What are your choices for a nice dive, without a TV set or flat screens ?
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used to be The Well, but haven’t been there in years.
Isn’t “nice” and “dive” mutually exclusive?
Unless you mean a manufactured dive bar like “Good Times at Davey Wayne’s”
Most places have at least a TV. Anyways here is some of my favorite places to drink in general…
-The Prince
-HMS Bounty
-Hop Louie
-The Dresden
-Hinano Cafe
-Cole’s
-Short Stop
-Ye Rustic Inn
-Frank N Hanks
-Jumbos Clown Room
-Frolic Room
All are awesome in their own special way and for all different reasons.
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I really need to get my ass to Bigfoot Lodge, The Roost, and Tiki Ti.
I am ashamed I never got to drink at King Eddy’s
The Frolic Room, dear god. I’ve begun and ended some seriously epic evenings there.
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tell me more about what makes each one so special.
I’ll tell you that Hinanos is not a great dive bar. It’s right on the beach, so that’s good, it serves crappy beer, they have one wine and it comes out of one of those giant liter supermarket bottles (red or white, your choice), no spirits.
The burger is awful, bad bun, bad meat, sloppy and generic. and it comes with a bag of chips. Everyone probably glorifies it because a) they’ve never eaten anywhere else or b) they’ve only had it when wasted on Miller.
The people are, for the most part, old Venice barflys with no interesting stories, but convinced that because they’re OG, they’ve actually accomplished something. Depressing as heck.
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Perhaps you are looking for the wrong things at the wrong place. It’s a bar, man.
I actually enjoy the simple cheeseburger. That grill has been seasoned for decades.
Plenty of people enjoy the cheeseburger here for years.
I am not picky about my beer or a snob. I like piss beer and dad beer and Russian River and Hitachino.
I am a big Doors fan so I am a little biased.
Hinano is one of the last forts of old Venice in a forest of Bougie. Thank God it is still around. Long live Hinano, I’ll be damned if it turns into some gastropub or wine bar.
Yeah… No. I enjoy a good dive bar, but this is not it. I’d rather go to Scarlett Lady if we’re talking trashy.
It’s been awhile for some of the places but…
HMS Bounty…nautical theme, very friendly locals, and that ship!!!
The Dresden…Marty and Elayne! Nuff said! An absolute LA treasure. Old school bartenders. Blood and Sand cocktail. And Marty and Elayne!
The Prince…love the atmosphere, chicken, and $2 Hite’s during Happy Hour.
Hop Louie…Dodgers on the tube, and sharing a bar with a few locals. And they got a dance floor and “jukebox” with everything.
Frolic Room…old Hollywood and the only Hollywood bar worth a damn. “Characters”, you never know who will walk through and you shouldn’t be surprised. That mural!
Cole’s…old school decor. I like the Happy Hour here
The Short Stop…diverse. Dodger bar. A bar with history, used to be a LAPD hang. Motown Mondays! Tamales or burgers on the street.
Jumbo’s…entertaining, not the typical women I am attracted to but I enjoy the passion in their performances.
Good for you buddy!
You done with your 1st world complaints on a otherwise fine establishment and Venice icon?
I don’t know what your comment means.
The OP asked for good dive bars. I suggested one. You provided a list of bars, one of which I don’t like and gave my reasons. I’ve been there many times over the years and don’t consider it a good dive bar. I was offering an alternate view. Don’t know why you’re so upset.
“No wine selection…
Crappy beer”
Well what did you expect here? Some bars on my list in fact only serve piss/dad beers from a bottle or have no/limited drafts. Wine selection? LOL. You can go to Santa Monica for that.
The burgers are well loved by many for decades. You have very unnecessary snide and snobish reasons for why people love their burgers, “Never eaten anywhere else…drunk on Miller.”
They are not trying to be Fathers Office or Minetta Tavern or Boulud here. Boo hoo no fries.
Then you make a jab at the locals who are not interesting enough for you.
I ain’t upset. Fine to disagree on tastes. Just calling you out for being snide on a thread that shouldn’t.
Plenty of “good dive bars” serve decent beer and booze. As far as disparaging the clientele, I find them depressing, based on personal experience. This food discussion thread has plenty of dismissive comments about hipsters or snotty servers. It goes to ambience…
If you plopped Hinanos into a working class Valley neighborhood or in Bakersfield somewhere, it would not be “iconic.” And the burgers would still suck.
Okay you two. Drinking my first cuppa Joe while opening this thread and I’m created by this?!?!
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@Bookwich and @JeetKuneBao. You both have been among my favorites on the board. This may not carry weight with either of you, but I just want you both to know that I think you’re both cool peeps. Not cool this bickering!
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It’s the weekend! Don’t snarl - smile!
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Neither of you exhibit the traits necessary to have an informed opinion on barflyism. You are both too literate and coherent. Prove me otherwise - show me - for example - the knots in the middle of your foreheads from years of resting/hitting said-noggin on the edge of the same bar from the same stool.
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You folks are posting like Little Donny Trump frickin’ before 8AM - way before 8AM. Way too early for this shit. Shouldn’t you two either already be at The Scarlett Lady (they’ve been open for almost two hours now - that’s at least two Coors Lights you’ve missed for breakfast/night cap ) or waiting on Hinano to open (resting forehead knot on the door, waiting to let gravity push the door open as it is unlocked at 0800)???
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As per item #1, you’re cool peeps. Let bygones be that. I’m bringing out the heavy artillery this AM in hopes that you two will join me in the same.
This is almost the last of my Fiji Overproof rum - 116-proof of nastyiness courtesy of the South Pacific that has been added to my coffee. The thought of drinking this is already curling my toes. This sort of coffee enhancement is probably a daily ritual for the two of you. So, on the honor system, each of you do something similar this morning that will fortify your dive bar cred and we toast together in spirit and friendship! To sticky bars and endless Happy Hours!
PS - @J_L, does this also count as credit that I owe toward theL-game? 
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You’re too funny, @bulavinaka! But I sheath my claws on this beautiful morning, just for you.
As for drinks, I’m out and about. Will this do? 
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Okay, but adding in a shot would turn that into Bookwich’s Brew. 
I was going to tell me these guys or girl to keep it somewhat civilized too: and in these trying times.
i personally like Hinano, somewhat, but I don’t think their burgers are nothing special, granted they’re only $5 bucks so who am i too complain ?
I’ll have to check out that Frolic cafe in H’wds is that the place by the Pantagers theater
Hop Louie… I’ve never heard of but it sure sounds like a chinese restaurant to me ?
Jumbo’s I don’t care for… something about the girls being a little too gnarly for me ? (or would that be channeling President T. too much).
Thank u.
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