# What is the most interesting bar/pub addition **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718 "2021-05-09T23:29:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/21 "2021-05-10T15:52:50Z")
I just learned of a unique bar in Great Falls, MT named the Sip 'n Dip: [Sip ‘N Dip – O’Haire Motor Inn](https://ohairemotorinn.com/sip-n-dip/) I learned about it because their singing piano gal, Piano Pat, just died after playing at the Sip 'n Dip for 50 years: > **['Piano Pat,' Tiki bar entertainer for decades, dies](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/may/06/piano-pat-tiki-bar-entertainer-for-decades-dies/)** > > Patricia Sponheim, known as "Piano Pat,” who entertained crowds at a Tiki bar in downtown Great Falls for more than 50 years, has died. Beyond the live music, the bar features a see-through swimming pool with mermaids. This is the type of classy joint I hope to visit some day. Their drinks are large enough to fit my entire bucket list. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/22 "2021-05-10T16:06:01Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > When does your memoir come out? I’m working on it! 🍁 [Non-Acute Effects of Cannabis Use on Motivation and Reward Sensitivity in Humans: A Systematic Review](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6062456/) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/23 "2021-05-10T16:08:24Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Another place was [Lulu’s Roadhouse in Kitchener](https://www.toronto.com/community-story/5545243--tbt-april-8-2000-last-call-at-lulu-s-kitchener-s-rock-haven-closes-its-doors-tonight/): > > It was absolutely huge, with a 300 foot long bar (The world’s longest bar, according to Guinness World Records) just inside the doors. By the time I went there (in the late '90s, to see acts like James Brown and Doug & The Slugs), it had been split into (at least) two smaller-but-still-very-long bars. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/24 "2021-05-10T16:14:12Z")
Pre-pandemic my gf’s favorite place for an after-work drink was [Papa J’s Centro](https://www.yelp.com/biz/papa-js-centro-pittsburgh), which is now closed. It was located on The Boulevard of the Allies in downtown Pittsburgh and was originally a brothel! My gf’s ad agency got into some hot water over a gratis ad campaign they produced, making light (some said) of prostitution. The building had a tunnel that went under the road, allowing (back in the day) easy unseen ingress and egress for the city’s movers and shakers. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/25 "2021-05-10T16:16:25Z")
Please tell me Panther Hallow Inn (in Oakland across from CMUs main campus) is still around… ---
**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:** [May 10, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/26 "2021-05-10T16:27:31Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Please tell me Panther Hallow Inn (in Oakland across from CMUs main campus) is still around Gone for a while now, sadly. When I was a kid we used to ride bikes from home (Squirrel Hill) down Forbes Avenue and into Oakland. In Oakland we’d buy fifteen cent burgers at Winkys, absolutely devastating the fixings bar, then ride down the trail to Panther Hollow where we’d sit by the “Lake” and eat. The Phipp’s Conservatory allowed us to walk through with our bikes, and there was no charge. We would also lock our bikes outside the Carnegie Museum and go in (free, again) to see the dinosaurs. Those were the days! ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/27 "2021-05-10T16:30:57Z")
It wasn’t remarkable back in the day but nowadays I’m very excited when I see a Bar Billiards table in a pub when I’m in the UK: > **[Bar billiards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_billiards)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Bar billiards is a form of billiards which involves scoring points by potting balls in holes on the playing surface of the table rather than in pockets. Bar billiards developed from the French/Belgian game billard russe, of Russian origin. The current form started in the UK in the 1930s and now has leagues in Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Kent, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire and Northamptonshire. These cou... My old local in Berkshire also used to have a traditional skittle alley in the back room, though that has long since been converted into hotel rooms. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/28 "2021-05-10T16:31:37Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I always thought it would be cool to have an indoor bar with beach volleyball courts and plenty of sand, mimicking the waterfront somehow. It’s probably been done, but I’ve never seen it. It would be popular in winter! There’s a place by me with a bar, live music and [indoor sand volleyball](https://kellysbleachers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/dome_volleyball.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/29 "2021-05-10T16:41:40Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > It wasn’t remarkable back in the day but nowadays I’m very excited when I see a Bar Billiards table in a pub when I’m in the UK: _The Glasshouse Stores_ near Piccadilly Circus has one of these. Great pub - one of my favourites in London. Not so much an addition however there’s an excellent basement bar in London called _Reverend J W Simpson_ which occupies a former brothel and they haven’t redecorated. Another place in London is called _Pong_ near Holborn and it’s a bar filled with dozens of table tennis tables all of which you can (and are encouraged to) play on. There are a few like this with different games such as darts, where you play a sport and they serve you drinks as you do it. The particularly interesting thing about this venue is that they opened it and then only later discovered that the same building happens to be the site in which the game of table tennis was invented. A blue plaque proudly explains the building’s significance above the entrance. ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/30 "2021-05-10T16:54:07Z")
There’s a chain of “bars” in California that are basically a giant arcade/pinball room with a couple of bar tables on the side ([picture linked here because it may be too large to fit in the post](https://i.imgur.com/G8C8TCt.jpg)). Sadly, the location nearest to me has been permanently shuttered due to the pandemic lockdowns. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/31 "2021-05-10T19:23:50Z")
It turns out, [throwing axes](https://www.kickaxe.com/dc) and alcohol mix better than expected. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/32 "2021-05-10T19:49:43Z")
> [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](#): > > There’s a chain of “bars” in California that are basically a giant arcade/pinball room with a couple of bar tables on the side ([picture linked here because it may be too large to fit in the post](https://i.imgur.com/G8C8TCt.jpg)). Sadly, the location nearest to me has been permanently shuttered due to the pandemic lockdowns. In Chicago, there’s a couple that are similar but focus mostly on classic video games. Supposedly classic pinball machines are very expensive to repair and get parts for. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/33 "2021-05-10T20:11:53Z")
[Giger Bar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giger_Bar). I’ve been to the one in Gruyères, very atmospheric. More bars should have Harkonnen Chairs. More comfortable than they look ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/34 "2021-05-10T23:34:21Z")
There’s one of those in Brooklyn, not far from where I live. I had no idea that it was a chain. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/35 "2021-05-10T23:38:11Z")
Eulogy was (it sadly closed a few years ago) a tavern dedicated to mostly beer. They also had mushroom sandwiches (most places serve sliced regular-size mushrooms. Eulogy served a single giant mushroom cap in this fantastic sauce. The fries also came with Belgian sauce) and fries. Upstairs, they had a ‘coffin room’. The whole room was decorated with death and the tables were coffins with plexiglass lids. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/36 "2021-05-10T23:56:50Z")
There’s a place in Albuquerque, called ‘Vernon’s Steakhouse’ with the same setup. It’s a fully functional mob-styled speakeasy, with a **fantastic** restaurant, all with a nondescript exterior, in a semi-industrial part of town. I took my folks to it and they had a blast! FIrst time I went to it with my SIGO, I was circling the block for twenty minutes. Thank Og I knew the password. Tripler No, I will not tell you where it is, lest some mook visit me in the near future to ‘moitalize’ me. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/37 "2021-05-11T00:06:29Z")
Even though I have relatives in Wisconsin, I never got to experience that monument to late 1960s kitsch that is The Gobbler. But the place had a rotating bar. I don’t know if having a rotating bar offers any real advantages. I assume it’s just a gimmick. Actually, as I understand the theater that occupies the space now still utilizes the rotating bar. [https://www.lileks.com/institute/motel/roost/4.html](https://www.lileks.com/institute/motel/roost/4.html) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/38 "2021-05-11T00:25:52Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > No, I will not tell you where it is But can you tell us WTF SIGO is? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/39 "2021-05-11T00:39:47Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Supposedly classic pinball machines are very expensive to repair and get parts for. I’ve been to a number of these ‘barcades,’ and pinball always commands a premium price to play. Where video games are free or maybe a quarter, pinball (and skeeball (sp?)) are a dollar. One that I’ve been to, I think Replay on Clark, had tape of American Gladiator on the screens (no sound) which was surprisingly more entertaining than the games. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718/40 "2021-05-11T00:49:04Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > But can you tell us WTF SIGO is? I’m guessing **SIG** nificant **O** ther. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-interesting-bar-pub-addition/941718.md?page=3)