Esquire's Best Bars In America

[Splificator]

Some of the folks at Esquire and I thought it would be an interesting project to try to find the very best bars in America. Of course, visiting every bar in in the country to do this, while fun and educational, would not be practical. We'd have to cover some 34,978 bars each. That would take a while and our spouses would be cross when we got in.

In other words, we need help--and whom better to ask than eGulleteers?

Here's what we're looking for: bars that are unique; that create their own little world where you wander in after dinner, start chatting with the folks around you and the next thing you know it's closing time; bars where the first sip of your drink makes you feel like that guy on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel when God touches his finger; bars that make a beer and a shot taste better than vintage Dom Perignon; bars--well, you get the idea. Any kind of bar, as long as it's great.

This being an Esquire joint, there's a snarky little survey form you can fill in on Esquire's homepage (look under features):

Esquire.com

If that does not appeal and you'd rather post your suggestions, that would be fine as well. Anything would help.

Tx,

DW

[Edited to replace easy and efficient, but defective, direct link to survey with slightly less easy link to Esquire homepage.]

Edited February 10, 2006 by Splificator (log)

[slkinsey]

Whoa. That's a lot of questions, dude. I think it might be interesting if those who fill out the forms for Esquire also post their choices here.

I won't fill it out myself, because any bar I might choose would be one of which Dave is already aware. But for top places in NYC, one could do worse than Flatiron Lounge, Milk & Honey and Pegu Club.

[M.X.Hassett]

In New York: Pegu, Milk&Honey, I dont know why but I have a fondness for the bar in the lobby of the Waldorf, BlindTiger, and for dives the Subway Inn if it is still there.

New Jersey: Andy's Corner Bar in Bogota, Zen Lounge (fresh juice program, use of tea, shiso leaves etc in drinks, evolving list with a nod to classics and the future) in Teaneck, Ziggys in Fort Lee on the dive end of the spectrum.

Ill pull up some of my notes and post some more.

[Alchemist]

What exactly do you mean by a "Good Bar"? Bars with sublime cocktails like Pegu, Little branch, M&H, EO, and East Side Co. is one thing. But what about Motor City? How about sitting in front of the fire place in the Back Room on a cold winter night sipping bourbon from a tea cup. The following bars are wonderful for one reason or another IMHO.

Spike Hill (Williamsburg)

Red Rock West

Black Betty (WB)

Bemelmans

Passerby

Lucky Jacks (Great Guinness)

The bar in Painters Inn In Cornwall on Hudson

Belmont Lounge

Park Bar

O'neals on Grand

Tile Bar

Great Jones Cafe

I'm sure I will think of more.

[mizducky]

So--I hope that "dive bars" are allowed to play, since those tend to be my favorite.

I haven't yet established a personal bar hangout here in San Diego, but the circle of friends I used to hang with in Seattle loved to do so in dive bars, and our all-time favorite was the venerable Nite Lite. This place is 90 years older than dirt, full of kitschy decor, with a clientele of seasoned ol' drunks mixed with funky young punks, and a jukebox full of oldies. The bartending is kind of random--I began to think that "Mai Tai" must be some secret code among their staff for "clean the bar fridge"--but the drinks were always *strong*. A great place to take a bunch of friends to sit around and howl with tipsy laughter all evening.

[Splificator]

Oh, Ms D, you make me want to strike my tent and head straight for Seattle. Of course dive bars are included--a lousy bar that looks great and makes great cocktails is still a lousy bar, and a great bar that smells bad and can't even get a simple G&T right is still a great bar. I yield to nobody in my appreciation for a properly-mixed drink, but there are more important things in life.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions, and please, please keep them coming--particularly ones that aren't in New York (I live in New York and there are thank God still a few bars here that haven't banned me).

[mixtress]

Dave, I'm sure you won't have very many suggestions from Hawaii. Here are my favorites:

Lamariana on Oahu is truly a special place and a must for me when I go home. It is one of the last true Hawaiian Kitch bars complete with glass fishing floats, tiki statues, fishing nets and waterfalls. The cocktails are by no means spectacular, but the ambiance is wonderful.

For the best cocktail in town try Lewers Lounge. Dale has been working on the beverage program there. Great menu, great ice, and fresh juice. It was such a pleasure to watch the sun set over Diamond Head while enjoying a properly made bourbon smash!

[phlip]

there is a place in pittsburgh called dees cafe on east carson street. its a two floor dive with great pool tables and the ladys behind the bar are as raunchy as they are fiesty as they are witty. having come to the big city nyc ive come to appriciate the finer aspects of bars and cocktails but i really miss judy asking how she can abuse me and serving me a yuengling. there are really no windows in the place so as soon as you enter its as if youve left the world behind and entered some other realm. one other thing is the clientle. its sort of like that bar luke skywalker and ob1 kanobie hire han solo in the first star wars with the exception that it is concragated by strange humans rather than strange aliens. no not the best bar in the world but i think a special place in its own strange pittsburgh way.

im getting nostalgic now. just loved that place on sunday afternoons.

cheers

[slbunge]

Since MizDucy opened the door for to recommending some bars that are notable for their environs or personality rather than the sublime quality of the drinks, I will add a couple from a famous city of taverns where I have spent a bit of time: Milwaukee.

Holler House (2042 W. Lincoln Ave)

Holler House is a classic version of the 'corner tap' that made Milwaukee famous. The bar is on the first floor and in the front of a relatively routine wood-frame house in a residential neighborhood. These were the taverns where men and women met their neighbors and drank their Gettleman beer (or Blatz or Pabst) evenings. Holler House has an additional endearing secret: it is the site of the oldest bowling lanes in continuous operation in the US. Two lanes in the basement with pins handset by neighborhood kids working for tips. The bric-a-brac downstairs by the lanes and upstairs near the bar make this a classic dive where a strong Jack and Coke or a can of beer are probably your best bet.

Art's Concertina Bar (1920 S 37th Street)

Art Altenburg is a concertina player extraordinaire (a concertina is a small accordian). Art's is a place where you can still listen to polka music and dance the night away with a fun crowd of folks. Last time I was there, Art is very chatty, giving me the run-down of his collection of historic (and beautiful) concertinas he has lined up behind the bar. By the way, his tavern is up for sale, so be strong when you go to ensure that you don't go back to NewYork needing to come up with a business plan for your new polka bar.

Esquire magazine may not have the readership that appreciates such bars, but they are a link to the tavern history of Milwaukee.

Have fun doing your research. I'm jealous.

[Alchemist]

Are you taking suggestions in all bouroughs? I see you are taking reccomendations in Hawaii, Millwalkee, and Seattle, but can you find anyone at Esquire intrepid enough to go to Queens?

[Busboy]

I don't know the swell bars of DC so well, as I don't often run with the swells, but The Raven in my neighborhood and the Tune Inn on Capitol Hill are legendary dives. You might try WPA and Zola if you want to drink beautiful drinks with beautiful people and, boring though it is, the Palm makes a hell of a martini.

Ring me if you're in the 'hood and we can go scouting together.

[Splificator]

Are you taking suggestions in all bouroughs?  I see you are taking reccomendations in Hawaii, Millwalkee, and Seattle, but can you find anyone at Esquire intrepid enough to go to Queens?

←

I myself have been inebriated in the great Borough of Queens on more than one occasion.

And again, the door was, is and shall be open to bars of ALL KINDS. Perhaps I was not clear enough about this in my original post. It's not just about the cocktails.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and please keep them coming (now I've just got to convince my editor to put me on the next flight to Oahu).

[Alchemist]

I'm sorry. I was neither questioning the journalistic integrity of the fine people of Esquire nor doubting the far flungness of the places of your inebriation. I will keep reccomending bars, with your criteria in mind. And I may be the first, but hopefully not the last, to reccomend a bar that I don't remember the name of, I too have been a wee bit tipsy in an outer bourough as well.

The bar on the corner of 21st and Jackson, under the Court Street station on the 7 line. It has a bar that was rescued from a ferry the plied the mighty East tidal estuary. I belive from Staten Island to upstate.

The Old Town Bar

The bar at Son Cubano

[lostmyshape]

there is a place in pittsburgh called dees cafe on east carson street. its a two floor dive with great pool tables and the ladys behind the bar are as raunchy as they are fiesty as they are witty...

dees is pretty standard for a pittsburgh bar. there's at least one of these in every pittsburgh neighborhood. across the street is jack's, and down a way's is brewski's and the white eagle. all notable for that fact that they open at 6AM. lot's of 2nd shift workers drinking the day in.

my vote for all those is the white eagle, also on carson st. it's got a big rectangular bar that fills the whole room, with only 3 feet to the wall, and the best juke-box in da 'burgh. wildly varied clientele: the elderly black couple talking to the college kid and middle-age blue collar about classic funk. beer and a shot... no difference between the rail and top shelf liquor (it's all bad). and you can walk out with a six-pack for 5 bucks.

too bad Chiodo's just got torn down to put in a CVS. this place was classic Pittsburgh, down the hill from where all the steel workers used to live. bras on the walls, great beer selection, and the "mystery sandwich." nothing lasts forever.

speaking of beer, Pittsburgh really is a beer-drinkin' town (alas, no cocktails in sight). there are 2 bars were you can choose from over 600 different beers: The Sharp Edge and D's 6-packs and Dogz (not related to the Dee's above). the latter has nearly 1,000 different beers to choose from and makes a mean hot dog, too. D's is in my neighborhood (regent square) and i love it. almost all locals who all say hi to you and want to talk about great beer.

maybe i'll go to that esquire site and nominate some bars.

[donbert]

Although I haven't been in a while the Tiki Ti in Los Angeles is a great place. Authentic tropical drinks all made from fresh squeezed juices by the father/son owner duo.

It's on the short list of things I miss about southern CA along with sunshine, good weather, and In and Out.

[ned]

So--I hope that "dive bars" are allowed to play, since those tend to be my favorite.

I haven't yet established a personal bar hangout here in San Diego, but the circle of friends I used to hang with in Seattle loved to do so in dive bars, and our all-time favorite was the venerable Nite Lite. This place is 90 years older than dirt, full of kitschy decor, with a clientele of seasoned ol' drunks mixed with funky young punks, and a jukebox full of oldies. The bartending is kind of random--I began to think that "Mai Tai" must be some secret code among their staff for "clean the bar fridge"--but  the drinks were always *strong*. A great place to take a bunch of friends to sit around and howl with tipsy laughter all evening.

←

The Nitelte is a Seattle institution, not least of all because it employs (or is owned by--not sure which) the mother of Seattle's greatest chef: Scott Carsberg. Little known fact. Anyway the last time I got kicked out of the Nitelight, my friends and I headed up to Capitol Hill for some pints of Fat Tire at the Comet where we ran into the semi-homeless guy who I found sleeping (snoring loudly) inside my apartment one night some years ago. I haven't been there in a few years but when I drive by it looks pretty much the same, more or less unaffected by the rampant real estate development around it. Always found the Comet and the people in it to be transporting to some very real Seattle, a little older, a lot harder than me, and usually drunker but not always.

Some others:

The Saloon at the Oyster Bar

Cipriani''s uptown for a martini in a very cool glass

still thinking. . .

In Omaha:

The Max-- gay cowboy nightclub

La Buvette--kind of a deli but serves giant glasses of Jameson's

Edited February 15, 2006 by ned (log)

[Alchemist]

I mentioned Spike Hill (on the notorious corner of 7th and Bedford) before. I go there because it has such a wide and esoteric collection of whiskeys. But i hadn't realized they do flights of whiskeys. They have a domestic flight, an aer lingus flight, and three international flights. Which are coach, bussiness, and first class. I'm not sure of the prices or ounces. I like the idea of getting a few friends togather and giong round the world.

[Rebecca263]

I nominate Churchill's Pub, in Miami. My Favorite Dive! Even though I can be pretty upscale at times, this is my all time favorite bar, and it has been since I was younger than my kiddle.

You just can't imagine the variety of individual you can meet there, the variety of drink you can imbibe there, the variety of sound and art that you can experience. Of course, over the years I've had different drink favorites there, depending on the barstaff at the time.

Whenever I'm in Miami, I hit this place, and YES! I DO eat a scotch egg there, too! Mike makes great ones, and I don't care what anyone else says about the 'quality' of the food. The bartenders are usually all really cute indie type girls, and friendly. There are different crowds there, an exPat Brit crowd, there for the satellite football, the 'we think we're alternative' crowd, because the place is 'interesting', the locals, because you can walk there and the drinks are cheap, the artists, because it's very performance friendly.

The place is immense, and has a huge patio out back, with a few different areas. I've seen great performances there, and had a few of my own, too! Besides, Mac's Club Deuce hasn't been incredible for years, and Piccadilly has been ruined for coolness by their recent 3/4 million dollar 'renovation', although I DO have to attend things there, at times.

[phlip]

i dont want to start trouble with lostmyshape i have sympathy for his affection for rye whiskey and cocktails in the world of the super bowl champions but im well versed in brewskis and jacks well not as well in jacks because jacks sure isnt dees. not even in the same neighborhood even though theyre only a block a way. dees is special lostmyshape i wonder how often youve drank there. then again dave this may be your point and your point may alas be futile. different places are different to different folks. theres no best or worst only whims disordered futher by drunkeness this is a subject requiring a brave man. its no wonder wonderich respects a strong drink. good luck.

[Alchemist]

Drunkenly slovenly elves would do well to visit Charles at the Blue Owl.

[lostmyshape]

i dont want to start trouble with lostmyshape  i have sympathy for his affection for rye whiskey and  cocktails in the world of the super bowl champions but im well versed in brewskis and jacks    well not as well in jacks because jacks sure isnt dees. not even in the same neighborhood even though theyre only a block a way. dees is special lostmyshape i wonder how often youve drank there.  then again dave this may be your point and your point may alas be futile. different places are different to different folks. theres  no best or worst    only whims disordered futher by drunkeness  this is a subject requiring a brave man.  its no wonder wonderich respects a strong drink. good luck.

←

yeah... i know a lot of people love dees... and it's not the same as jacks (who has that sleazy drinkin' at 6 in the mornin' and pickin' up chicks vibe), but i just didn't get dees. wasn't my cuppa tea, but neither is jacks. people in the east end of pittsburgh love "the squirrel cage" (the squirrel hill cafe), but i think it's "eh." just one bad experience at a bar can leave a bad taste in your mouth (cheap rail liquor can do that, too).

sorry... didn't mean to put dees down. my point was that pittsburgh is full of bars like that and every person has their favorite. sort-of depends what "your" bar is.

no trouble started.

[Splificator]

i dont want to start trouble with lostmyshape  i have sympathy for his affection this is a subject requiring a brave man.  its no wonder wonderich respects a strong drink. good luck.

Finally, some sympathy. Lord knows I deserve it, trying to figure all this out. Thanks, Phlip, and thanks everyone, and if you have more suggestions please do suggest them! (And, Phlip, I'll have to further pursue this Pittsburgh angle in person.)

And the drunken, slovenly elves have been notified. Charles it is.

[Rebecca263]

I live in Monmouthj County, NJ right now, and I'm going to be thirsty this weekend. Hurry up, someone from this neck of the woods, name a place?

[lostmyshape]

I'll have to further pursue this Pittsburgh angle in person.

if you're in da 'burgh, i'll be happy to show you around (that offer is extended to anyone on egullet). i love taking people around my town (even if there isn't much to see).

the southside is the best area for getting to a variety of bars, but, like i've said before, there's a neighborhood bar on every block in this town, some great, some the diviest of the dives... in fact, during all of the superbowl media nonsense, some seattle writer put Pittsburgh down for having a bar on every corner. said we were lowbrow or something because of it. we just said ssssppphhhhfffftttt back.

[Splificator]

Just wanted to let everybody who suggested bars here that a couple of them made it through the sausage-machine and are in the final article, which should be hitting the newsstands any day now. Thanks for the help!