McDonald’s restaurant in Farnborough, Hampshire, in the United Kingdom, that operated from the 16th century[1] until the early 21st century. The name of the pub originates as the satirical nickname given to Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, after his abrupt fall from power after a brief nine-month reign in 1658–59.[2] The pub was the central focus of Farnborough before its 19th-century refocus toward North Camp and the current town centre’s 20th-century development. Local folklore links the pub with various historical figures, including Cromwell, Henry VIII (celebrating the downfall of Richard III) and Dick Turpin.[3] The pub was closed in 2008, and the building purchased by McDonald’s in 2012.[4] ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/5 "2016-12-29T13:42:26Z")
I forgot to mention the one quirky thing about the place. The owner is incapable of saying no to a Girl Scout, so the walls are stacked with boxes of cookies. If you have a sudden craving for Thin Mints or Tagalongs, head to 15th and whatever (right over I 25) and you’re covered. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/6 "2016-12-29T13:50:31Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > I’m in the UK so you can’t swing a cat without hitting a pub that’s at least 100 years old. My local, the Prince of Wales, dates from the 1880’s but has been updated several times over the years. In 2009 it was CAMRA regional champion making it one of the top 16 pubs in the country. It’s been the local CAMRA branch pub of the year every year for the last 10 or so years. > Down the road is The Ship where in 1860 the first international bare-knuckle prize fight took place. > > Sadly, The Tumbledown Dick is now a McDonalds. Fair game. Almost everywhere is going to have older pubs than the US. Give us the stories that makes them unique. The prize fight is definitely cool. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/7 "2016-12-29T13:59:16Z")
[RFD](http://lovethebeer.com/about.html) in Chinatown, DC. Over 5000 beers available, allegedly. I believe there may have even been an SDMB meet-up there a few years back. There’s also Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring, MD. It was in the basement of a corner restaurant. Rumor has it it was once a Speakeasy during Prohibition. I believe it. Unfortunately the restaurant above had a fire in 2015 and they had to close but temporarily re-opened across the street in the former space of the infamous Piratz Tavern. I’m actually not sure if they’ve moved back yet I don’t go by there very often. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/8 "2016-12-29T14:08:27Z")
I was writing a post about Denver’s Highland neighborhood, but realized I’d be hijacking my own thread. Maybe I’ll start another thread in a different forum. Hoo-boy, that place is deliciously whacko. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/9 "2016-12-29T15:05:23Z")
To name some other unique bars in Atlanta, some of which I’ve been to, some I haven’t: [The Clermont](http://clermontlounge.net/) - dive bar/strip club. Haven’t been here, was going to get a group to go during a conference in January, but it will be closed for renovations. [Porter Beer Bar](http://www.theporterbeerbar.com/) excellent beer selection, but I hate dealing with Little Five Points, so I don’t go here often. [Brick Store](http://www.brickstorepub.com/) This is my neighborhood bar, so to speak (I live about a mile from there, so reasonable walking distance). Great beer selection, good food (I’ve had some misses there, but that was me going with something I don’t usually like but thought I’d try). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/10 "2016-12-29T16:27:28Z")
There used to be a tiny little bar down the road that had a counter-top with **1000’s** of pennies sealed in this thick, clear resin. All were heads-up, except two, I think. I played darts there. The story was, this building was originally constructed for Marilyn Monroe as a “dressing room” for her last movie shoot, \*“The Misfits”. \*Can’t verify that, however. Bar has since closed, then it was a realtor office, now it’s one of those fly-by-night churches. I’m really curious what happened to that bar-o’pennies. Maybe I’ll wander down there some day… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/11 "2016-12-29T18:05:08Z")
Back when I was a mail/supply clerk, one of the other guys owned a roadhouse near the main gate of Andrews AFB. Place was like Bob’s Country Bunker in _The Blues Brothers_ but with booths rather than very long tables and without the chicken wire. The building itself dated from around the turn of the 20[sup]th[/sup] Century and had been a bar prior to Prohibition, at which time it became a private club. The last iteration of the bar had been established in 1940; my co-worker and his wife took over ownership in '78 when her father left it to them. They knew Donna Dixon and Dan Aykroyd through Donna’s father, who owned a similar roadhouse on Route 1. Dan even showed up one night and played a Blues Brothers set with the house band. Wish I had been there! I was in there a few times, once for an office party and at least twice with my eldest brother. Free food & free drinks for the party, free food and half-price drinks the rest of the time. I was looking to move out of my brother’s apartment when the owners offered to let me stay in the second floor storage room in exchange for backing up the bouncers on weekends. This fell through when it was discovered that my living there would have violated zoning laws. Branch Avenue Metro Station was still a long way off, anyway. The Village Barn burned down around the turn of the 21[sup]st[/sup] Century. [The land was still empty when Google drove through four years ago.](https://www.google.com/maps/place/6601+SUITLAND+RD/@38.8262685,-76.8925709,3a,75y,235.86h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssSSN5Ip8tVQtehcKjXupTQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xf805c1fa1dac9e37!6m1!1e1) ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/12 "2016-12-29T21:00:52Z")
I used to live in the Los Angeles area, and on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is a venerable little Polynesian-style bar called the [Tiki-Ti](http://www.tiki-ti.com/pages/home.html). They make their own homemade fruit syrups and serve unique, one-of-a-kind drinks made from their own recipes. Their drinks are extremely delicious and cunningly deceptive. Their best one is called a “Ray’s Mistake”, and woe to anyone who has more than one or two of them. It’s a funny, funky little joint and I miss it. Even though I don’t drink anymore, I still miss it. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/13 "2016-12-30T01:37:32Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > The last iteration of the bar had been established in 1940; my co-worker and his wife took over ownership in '78 when her father left it to them. They knew Donna Dixon and Dan Aykroyd through Donna’s father, who owned a similar roadhouse on Route 1. Dan even showed up one night and played a Blues Brothers set with the house band. Wish I had been there! I was in there a few times, once for an office party and at least twice with my eldest brother. Free food & free drinks for the party, free food and half-price drinks the rest of the time. Huh. Where on Rte. 1? I went to HS with Donna Dixon’s little sister. Donna went there, too, but she is quite a bit older than me. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/14 "2016-12-30T01:46:36Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I used to live in the Los Angeles area, and on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood is a venerable little Polynesian-style bar called the [Tiki-Ti](http://www.tiki-ti.com/pages/home.html). They make their own homemade fruit syrups and serve unique, one-of-a-kind drinks made from their own recipes. Know it, miss it, too. Me and some buddies used to hang out in some similar joint in Chinatown called Rea-Me-Luu, (or something like that). Place was a throw-back (or more likely, survivor) from the 40’s. Andrews Sisters on the juke box, little umbrellas in the drinks and a slightly sinister vibe that something seriously fucked-up was going on in the back room. This was thirty years ago, now that I think about it… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/15 "2016-12-30T02:08:31Z")
Are you looking purely for history, or newer bars that do unique things? The Red Dog Saloon, Virginia City, NV was a [seminal place](http://www.furious.com/perfect/reddogsaloon.html) for [psychedelic rock](http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Psychedelic-rock-era-opens-with-gig-at-Wild-West-6352455.php). For the latter category, a local place has only 2-3 beers on tap, but has a walk in fridge with hundreds of semi-obscure beers from around the world. You can carry out, but most take them to the bar and drink there. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/16 "2016-12-30T03:58:45Z")
If you’re into taxidermy, [Foster’s Bighorn](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11177) in Rio Vista is the place to have a drink with a whole herd of wildlife. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/17 "2016-12-30T06:19:19Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > The Red Dog Saloon, Virginia City, NV was a [seminal place](http://www.furious.com/perfect/reddogsaloon.html) for [psychedelic rock](http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Psychedelic-rock-era-opens-with-gig-at-Wild-West-6352455.php). I was originally going to post about The Bucket of Blood in Virginia City, but there isn’t much unique about it. Just a tourist trap bar in a tourist trap town. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/18 "2016-12-30T11:48:18Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > If you’re into taxidermy, [Foster’s Bighorn](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11177) in Rio Vista is the place to have a drink with a whole herd of wildlife. [Joe’s Bar](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/3506) in Ligonier, PA, similarly houses hundreds of taxidermied animals. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/19 "2016-12-30T13:41:05Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Know it, miss it, too. Me and some buddies used to hang out in some similar joint in Chinatown called Rea-Me-Luu, (or something like that). > > Place was a throw-back (or more likely, survivor) from the 40’s. Andrews Sisters on the juke box, little umbrellas in the drinks and a slightly sinister vibe that something seriously fucked-up was going on in the back room. > > This was thirty years ago, now that I think about it… I remember that place! We used to go there, too, before we went to see punk rock acts at Madame Wong’s. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837/20 "2016-12-30T15:21:45Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > [RFD](http://lovethebeer.com/about.html) in Chinatown, DC. Over 5000 beers available, allegedly. I believe there may have even been an SDMB meet-up there a few years back. In the late 1980s I visited **The Brickskeller** with some friends when I worked as a co-op student in Maryland. Nice place, and very much ahead of its time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-unique-local-bars-in-your-area/775837.md?page=2)