Ye Rustic Inn
1831 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Map

Drawing Room
1800 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Map

It is the holiday season, so we at the World Dive Bar Tour have a special gift for you. This week, on top of serving up a classic Los Angeles dive in the Ye Rustic Inn, we have a second disreputable watering hole right across the street in the Drawing Room.

The Rustic offers many special things, including highly regarded hot wings and a complete menu of better than expected bar food, attractive bartenders of a level rarely seen on the tour, and a jukebox with an unfortunate selection of songs. But what might be the most special thing of all, Ye Rustic is was at one time the favorite bar of Jack Bauer (aka Kiefer Sutherland) which was where he reportedly spent all those missing hours of last season’s 24. It’s not just saving the world which makes Jack so haggard, it’s also the ‘build your own bloody mary’ bar on weekend mornings.

It is then just a hop and a skip across Hillhurst for our next stop.

The Drawing Room is one of those unique dive bars which cycles between elderly Los Feliz regulars early in the week to an inundation of young hipsters wearing their hats indoors on any given Saturday. Luckily, Wednesday is the night of balance between these two opposing forces, which makes it perfect for our purposes. The restrooms are grungy, the electronic dart board might not be working, and the drinks are strong and cheap… the perfect setting to sit back and contemplate what has been a fine year of dive bars across the city. It should also be noted that this is the only bar in the city offering $2 PBR Tuesdays–almost enough reason to move Dive Bar night this week.

By the end of the night we may be sprinting back and forth between the two bars in celebration as if a long shot just took the presidency…that is only if Herlado, the bacon wrapped hot dog guy, doesn’t distract us with the siren smell of the grilling meats just outside the door of the Drawing Room.

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

Lost and Found
11700 National Blvd # D
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Map

Adventure stories are based on some heavily clichéd mechanics. One, something is lost. Two, something must be found. And that said thing is always hidden in a dusty old hidden room. This week the World Dive Bar Tour goes questing for our lost treasure, a cheap drink. Our journey takes us to the Lost and Found, in a remodeled strip mall that just reinforces the adage, "true beauty is on the inside." The faux classical facade of fading days of consumerism and capitalist glory gives way to the warm wood paneled walls and acoustical tiled ceiling of a bygone time festooned with the trappings of a well appointed secret chamber:

A fireplace for warmth.
A crooked pool table for the sharks.
A jukebox of classic rock and soul for the previous generation.
A fancy "new" electronic dart board.
A box to fill with toys for the underprivileged youth this holiday (or christmas if you are into the culture war and live on that side of the fence) season. Why not bring something to fill your spirit with the season’s joys.
A cigarette machine for those that smoke only while drinking.
A client base with more gray hair than a powder whig trade show circa 1753.
And a bartender named Steve; graduate of Reno High School Class of 1969 and attendant of the inaugural Class of Archie Clayton Middle School (where my Pop Warner football teams practiced back-in-the-day.)

At Lost and Found, one can all find that missing ark, those mystic stones, the chalice or at least drink to forget the one that slipped away. True to its time, the payment scheme is archaic for the 21st century but these credit-less times it is back in vogue - CASH ONLY. (An ATM is on-site buy stashed next to the cig vending machine in a corner of vice.) And on a last note, there’s $3 beer.

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!

Brian, Sergeant of Arms and Legs

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Hank’s Bar
840 S Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90017

This might be the most important dive bar of the year. It will be the first night after the epic election of 2008, and quite possibly the first dive bar night of a new epoch of humanity. Okay, maybe not an epoch of humanity, but surly a epoch of the next four years. And no matter if you are all about environmental conservation or conservative economic theory, you will find common ground in the conservative prices for your standard mixed drink and support the continued bar’o'diversity of the downtown food-web. No matter if you are way down with unconditional discussion or conditionally applied freedoms, don’t worry your little heart, we will be unconditionally welcomed with the liberty to drink as we please, on the condition we keep up on the tipping schedule. But there is one reminder of the new deal or the welfare state that cannot be ignored. There is free popcorn.

Located to one side of the entrance to the wonderfully shady Stillwell Hotel, Hanks bar was founded in 1959 by its late namesake, Hank Holzer (who unfortunately passed on in 1997), and is a gem of the type. The bar is approximately 8 times longer than it is wide, the TV’s are smaller than a typical shoebox, the jukebox is not connected to the internet, there seems to be a table in the back with a crock-pot, a microwave, a toaster, and a huge supply of mustard, and behind the bar (hopefully staffed by the wonderful Wanda) is the sign ‘Yesterdays Charm’.

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

Rae’s Lounge
10939 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034

This Wednesday marks the last dive bar visit before a new President of the United States is elected. On November 5th, a number of our dive bar regulars will have a very big reason for hitting the bottle hard. Our nation will head in a new direction, and regardless of your views, some kind "change" is inevitable. It’s times like these that we should take comfort in the little things in life that don’t change, the little constants of our existence that we can always depend on come rain or shine. It’s times like these that we turn to our local watering hole, that dive around the corner that’s withstood the test of time, that has seen presidents come and go, yet has always managed to keep the drinks cheap regardless of high taxes.

This week we visit Rae’s Lounge, a bar that prides itself on consistency. Rae’s is the paragon of dive bars, featuring all the essentials from affordable stiff drinks to darts, pool, and karaoke. While some of our dives feature clowns or singing ninjas, Rae’s needs no gimmicks or calling cards. Rae’s is low-key, inconspicuous, and relies only on its strong character to build its reputation. There are only a few bars on the Tour that we can honestly label a "dive’s dive," and Rae’s Lounge is one of them.

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/v1/2008/10/22/october-22nd-2008-raes-lounge/feed/ http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/2008/10/08/october-8th-2008-jumbos-clown-room/ http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/2008/10/08/october-8th-2008-jumbos-clown-room/#comments Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:02:18 +0000 damien http://www.worlddivebartour.com/v1/2008/10/08/october-8th-2008-jumbos-clown-room/ WEDNESDAY, October 8th, 2008

Jumbo’s Clown Room
5153 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027

As the name suggests, Jumbo’s Clown Room is a magical place that some would think lives only in the mind of an innocent child. It is a relief to us all that this land of prelapsarian wonder does exist, and it does so in an East Hollywood strip-mall, in a neighborhood predominantly consisting of Thai restaurants.

From the outside, Jumbo’s bears the same sort of anonymous facade as most destinations on the tour, but inside exists freakish, yet undeniably alluring sights and sounds worthy of P.T. Barnum himself. The drink selection and pricing is that of your standard Hollywood dive, and the jukebox is strictly rock and roll, with each song carefully selected by the outgoing and friendly employees. Credit cards are accepted, however it is encouraged that you bring cash. Preferably singles.

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 oughta be ashamed of yourselves. A bunch of big guys like you, pickin’ on a poor little orphan like him. Suppose you was torn away from your mother when you was just a baby. Nobody to tuck you in at nights. No warm, soft, caressin’ trunk to snuzzle into. How would you like to be left out alone, in a cold, cruel, heartless woild? And why? I ask ya, why? Just because he’s got those big ears, they call him a freak. The laughing stock of the circus. And when his mother tried to protect him, they threw her into the clink. And on top of that, they made him a clown! Socially he’s washed up! Ah, but what’s the use of talkin’ to you cold-hearted boids? Go ahead. Have your fun. Laugh at him. Kick him now that he’s down. Go on! I don’t care."

- Timothy Q. Mouse, Dumbo