There was a thread on this topic quite some time ago on Esther's, I believe, that has since expired. I want to see if we can compile a reasonably comprehensive list of dive bars in Austin and have a general discussion on the topic. I'm not sure what the criteria should be in determining what qualifies as a "dive" but I figure it's one of those things where you know one when you see one. I'll start with a few off the top of my head. G&S Lounge Ginny's Little Longhorn Deep Eddy Cabaret Trophy's Poodle Dog Lounge Nasty's Buddy's Place Dry Creek Cafe
A friend of mine used to put together a Dive Crawl on a rented bus each year for his birthday. We'd usually hit 5-7 different dives during the night, and all of those on your list were on our tour at one point or another. A couple others that have made it into our list include: Lala's on Justin@ Burnet (supposedly one of Tarantino's favorite places when he's in town, though I've been there lots and never seen him) Horseshoe Lounge on S. Lamar. I agree, it's tough to define a "dive" bar. In general I think they should be kind of small, dimly lit, and serve mostly cheap, crappy beer and/or booze. A dive bar should also never try to be a dive bar. In fact, dive bars should not "try" at all. Any dive bar caught "trying" should have its dive status revoked. Burnet Road really does seem to be the epicenter of many of the top dive bars, not sure why.
Is the original Parlor on north loop still open? That place has a definite aging punkers dieing of hepatitis vibe. And good pizza.
horseshoe gets my vote - i was going there to drink lone star and play shuffleboard way too much for a while. p/c - while i know the land is worth tons and sarah is getting on in years, is there some specific bit of information that makes you think dry creek won't be around for next spring's deck-drinking weather kickoff?
Been to pretty much every one in the city having lived here all my life. Horseshoe will always be my favorite - the byob adds an additional element to things that I cannot really pinpoint. All of the business in that little strip where the Shoe is located are being evicted for higher rent issues (shocker). I assume the Shoe will go on, but I've not heard from Kelso.
Ginny's has a similar BYOB policy except that you can walk in there with a ******* handle and no one will say anything. Though the only thing they have in the way of a setup, as far as I am aware, is coke and sprite, etc.
Yep - that ain't the Happy Jack I know. The one who used to come in and drink a couple of beers and then head back over to Rutamaya and roll cigs and BS w/ people all night long. He's a tiny guy w/ a long fu man chu goatee that is braided into two long braids. Does like to squeeze the young ladies. "How ya doin Jack?" "Oh Happy Days!"
The Horseshoe Lounge is the shuffle board capital of Austin, it not Texas, if not the world. It's where I learned my craft, and for the legends there, I am thankful.
Poodledog is definitely a dive... went in once in the middle of a sunny summer afternoon (around 4pm) ... it took about 5 minutes for my eyes to adjust to the light (no windows)... when they did, the clientele were a remarkable bunch.... lots of large livers and nicotine stained fingers in there that time. I like Carousel... it's almost too trendy in an underground sort of way to be a dive.
I was in Poodle Dog week before last... random Wednesday night... played a lot of shuffleboard... enjoyed the place.
Hole In The Wall has chain locations in NW Austin and Cedar Park, so I'd go with no. I used to struggle with whether Shoal Creek Saloon was a dive. Lately the improvements they have made decidedly disqualify it, but it used to be just a room with a patio out back that had shuffleboard, no liquor, and served $2 Lone Stars. It was like a dive that had really good Cajun food.
Shoal Creek used to be on our Dive Crawl, and as they upgraded, it was removed. Still a great place to go, but no longer really a dive IMO.
CaptainEd, The guy in the shuffleboard pic looks almost exactly like the thing in your sig. I did a triple take.
