OC Bars

This week we dip into the dark and dirty drinking den better known as the dive bar. To the dive-hunting purists among us, we apologize for illuminating watering holes that by their nature strive to remain seductively unknown. For those new to the genre, tread lightly – take heed that a true dive should leave you with a tinge of concern for your personal safety.

For a city with one of the poshest malls in the country, Costa Mesa sure knows its dive bars. One of Chase A’s standards is The Little Knight, and he confirms their seedy status by divulging that “the bathroom looks like a cast that was signed by perverts.” It’s the free PBR from 10-11pm on Wednesdays that leads Natali H to Avalon Bar, where she likes to cozy up on the smoking patio that’s “cramped, but when you bump into someone they’re almost always attractive so it’s okay.” Depends on who’s doing the bumpin’, Natali. Meanwhile, Lee U prefers The Helm, a bar that’s “as dive as they come.” He also lets us in on his late-night secret: “It’s only a half-block walk to Dippity Donuts – your tummy will thank you!”

While some dives are only filled with locals, Ryan K digs The Sandpiper Lounge, comparing a night there to “a box of chocolates – you never know what’s inside.” Bar-gazer David H’s litmus test for a dive bar is the clientele, which is why he picks Tony’s Place – “it opens at 6am and grizzly old men take up a barstool with the morning paper and their morning cocktail.” Want good lighting? Then don’t go to Johnny’s Saloon in HB. Alyssa T considers it “probably the darkest bar you will ever enter,” and with plenty of punk on the jukebox and dollar drink specials, who needs to see!

Joanne D gets her down ‘n’ dirty bar fix at Marty’s in Orange, pointing out that “it’s like Cheers, but instead nobody gives a #&!$ about your name!” If you’re ever in a situation where you can’t find a dive, trust your friendly neighborhood bowling alley bar like Brad W. He strikes out at Linbrook Bowl’s bar, munching on the free popcorn and hanging with the regulars that are “straight out of a great yet-to-be written screenplay about lounge lizards and barflies.” (Will someone rent The Big Lebowski for Brad, please?). Perhaps Liz O sums up the dive bar experience best then when describing The Fling in Santa Ana: “Cheap booze, quaint folk, old-ass everything and mothball/Marlboro/Bourbon aromatherapy.” Ah, Charles Bukowski would certainly be proud.

One Response to “OC Bars”

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