Cosmos Saloon
333 E 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

For those who have followed the ebb and flow of dive bar for many years, the name Cosmos might sound very familiar. Last season, on an ill fated full moon, we attempted to visit this fine establishment. Unfortunately for the intrepid group of dive bar goers that night, on the dutch door of the bar entrance a handwritten note was posted. Written mostly Japanese characters, it was the final line in English which hurt the most. "Bar Close Tonight." Those assembled, who had gathered for the promise of a Japanese pre-’scent of a woman’ Al Pacino bartender, karaoke in languages we can’t even speak, and Suntory Whiskey, found solace in a nearby shady hostess bar followed by a local brewery.

On that night, just like General Douglas MacArthur in retreat from the Philippines in the face of Japanese aggression, we of the WDBT vowed to return.

This week marks the day we make good on that promise, and return to Little Tokyo. Where with the help of a few big bottles of Kirin, we will be belting out Japanese pop songs like regulars, smoking an odd cigarette, swapping stories with the old man who always seems to be firmly planted at the bar, and otherwise raising quite a ruckus. Comfortable with the knowledge that in this Cosmos, yes, we can all be a star. Just remember - no dancing.

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, if the friendly regulars don’t find you first).

Carpe Drink’em,

Alex, Damien, & Travis - WDBT Co-czars

"Here we are. Earth. Full of things as usual."

-King of All Cosmos

WEDNESDAY, January 16th, 2008

Del’s Saloon

12238 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025 (West LA)

The World Dive Bar Tour Executive Committee strategically selects each and every dive bar to not only coincide with different holidays but to encourage and promote networking and camaraderie. We’ll be exploring some über-seedy and questionable drinking establishments this year, and to best get reacquainted with Tour regulars and new members, it’s important to drink in familiar surroundings.

Thus, we officially kick off 2008 at Del’s Saloon, a friendly neighborhood bar offering all the standard amenities you can expect from a typical LA dive. Del’s is particularly unique in that it contains nearly every hallmark of a dive including pool and darts, golden tee, year-round christmas light decor, Wednesday karaoke, and an allegiance to a particular NFL team (Bills). In the spirit of remaining low-key and unobtrusive, Del’s often keeps the front door locked so you’ll most likely enter from the rear.

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

“So there, I am, in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, at about 3 o’clock in the morning, looking for one thousand brown M & Ms to fill a brandy glass, or Ozzy wouldn’t go on stage that night. So, Jeff Beck pops his head ’round the door, and mentions there’s a little sweets shop on the edge of town. So we go. And it’s closed. So there’s me, and Keith Moon, and David Crosby, breaking into that little sweets shop. Well, instead of a guard dog, they’ve got this bloody great big Bengal tiger. I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shopkeeper and his son… that’s a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business, really, but sure enough I got the M & Ms, and Ozzy went on stage and did a great show.”

- Del Preston, the Greatest Roadie that Ever Lived

[rating:3.5]

WDBT 2007 was an epic year. Unforgettable Wednesday nights; the birth of the Extension; attendance has grown substantially, swelling with quality people; not to mention the San Pedro Classic!

The official WDBT 2008 calendar doesn’t start until next week. But if you are anything like me, you are going through dive bar withdrawal. And January 16th can’t come soon enough.

To heal your woes, we are proud to bring you the World Dive Bar Tour 2008 Preview at Amagi’s (brought to you by WDBT Extension). Nothing calms the shakes like a little bit of karaoke and a lot of Blue Moon. And no where can you get as elegant a balance of the very best and the very worst entertainment Hollywood has to offer. Every trip to Amagi’s leaves the sojourner with a tale to tell. And do I really even need to remind you of the one and only karaoke ninja?

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,
Nate
Auxiliary Captain

[rating:3.5]

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Gas Lite
2030 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403

We labeled it our "most entertaining" dive bar of last year. That was due in part to the USC sorority birthday party that was taking place at the time and the fact that Damien got to make out with one of the girls. Okay, it’s really just Damien who labeled it the "most entertaining" dive bar of last year, but fun at the Gas Lite isn’t limited to sorority soirees, as the cheap drinks and karaoke madness almost guarantee that you’ll walk out of there with a story to tell. In fact, one of our regular dive bar attendees recently left with an ounce of cocaine she found on the floor of the bathroom! SCORE!

Notably, Gas Lite is one of the only places in the city left that offers a 6AM early bird breakfast in a bottle. Unfortunately, the karaoke stage is only open in the evenings, so don’t bother going in before noon expecting to see sloshed geriatrics belting out their favorite Dean Martin tunes.

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

"I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. They wake up in the morning and that’s the best they’re going to feel all day."

- Dean Martin

Sonny McLean’s
2615 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403

St. Patrick’s Day holds a special significance on the World Dive Bar Tour, as it’s the time of year when we pay homage to our Irish ancestors and the unique drinking establishments they’ve brought to this country. As the holiday itself will rarely fall on a Dive Bar Wednesday, we’ll celebrate it during the nearest prior week. Plus, WDBT has no desire to commingle with the insufferable crowd that comes out of the woodwork to get sloshed once a year on March 17th.

Alas, we head to Santa Monica to visit Sonny McLean’s, a place unlike any we’ve yet seen on the tour, fusing together the character of the dive with the fraternal warmth of the Irish pub. Step in the door and you’re bound to see a glasses of Guinness lined down the bar and two fellas yammering about all the guys named "Patrick" in their family.

Sonny’s has two..count’em…TWO Golden Tee games as well as pool, darts, and the naked-chick bar video game. They serve a respectable variety of the finest draught beer from Bud Light to Smithwick’s, and a pint of Guinness is under five bucks.

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 Irish ignore anything they can’t drink or punch."

- Irish Proverb

Smog Cutter
864 N. Virgil Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90029 (Silverlake)

Step through the curtain into in this legendary Silver Lake establishment, and you’ll promptly be greeted by one of three Thai sisters, eager to check your ID. Don’t worry if you happen to be under age, though, as these ladies wouldn’t hesitate to serve a 12 year old — the thoroughness of ID checking is simply so that they can memorize your name, and call you by it for the rest of the night. Under ordinary circumstances, this level of interest in their bar’s patrons would be considered an exemplary model of customer service, except that the things they’ll be calling you for the rest of the night will not be very nice.

This is the Smog Cutter, after all — embodying either the best, or the worst, of all things dive. The place reeks of mildew, the service goes out of their way to insult you, and the drinks are warm and, surprisingly, a little overpriced given just how dire the surroundings are. But still we on the World Dive Bar Tour Executive Committee not only keep coming back for more, but have granted the Smog Cutter the honor of kicking off our 2007 calendar — a year that will undoubtedly be our best and boldest yet.

Many anecdotes come to mind to sum up all that is the Smog Cutter, from instances of crotch grabbings by the bartenders, to glass-shattering displays of karaoke madness, but it really all comes down to one member of the Executive Committee sitting with her hand on the bar, as a cockroach came scampering over her arm. With a quick "whack!", the cockroach was disposed of by a quick-thinking Czar, but the noise caused Sunshine, the legendary lead bartender, to come running.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Sunshine, "You kill Susie!"

As Sunshine cradled the dead roach in her hand, she took a closer look and, with a sigh of relief exclaimed…

"Ah, don’t worry. It just George."

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

"You must have known that I was lonely, because you came to my rescue. And I know that this must be heaven, how could so much love be inside of you?" - Stevie Wonder