[guinnessjim]

ok...even if you are one of the "haters", you gotta at least have a favorite bar in LV...i mean its vegas after all!

i did my graduate work in Milwaukee, and the biggest thing i miss about that town is the bar scene...so many bars to call home, so little time. what i am looking for are good local bars...places with good happy hours and drink specials, good jukeboxes, live music (blues, punk, is there a DJ scene?...i'm talking mixin & scratchin DJs...ppl that can cut it up and burn it down), etc.

interested in places to casually hang out, get over a hangover, get some good bar grub, watch a game, maybe do all at the same time.

places with patios and beer gardens...i can't believe how few places in LA make good use of the awesome weather.

any info will be helpful, as the only places i know are on the strip...

[lvkewlkid]

not many places have patios or even live music, maybe you would be interested in the Pioneer Bar in Goodsprings, its an interesting place...

Anyways, we have been going to Instant Replay on Las Vegas Blvd South, for over 10 years...The Village Pubs are another good place, but terrible service...My parents enjoy PT's...The Blue Hawk and the Red Hawk are good places...Winchell's, not the donut place, is also OK...

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by lvkewlkid

not many places have patios or even live music, maybe you would be interested in the Pioneer Bar in Goodsprings, its an interesting place...

Anyways, we have been going to Instant Replay on Las Vegas Blvd South, for over 10 years...The Village Pubs are another good place, but terrible service...My parents enjoy PT's...The Blue Hawk and the Red Hawk are good places...Winchell's, not the donut place, is also OK...

You sure you're a teenager?

[PinkString]

I'm beginning to wonder about that too. He's been going to a bar for 10 years? He started at 6? lol Too funny.

[Sorcerer68]

Good Times (stainless steel dance floor), Flex (great hot tweaked out boy strippers), Gipsy (fun drag shows). These are gay bars if ya don't know...

[ackackack]

My favs are the Freakin' Frog because it is next to UNLV and usually has a fun crowd and no poker machines so people are forced to talk to each other, and they have an amazing selection of beer (over 500 or so). I also like Tenaya Creek because they make some great beers and they usually play some good music at night. The food is good too, not your typical bar food.

It sounds like lvkewlkid grew up in bars like I did. I'm not sure where he is from, but I was born here and the only places my family would patronize were bars, for food and drink. A lot of my early memories of this place are in bars, playing video games while my dad and uncle tied one on. Used to spend a lot of time at the Rum Runner and a bar that used to sit next to the Huntridge. Good times.

[guinnessjim]

good stuff so far...too bad about the lack of patios and music

hey sorc...define fun drag shows..we talking fun in the wow that can't be a dude or fun in the trainwreak sorta way (e.g. crazy trannys, stubble, etc)?

i will be working around UNLV and pbby living up in the huntridge area (found a good place w/ huge trees and a decent backyard)...seems like there might be some good stuff up near the old part of the strip..ne thoughts? i hear there are a number of places openning up that way that have no gamlbling in them and have more of a "bar" scene.

thx

[Chest Rockwell]

GuinnessJim - Great Topic! One that's near and dear to my heart!

Great choice on the Huntridge location. I live down here and that's where all the great bars are!

The best live outdoor music is at Beauty Bar on Fremont. The bar itself looks like a 1950's beauty salon, and isn't really my style, but the patio out back is sandwiched between tall buildings and is the ultimate secret urban location. I've seen some great shows here.

The best part about drinking downtown is that you can walk to a bunch of great bars, provided you don't mind crossing paths with the occasional hobo or crackhead. The Bunkhouse on 11th near Fremont has live music most nights. Next door to the Beauty Bar is another LA transplant, The Griffin, which has the great jukebox and ambience you're looking for. You can sip drinks on the patio of Sidebar on 3rd and Ogden as well. Next door to SideBar is the Triple George - a great seafood and steakhouse.

My favorite bar in the area is Dino's on Wyoming/LV Blvd. The drinks are cheap and there's karaoke on the weekends. People in there are always super nice and it's not as full of hipsters like some of the other downtown bars. Around the corner on Main St. is the Art Bar, which has a rotating art exhibit and live music and DJ's on most nights. I've never paid a cover there - I think it might be against their policy. They also have a pretty awesome jukebox -stacked with old R&B.

A couple other good bars downtown or near are the Icehouse on Main St., Champagne's on Maryland, Crown & Anchor on Trop, and of course the Freakin' Frog, which ack mentioned. They have like over 700 beers available and live jazz on tuesdays. The Double Down on Naples/Paradise is the most legitimate punk rock bar in town, which means it's absolutely filthy and loud - full of certifiable nutjobs. It's also a great time, especially when they have the annual rocking horse rodeo - where strippers come from all over town to gyrate on one of those horses they have in front of supermarkets. There's plenty of press on the double down, do a google search. Another decent punk rock bar is Dive Bar near Trop/Pecos in the Walmart center. They have some decent live shows, but the bar lacks much in the way of character. The upside is the pinball hall of fame museum nearby - not a bar, but a must-see, especially when the band at Dive Bar is terrible and you need to kill an hour before the next one starts.

The chainstore bars are okay too, but basically only to watch a game or grab dinner. Near Huntridge, there's a PT's on Sahara/6th and another by UNLV at Trop/Maryland near Vons.

As you can tell, I love a good bar!

[lvkewlkid]

Originally Posted by Buzz123

You sure you're a teenager?

yes, I am, I'm talking about the bars that let people under 21 in to eat...why doesn't anyone understand that concept? That's why I said that my parents like PT's...I wouldn't know anything else about PT's because they don't let people under 21 in...

[lvkewlkid]

Originally Posted by ackackack

My favs are the Freakin' Frog because it is next to UNLV and usually has a fun crowd and no poker machines so people are forced to talk to each other, and they have an amazing selection of beer (over 500 or so). I also like Tenaya Creek because they make some great beers and they usually play some good music at night. The food is good too, not your typical bar food.

It sounds like lvkewlkid grew up in bars like I did. I'm not sure where he is from, but I was born here and the only places my family would patronize were bars, for food and drink. A lot of my early memories of this place are in bars, playing video games while my dad and uncle tied one on. Used to spend a lot of time at the Rum Runner and a bar that used to sit next to the Huntridge. Good times.

yeh, my dad only likes places with bar food, we did the same thing in NJ as well...