Big Dean’s "Muscle-In"
1615 Ocean Front Walk
Santa Monica, CA 90401
map

Every summer for the past 4 years, the World Dive Bar Tour has kicked off the season at the best beach bar in the county, "Big Dean’s ‘Muscle-In,’" a dive’s dive that perfectly blends easy-going, surfer sensibility with dilapidated decor.  Rather than closing at sunset like most bars on the strand, Big Dean’s owner T.J. graciously keeps the doors open extra late JUST FOR US (that includes the kitchen, Travis), and Mary Francis keeps the beer flowing like wine long into the evening.  If you stay long enough, she might even school you in the art of vanishing beer. Invite your friends and co-workers. This is one for the calendar. Let’s show Big Dean’s our appreciation and make this the best dive stop of the year!

Built over 80 years ago, Big Dean’s has changed hands and changed names a number of times, but it has never lost its appeal as the quintessential beach bar.  Icy cold American macro-brews are available on tap, served in a variety of different sized plastic cups.  Wine is available upon request and will more than likely come from a cardboard box rather than the rusty spigot protruding from a wooden cupboard labeled "M-rlct."  Like an ancient Roman city, Big Dean’s has simply built on top of its previous occupants.  Their refrigerator is literally a converted ice box, the bathrooms former broom closets that may or may not be ADA compliant.

Don’t fret at Big Dean’s location. There is plenty of free parking in the structure at 2nd & Colorado. There are also free street spots if you’re lucky enough to find one. Last year, some people parked at the beach lot right next to the bar, but it technically closes at sunset. So do so at your own risk.

Because Big Dean’s is being kind of enough to stay open late for us, we’ll begin the revelry an HOUR EARLY at 8pm. As usual, It’ll get real interesting by 10. Come for one venti bud light, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).

Carpe Drink’em,

Alex, Damien, & Travis, WDBT Co-Czars

Joker
2827 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Map

We are happy to report that despite a recent drug bust at the Joker where a bindle of cocaine was found in the bathroom along with scales, packaging materials, and $5,000 cash in "undisclosed locations," this fine establishment remains open for business.  We have not yet confirmed if the bartender who was arrested got her job back, but we’re certain that her consummate selling skills are an asset the owner of any bar would want behind the counter.  We are lobbying him to promptly post her bail and restore her position.

While SMPD considers the Joker a "nuisance," we on the World Dive Bar Tour consider any bar where bottles are broken and cars are set ablaze in the parking lot a paragon of watering holes.  Holding to values from a day long past where disputes were settled with fisticuffs or the occasional Molotov cocktail, by default we assume that the owner of the torched vehicle no doubt got his comeuppance and absolve the perpetrator from any wrongdoing.

Needless to say, Joker is lacking anything but character.  Pictures of the eponymous Batman villain and other clowns adorn its walls along with other decorations indicative of a time when the "jokers" were the ones who went outside to smoke a cigarette.

Drinks here are some of the cheapest on the west side, and one could leave thoroughly lubricated for under $10. But Joker is cash only, so be sure to hit up the ATM ahead of time. And, there’s ample parking in the back.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).

Carpe Drink’em!

Alex, Damien, & Travis - WDBT Co-czars

Speak Easy
1326 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
map

This week, WDBT visits the Speak Easy, a low-key Pico watering hole you’ve driven by a thousand times and will probably struggle to find, even with an address. Staying true to its namesake, this bar sports an inconspicuous facade, a locked front door, and accepts cash only. Due to an unfortunate accident involving a cigarette, horseshoe, and a surprise health inspection, bathtub gin and moonshine are no longer for sale. Not to worry, though. A respectable selection of beers are available for dive bar prices.
Commonly known for one or two shady-looking patrons quietly sipping their whiskey in an otherwise empty bar, the inside of the Speak Easy comes across like a mob establishment at first blush–the low patronage could also be a symptom of the location. Regardless, if you find yourself cash in hand in front of the unmanned bar, staring into the 70s-style marble-mirror behind the Jim Beam, you might peek your head outside and catch up with Ruth who is probably finishing her cigarette. She’ll gladly get to your drink when she’s done with her Newport Light.
As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9pm and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many, bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).
Carpe Drinkem,
Alex, Damien & Travis, WDBT Co-Czars

Reporter: "Word is they’re going to repeal Prohibition. What’ll you do then?"
Eliot Ness: "I think I’ll have a drink."
- The Untouchables

Speak Easy
1326 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
map

This week, WDBT visits the Speak Easy, a low-key Pico watering hole you’ve driven by a thousand times and will probably struggle to find, even with an address. Staying true to its namesake, this bar sports an inconspicuous facade, a locked front door, and accepts cash only. Due to an unfortunate accident involving a cigarette, horseshoe, and a surprise health inspection, bathtub gin and moonshine are no longer for sale. Not to worry, though. A respectable selection of beers are available for dive bar prices.
Commonly known for one or two shady-looking patrons quietly sipping their whiskey in an otherwise empty bar, the inside of the Speak Easy comes across like a mob establishment at first blush–the low patronage could also be a symptom of the location. Regardless, if you find yourself cash in hand in front of the unmanned bar, staring into the 70s-style marble-mirror behind the Jim Beam, you might peek your head outside and catch up with Ruth who is probably finishing her cigarette. She’ll gladly get to your drink when she’s done with her Newport Light.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9pm and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many, bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).

Carpe Drinkem,

Alex, Damien & Travis, WDBT Co-Czars

Reporter: "Word is they’re going to repeal Prohibition. What’ll you do then?"
Eliot Ness: "I think I’ll have a drink."

- The Untouchables

Big Dean’s "Muscle-In"
1615 Ocean Front Walk
Santa Monica, CA 90401
map

Every summer for the past 3 years, the World Dive Bar Tour has kicked off the season at the best beach bar in the county, "Big Dean’s ‘Muscle-In,’" a dive’s dive that perfectly blends easy-going, surfer sensibility with dilapidated decor.  Rather than closing at sunset like most bars on the strand, Big Dean’s owner T.J. graciously keeps the doors open extra late JUST FOR US (that includes the kitchen, Travis), and Mary Francis keeps the beer flowing like wine long into the evening.  If you stay long enough, she might even school you in the art of vanishing beer. Invite your friends and co-workers. This is one for the calendar. Let’s show Big Dean’s our appreciation and make this the best dive stop of the year!

Built over 80 years ago, Big Dean’s has changed hands and changed names a number of times, but it has never lost its appeal as the quintessential beach bar.  Icy cold American macro-brews are available on tap, served in a variety of different sized plastic cups.  Wine is available upon request and will more than likely come from a cardboard box rather than the rusty spigot protruding from a wooden cupboard labeled "M-rlct."  Like an ancient Roman city, Big Dean’s has simply built on top of its previous occupants.  Their refrigerator is literally a converted ice box, the bathrooms former broom closets that may or may not be ADA compliant.

Don’t fret at Big Dean’s location. There is plenty of free parking in the structure at 2nd & Colorado. There are also free street spots if you’re lucky enough to find one. Last year, some people parked at the beach lot right next to the bar, but it technically closes at sunset. So do so at your own risk.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM an gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).

Carpe Drink’em,

Alex, Damien, & Travis, WDBT Co-Czars

The Gas Lite
2030 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
map

Every year America observes Memorial day, a solumn day of rememberance for those brave souls who have fallen in battle serving our country. The World Dive Bar Tour would like to extend the holiday into the week and officially dedicate the following Wednesday to the memory of the great Dives of the Los Angeles that have shut their doors, never again to see the light of a neon beer sign.

In observance of WDBT Memorial Day we visit The Gas Lite, a bar that represents the rest, a place that sets the gold standard of dives that others can only dream of reaching. It’s a place that brings the best characteristics of all dives together into a melting pot of shabby "dive-ersity." It’s one of the greats on the west side that has withstood the test of time and remained a rock in the community, unchanged by the gentrification and modernization of the city.

The Gas Lite harkens back to a day when all bars opened at 6am and men could drink their breakfast to the soft sound of clinking glasses and the crackle of a spinning 45. Today, the glasses have been replaced by cheap plastic cups and the 45 by an internet jukebox and nightly karaoke that is anything but quiet, but doors are still open at the crack of dawn, giving a solid 15 hours to imbibe before the ruckus builds.

In the unlikely instance you should you arrive late Wednesday night only to find yourself standing amongst a lot of gelled hair and popped-collars, we assure you this is only temporary. In the past few years, the Gas Lite has absorbed some of the overflow from trendier bars and clubs in the area, and with that has come a slightly higher douche quotient and the presence of the occasional recreational drug. A WDBTour-goer once recounted finding a small baggy of powder on the floor of the ladies room that may or may not have been cocaine.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you, if the friendly regulars don’t find you first).

Carpe Drink’em,

Alex, Damien, & Travis - WDBT Co-czars

Joker
2827 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Map

A wise man once said, "Fool me once, shame on you…If ya fool me, you can’t get fooled again." Truer words were never spoken, and once a year, we as a nation band together to honor fools, their foolishness, and tomfoolery on April 1st. In recognition of April Fools’ Day, the World Dive Bar Tour will visit Joker in Santa Monica to gather around a glass (or bottle) of liquid courage, which at one point or another in our lives has brought out the fool in all of us.

With little more than a faded clown over its front entrance, Joker is inconspicuously tucked into a corner along the Pico prowl in Santa Monica and has been a neighborhood favorite for decades. Pictures of the eponymous Batman villain and other clowns adorn its walls along with other decorations indicative of a time when the "jokers" were the ones who went outside to smoke a cigarette.

Drinks here are some of the cheapest on the west side, and one could leave thoroughly lubricated for under $10. But Joker is cash only, so be sure to hit up the ATM ahead of time. And, there’s ample parking in the back.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).

Carpe Drink’em!

Alex, Damien, & Travis - WDBT Co-czars

Joker
2827 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Map

A wise man once said, "Fool me once, shame on you…If ya fool me, you can’t get fooled again." Truer words were never spoken, and once a year, we as a nation band together to honor fools, their foolishness, and tomfoolery on April 1st. In recognition of April Fools’ Day, the World Dive Bar Tour will visit Joker in Santa Monica to gather around a glass (or bottle) of liquid courage, which at one point or another in our lives has brought out the fool in all of us.

With little more than a faded clown over its front entrance, Joker is inconspicuously tucked into a corner along the Pico prowl in Santa Monica and has been a neighborhood favorite for decades. Pictures of the eponymous Batman villain and other clowns adorn its walls along with other decorations indicative of a time when the "jokers" were the ones who went outside to smoke a cigarette.

Drinks here are some of the cheapest on the west side, and one could leave thoroughly lubricated for under $10. But Joker is cash only, so be sure to hit up the ATM ahead of time. And, there’s ample parking in the back.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).

Carpe Drink’em!

Alex, Damien, & Travis - WDBT Co-czars

Bay Shore Lanes
234 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405

These are trying times. Gas and food prices record highs, two wars, the economy in shambles, your 401k all but vanished, corruption, lobbyists, poverty, Cancer/AIDS, the beginning of hurricane season, and then that friggin earthquake just now interrupting one Czar’s attempt to write this email. But there does exist a giant, glowing beacon of hope amid all the despair, and I’m not just talking about Shark Week (every night this week on the Discovery Channel). For in this town, at this time, I’m talking about a thing called The World Dive Bar Tour, and remembering the words once uttered by a man with far greater obstacles stacked in his path. Timeless words. The words, "Fuck it dude, let’s go bowling."

Join us at Santa Monica’s Bay Shore Lanes for the 2008 World Dive Bar Tour Bowling Night Spectacular: a celebration of all that is right with the world, where we can collectively forget, if only for a moment, all that is wrong. Order up a white russian or an oat soda from a bartender who’s been there as long as the bar itself, join us on the lanes and watch all your troubles roll away. In the words of another timeless hero, "Wooooooooooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby!"

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you, if the friendly regulars don’t find you first).

Carpe Drink’em,

Alex, Damien, & Travis - WDBT Co-czars

"I want you to know somthing. You and me, it’s not gonna be a one-way street. ‘Cause I don’t believe in one-way streets. Not between people, and not while I’m driving. So, here’s some advice I wish I woulda got when I was your age: Live every week like it’s Shark Week." - Tracy Jordan

Big Dean’s Muscle In
1615 Ocean Front Walk
Santa Monica, CA 90401

The World Dive Bar Tour Independence Day celebration is here — albeit a couple weeks late — and what better way to enjoy a cool summer night than by invading the best beach bar on the west side, Big Dean’s. Like last year, the amazing staff at Big Dean’s is staying open extra late for us, so come thirsty, pack an extra liver, and bring lots of friends.

As the beaches south of Wilshire have become more gentrified over the years, there’s something to be said for the one bar that remains true to its roots and refuses to sell lattes and panini sandwiches. It’s burgers and beer at this place, and they’ve been known to kick people out for uttering the word “focaccia.” Order any of the fine selection of draught beers in any of three sizes. Damien suggests a Venti Coors light with the cheeseburger. Yes, the kitchen will be open and provides a host of victuals to satiate everyone from the ravenous surfer to the derelict vagrant.

Aside from the menu, it’s Big Dean’s character that sets the place apart from its neighboring burger stands — the character of over 100 years of devoted business. Little has changed inside since the early days of business, from the ice box (now a converted refrigerator) to the old, empty boxes of Chamblis and Blush, which merely remind us that wine used to come from a spigot.

Finding Big Dean’s can be somewhat challenging, so use your Google Map. It’s located right on the boardwalk (at beach level), behind the carousel as you walk out on the pier. If you can smell hotdogs and buy carnival tickets, you’ve gone too far. Parking is a little tricky unless you roll up on a bike, so we suggest street parking on Ocean or pulling into the parking structure at 2nd and Colorado, which is free for 3 hours. Don’t bother with the beach lots. They close at 6pm.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM and gets really interesting by 10:00. Come for one drink, or stay for one too many. Bring anyone and everyone, and join us for a great time in the middle of the week. If you arrive early or late, look for the people having a damn good time (it’ll be us), or start having a damn good time on your own (we’ll find you).

Carpe Drink’em,

Alex, Damien, & Travis - WDBT Co-czars

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