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

]]> http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/2008/07/14/july-16th-2008-big-deans-muscle-in/feed/ http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/2007/07/10/july-11th-2007-backstage-bar-grill/ http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/2007/07/10/july-11th-2007-backstage-bar-grill/#comments Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:38:00 +0000 admin http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/?p=18 WEDNESDAY, July 11th, 2007

Backstage Bar & Grill
10400 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232

Don’t let this establishment’s proper name fool you. Unlike other "Bar & Grill" establishments you may come across that feature the bar-going atmosphere of an Applebee’s, the "& Grill" portion of Backstage is strictly there to put the face of legitimacy on bar tabs expensed by Sony lot employees from across the street. Here at the Backstage, the motto written across the biker gang tattoo-esque logo is "Dedicated to Pleasure", and once you step through the doors, it’s clear that the pleasure of alcohol consumption is the real focus. That’s not, of course, to minimize the glory of their extensive menu of top-notch pub food, and if you’re lucky, you just might get to witness a Co-Czar chowing down on a row of sliders.

When it comes to treating its patrons right, the Backstage does it right, designating Tuesdays as "Regular’s Night", and effortlessly creating a Sam Malone-worthy environment on non-Tuesdays unparalleled in the LA bar scene. Karaoke is offered up 3 nights a week, with the notable exception of Wednesdays. In a town where every dive bar seems to place its karaoke on our night, this offers us a welcome reprieve from "Cheeseburger in Paradise" at a bar that knows Wednesdays are for one thing only: The World Dive Bar Tour. Please join us this week for one of the true gems of the Tour.

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

"Heaven blazing into the head: Tragedy wrought to its uttermost. Though Hamlet rambles and Lear rages, And all the drop-scenes drop at once, Upon a hundred thousand stages, It cannot grow by an inch or an ounce"
- Yeats

Gabe’s Sports Bar
2965 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064 (Palms)

Ahhh ’tis autumn again, and in the midst of the football season, the air blooms with the thick, pungent scent of brats, charcoal grills, and the occasional beer fart. ‘Tis a time when men and women alike gather together at their favorite sports bar to enjoy the Monday-night game, or in the case of WDBT regulars, the Wednesday-night highlights. While many a sports bar in LA may bear the outward characteristics of a dive, few posses the character and comfort found inside Gabe’s, this week’s Wednesday retreat.

Unlike the "nice" LA sports bars, Gabe’s lacks the sea of pool tables, walls covered with plasma screens, $15 pitchers, cover charges, and college sluts at the door. Aside from the cheering patrons on game days, you’ll find Gabe’s to be an affordable, serene neighborhood watering hole, adorned inside with sports paraphernalia, a few modest TVs, and the obligatory big screen in the corner. A large whiteboard tracking the NFL season standings hangs in another corner among the trophies of different bar teams. Two pool tables and dart boards are available for your entertainment as well as a jukebox full of respectable dive bar music.

Plenty of parking in the back if you find none on the street. And, don’t forget to take a walk around the corner to Hamburger Habit for pre- or post-dive eats.

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

"Never show weakness. The only pain that matters it he pain you inflict."

Jon Voight, Varsity Blues

Brennan’s
4089 Lincoln Blvd.
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

It must first be said that to move the sacred Wednesday Dive to a Thursday is an occasion afforded to only the worthiest of bars. Second, to reschedule in order to visit a somewhat trendy Irish pub that barely skirts the "dive bar" qualifications is an example of leniency by we, the Co-Czars, granted only to establishments with such an excess of character as to feature, for example, bubbly, well-lubricated women lining up to race box turtles at the bellowed command of a fat man in a hockey jersey and his whistle.

From the inside, Brennan’s is not unlike your average Irish pub with its respectable selection of lager and stout, walls adorned with Gaelic charms, and a space for a live band. The expansive outdoor patio, however, is the main draw, as the ring in the center is host to the locally famous Turtle Races on Thursday nights, and it conveniently doubles as an arena for the occasional rumpus that occurs when antagonistic patrons make sarcastic remarks to passing floozy’s, without noticing the young lady’s 300lb ponytailed boyfriend following close behind. Co-Czar Alex still nurses a tender spot on his forehead from the melee caused by Co-Czar Damien’s loose tongue. The patio also features a small bar where light beer and jello shots are available for a respectable dive bar dime.

As usual, the casual debauchery starts around 9PM an gets really interesting by 10:00, when the racing commences. 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

"This is Venice, Bitch!"

– Some geographically-challenged guy who punched Co-Czar Alex in the face in Marina Del Rey