Denver

I go to Denver pretty much every year for the Great American Beer Festival, so over the last 20 or so years I have found a few good (bad) places to hang out or hide. Here (again in no particular order) is my list.
The Falling Rock - 1919 Blake St. The best beer bar in Denver (and the entire Region). It has an unparalleled selection of draft and bottled beers, great bartenders (and owners), and the food is pretty good too. Pool tables (and quiet corners) downstairs. http://www.fallingrocktaphouse.com/
15th Street Tavern - 623 15th St. Never has a carpeted floor been this matted down with ... ???. A real dive bar with good music scene an ok beer selection, and cheap drinks. And who wouldn't love their "Slutty Tuesdays" promo ?
PS Lounge - 3416 E Colfax Ave. A comfortable "dive" with atmosphere and good bartenders.
Mozart's - 1417 Krameria. Good local dive. Friendly customers and nice staff and a cheap, cheap beer. Great neon out front.
El Chapultapec - 1962 Market St. Good dive bar during the week & days, good live Jazz music on the weekends (but a very differnt crowd). A Denver classic.
Lion's Lair - 2022 E Colfax Ave. Rockabilly/hotRod/biker bar, lots of tattoos, leather and Betty Page Grls. Good music sometimes, feisty bartenders and ok beer selection.
Sobo 151 - 151 S. Broadway. Czech owned/themed sports bar with the best/freshest imported beer selection in town and a few good local beer choices too. A nice place with a good atmosphere (and a few pool tables in back) - food looks good too. www.sobo151.net
Satire Lounge - 1920 E Colfax Avenue. Good neighborhood bar, okay Mexican food, good crowd. (great Neon out front) http://www.petesrestaurants.com/satireLounge.html
Brown Barrel - 76 S Broadway. Beer dive. Friendly bartender, good crowd.
Bar Bar - Just off Broadway (near the Denver Hitting Club). This bar stand alone (both literally and Figuratively) as a beacon for those in need. Enter here and step back in time (or loose it completely). This bar has no name or discernable address, only a neon sign above the entrance announcing "BAR" - thus comes the moniker Bar Bar. Festooned with "stuff' donated over the years, and picture from years past. These kinds of bars are fading kind. Great dive, pool table in back, good bartenders, interesting clientele, good juke box and a MEAN bloody Mary. Bar Bar is my pick for best dive (that's still open) in Denver
My Brother's Bar - 2376 15th St. Out of the way (yet close to town). This is a great old school neighborhood bar with a relaxed comfortable feel, good food, a decent beer selection and a fine mixed drink. Lots of nooks and places to sit and hide from your worries
Wazee Supper Club - 1600 15th St. Not a dive but just comfortable. Good Pizza, nice beer selection, decent service. www.wazeesupperclub.com/
Squire Lounge - 1800 E. Colfax. neighborhood dive with cheap drinks. Sobriety not tolerated - shut up @#%*er and start drinkin ! - www.thesquirelounge.net
Star Bar - 2137 Larimer St. Just a friendly dive with several nearby Mexican joints that have great food. Stop in for a beer before/after eating.

Austin

Yeah, I know it is almost pointless to have an Austin section since there are sooo many good places in this town that you almost can't miss - but here are a few of the really special ones.

The Continental Club - 1315 S. Congress Ave. Cool Road house style bar, okay beer selection, great music, fun times. If the MutherTruckers are playing you gotta check it out. www.continentalclub.com/Austin
Egos - Hard to find dive hidden away in the basement parking garage of a office building. But worth the search. Good live music (up close), good beers, pool table in back, Jello shot's just $1.00
Emos - 603 Red River - Three bars, two stages, lot of outdoor seating, an okay beer selection, & a most excellent crowd (there is a little of everything) - www.emosaustin.com
Red Eye Fly - 715 Red River Rd. - great music venue and some good beer too.
www.recordhigh.net/redeyedfly
Jenny Longhorn - Road side Dive. A bit out of town, but you meet the nicest people there (at least we did), and how often do YOU get to give advice to the bar tender ?
Iron Works - Hmmm BBQ. Great little place with outdoor seating next to a quite little river. The food is good, the beer selection okay. www.ironworksbbq.com

Mandatory side trip to Lockhart (home of Excellent BBQ)
Smitty's - Whoa !! Extra juicy and bacon like (hmmmmm bacon). Lord, that's might fine - wow, check out the cooking pits. www.smittysmarket.com/
Kreuz - Just smoked meat (and Shiner Bock, a surprisingly good combination) - Their motto "no sauce, nuthin to hide" (pictured above). www.kreuzmarket.com/

Portland Oregon

The Acropolis - 8325 SE McLoughlin Portland OR. They have 50 Beers on tap, good cheap eats (a really good steak), a salad bar, and three stages of full frontal nudity, and no cover before 5:00. Now that's entertainment.
Bar of the Gods - 4801 SE Hawthorne. Crazed hipster bar, great beers on draft (watch them set the bar top ablaze - literally) www.barofthegods.com
Matador - 1967 W Burnside. Good all around dive bar. There are several other interesting bar in the area (check um out)
Produce Row - 204 SE Oak St. One of Portland's original beer bars, Good selection of draft, great sandwiches, nice outdoor seating. An all around comfortable place.
Beulahland - 118NE 28th. Great comfortable funky bar. Good beer selection, decent food + we like the owners.
Horse Brass - 4534 SE Belmont. Excellent English pub with a great beer selection. Scotch egg me baby. The owner Don is a Northwest bar ledgend (see man on R. in Pic above). www.horsebrass.com
Hung Far Low - (up stairs). Chinese dive bar extraordinaire, stiff drinks and decent food. Open late night. Moved recently from historic Old Town to trashy 82nd Ave.
The Alibi Restaurant & Bar - 4024 Interstate Ave. - Tiki bar madness, great drinks
The Rialto - 529 SW 4th Ave. Good pool room/bar (with off track betting). Beer selection is pretty good (as almost anywhere in Portland), pool tables are well maintained, food is decent, stiff drinks and a cast of characters resides inside. I've been thrown out of there a couple of times (can't really remember what for) http://www.rialtopoolroom.com/

Budapest

Szimpla Kert - One of the coolest bars in Europe. Hidden away on a side street in District VII on the Pest side of the river, it is well worth searching out (if you, like I, enjoy a good dive bar). www.szimpla.hu
For Pix check - http://flickr.com/photos/55592119@N00/page6/
Old Man's Pub - Akácfa u. 13. It is an old Jazz/Blues kind of place. Underground and with a lot of dark wood. It's a Cool place, with a decent beer selection, good music and good food.
Gálya Pub - Popular among young people. It is located in the center of Budapest. The whole bar is designed to look like the interior of a sunken Ship (how cool is that - sorry, I am sucker for a bar with a naval theme)

Seattle

Many of the good bars in Seattle have been reconfigured into upscale places (think The Wagon Wheel, The Midget, The Classic, The Freamont Tavern or The Palms - sadly all gone now) but there are still a many good places to get a drink.

The Elysian Brewery (and Pub) - 1221 East Pike, Seattle, WA 206 860 1920. Great award winning beers, good food, interesting crown, good staff. + we love the owners
www.elysianbrewing.com
Nine Pound Hammer - 6009 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA, 206.762.3373. Cool, dark bar for the Alt. Crowd. Several other good bars in this area. NPH is my favorite. www.ninepoundhammer.com
The Lava Lounge - 2226 2nd Ave Seattle. The interior is like the inside of a sailing ship - lots of good tiki bar stuff, and strong drinks. www.mamas.com/lavalounge
The Alibi - on Post alley. Nice little bar with cool activities and a good beer selection (good Bloody Marys). www.seattlealibi.com/welcome.htm
The Buckaroo - 4201 Fremont. After the Fremont Tavern closed this was the biker bar of choice, but it has tamed over the years. Still, it has a decent beer selection and lots of character (s) + some good bike viewing on most nights.
Brouwer's - 400 N 35th st. Owned by two beer fanatics (and nice guys) - thus an excellent beer line up. I hear the food is good there too (but who want to eat with so many beers to choose from). www.brouwerscafe.com/
Stumbling Monk - 1635 E. Olive Wy. Homey and comfortable (all be it a bit beat up) Pub. Very nice selection of beers. Great place to hangout.
The Latona - 6423 Latona Ave N.E. Nice comfortable pub wih a really good beer selection.
The Comet - 922 E. Pike. One of just a few Dive bars left on the Seattle menu. When I think of Seattle bars in the late 80's Grunge days - this is it. Stiff drinks and decent beers on tap. An all around favorite.
Hattie's Hat - 5231 Ballard Ave NW. This is a Ballard institution (and a cool place). A classic kind of diner/bar. Stiff drinks, decent food. www.hattieshat.com

San Francisco

The Toronado - 547 Haight, San Francisco.
Maybe the best beer bar on Earth, definitely one of the best. Fantastic beer selection, great crowd, comfortable place, semi-friendly bar staff, great Juke box Cool owner. Food next door on either side. Keep an eye out for their special Beer events.
www.toronado.com
The Lush Lounge - 1092 Post, San Francisco.
Someone told me it was a gay bar, I don't know if that's true but everybody seemed very happy. Great drinks, good beer selection and outstanding people watching (the flow of people on the street is better than any TV show esp. at night). www.thelushlounge.com
Benders -South Van Ness, San Francisco.
Good all around bar/Dive. Good music, friendly bar staff, stiff drinks, good beer selection, pretty good food, great place to see a band. www.bendersbar.com
The Zeitgeist - 199 Valencia St. SF. My favorite biker bar on this (or any other) planet. Really nice beer selection, best outdoor beer garden in the city, great BBQ, a good crowd (mix of pedal & motor bikers), a cool bar staff, and a mean stiff drink. www.zeitgeist.citysearch.com
Tonga Room - 950 Mason St. S.F. One of the best done Tiki bar anywhere (with indoor thuder storms and a floating island), well worth a visit. www.fairmont.com
Tommy's Mexican Restaurant - 5929 Geary Blvd. Nice family owned place. Good Mexican food, Fantastic Tequila Selection. The bar is small and packed (most are waiting for dinner). Julio (Tommy’s son) is the tequila Ambassador to the world, he know everyone in the bizz (and on lucky nights you’ll find him mixing it up behind the bar). www.tommystequila.com
If it is too packed to get to Tommy's bar, get a reservation and check out Trad'r Sam - 6150 Geary Blvd - across the street on the corner (fun, old school Tiki bar– not many like it left)
The Saloon - 1235 Grant. SF's oldest bar, good beers, great Blues music, small bathrooms. Just a really great old Tavern style. Opened by the great grandfather of Brock Adams - the owner of Saint Arnold Brewing Co. (Texas) www.sfblues.net/Saloon.html
Li Po - 916 Grant Avenue. It is a bit famous now, but it is also a great dive bar in SF's Chinatown. Weird entrance into a dark realm. Local Asian men can often be found playing loud dice games at the bar. Check out the basemant if it is open (occasional live music). There is also a good dive across the street on the corner.

Singapore

The Mitre Hotel - 145 Killiney Rd. Possibly the worst dive you'll ever be in (or the best). Not for the squeemish, but what a great load of character. No telling what's behind the bar, you'll drink whatever they have - and like it. Special treat rent a room & spend the night (if you dare - no you better not - no really don't). Too late, Mati Liao.
The Divine Society - 600 North Bridge Rd , At the complete other end of the spectum from the Mitre. Yeah, the service is crap but the bar itself is stunning. Three stories of pure opulence. And then there's the Wine Angles - you have to see this place to believe it.
JJ Atlante - 40 Duxton Rd. Cold Tiger beer and the best damn blues and R&B you'll hear in Singapore (House band Heritage gives it their all 6 nights a week).
Sarena Nasi Padang & Ayam Penyet - west side block 46 Buona Vista. The best Nasi Padang place I have found yet in Singapore. At Sarena the food is excellent (and not of the ordinary - like their curried Jack Fruit!) and the staff friendly. Along with great Nasi Padang offerings they also have Ayam Penyet - yum - or smashed Ckicken (one has to wonder how this dish came about, but I digress). There are also several other good place to eat in that area of BV.
Timbre - Armenian Street (near the tunnel and opposite SMU). Great outdoor venue with music and a good crowd (pizza looks good too). Trees grow in and around the bar adding to the already cool and comfortable atmosphere. http://www.timbre.com.sg/
Archipelago Brewery - 79 Circular Rd. Hand crafted beers of distiction in a comfortable and relaxed open air bar with a lot of dark wood. Housed in a historic building in the middle of downtown Singapore. The finger food there is decent but for real makan check a few of the other places in that same little area (Thai Smile or ??) http://www.archipelagobrewery.com/
Prince of Wales - Corner of Madras & Dunlop, in historic Little India. One of the best bars in Singapore. Offered as an Australian style bar, they have a good beer selection, nice out door beer garden, live music on weekends, a friendly dog and a backpacker hotel upstair. And prices are still reasonable - Check out their Sunday event - http://www.pow.com.sg/
Hide Out - 31 B Circular Rd. Singapore. Good beers, and comfortable groovey place to mellow out with friends. http://www.hideout.com.sg/
Lot, Stock & Barrel - 29 Seah St. Singapore. Nice comfortable pub with a good beer selection and good service - and a really nice owner.
Samy's Curry - Block 25, Demsey Road. Newly remodled (but mostly the same). Good Indian food, really nice atmosphere. Tiger Beer only. Try the fish head curry (don't be afraid - but order a small one unless there are more than 6 of you). http://www.samyscurry.com/
Red Dot Brewhouse - Block 24, Demsey Road (next door to Samy's Curry). The newest Brewpub in town. They have decent food, a really nice atmosphere, great out door area and most importantly - really good Beers. Try the Green Monster beer (if they have it on) or my personal favorite the Lime Wheat (really nicely done)
ColBar - 9A Whitchurch Rd. A great little slice of old Singapore. Good beer selection, cool outdor seating, tasty affordable food. Visit while it is still around.
Iguana Cafe - 30 Merchant Rd. Good Mexican food (the best you'll find in Singapore), an outstanding tequila selection (chosen with the help of tequila guru Julio Bermejo), nice outdoor dining, good beers from Brewerkz (just up the river) which is Singapore's oldest microbrewery and creators of many fine hand crafted beers (with an excellent happy hour). http://www.brewerkz.com/ and http://www.cafeiguana.com/
True Blue - 117 East Coast Road. Excellent Peranakan food in a very nice setting - The Ayam Buah Keluak is a must try. Prices are mid range and the atmosphere is upscale but not overly so. The place is small so you might want to calll ahead.
Blu Jazz - 11 Bali lane. Funky little place in an old shophouse in Kampong Glam near Arab st. They have decent food, an okay beer selection and good music sometimes. This is a great neighborhood to explore and Blu Jazz is a great little place for a change of pace or to sit and relax. (Can check out the upstairs for some chill out with aircon)
Wagon Wheel - 22 Greenwood Ave. Great litle neighborhood Tavern/pub in a great neiborhood. Nice people, and Excellent Ox Tail Stew, but Tiger Beer only (but they sell a lot so it's fresh and cold).
L'estaminet - 4 Greenwood ave. Funky Belgian bar/cafe in the same great little neiborhood Good beer selection (both Belgian and non) and good food. (check out all the surrounding places)
Oosters - 25 Church st. Upscale Belgian Brasserie. Good selection of Belgian beers in a nice bar, with fairly good service - and right down town. www.oosters.com.sg/
The Pump Room - Clarke Quay. Upscale brew pub with dinning and dancing to live music. Good selection of their own beers (Scotch Ale is a favorite) and in a nice selection of other local and imported brews. Mostly Australian food selection with fairly good service. - http://www.thepumproom.com/. Nice Malt Whisky bar (The Highlander) right next door.
The French Stall - 544 Serangoon Road. Really good food, resonable prices, Brewerkz beers, nice wine selection, nice casual open air dining. (not open Mondays).
Charlie's Corner - Blk 2 Changi Village #01-08. site outdoors in the breeze at a great little open air pub in the east corner of the island. Excellent beer selection, decent food and friendly staff. Closes at 10:30 - just in time to see the ladyboys taking over the car park.
Season Live Seafood - 59-E, Pulau Ubin. What could be nicer than to wile away the time sitting by the sea, listening to the waves, watching the boats slide by, drinking cold Tiger beer and sampling tasty food. This is out door dining at its best. A great place to relax. The Bum boat ride over is just $2.00.
For more details check - http://singbrewer.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_archive.html

Side trip to Batam, Indonesia (only a 1 hour boat ride away) - I don't think they have street addresses in Batam and if they do no one knows them, so just ask for directions - people there are very nice.
Lucy's Oar House - In Nagoya. One of my favorite bars in Southeast Asia. A great semi-maritime themed bar, very laid back, super nice staff, decent cold beer selection, good music (not too loud), very nice food and a passable pool table + has outdoor seating as well. And if it is too slow ofr you, then you can always check out upstairs. Check http://www.nedbatam.com/
Wallaby's - (near Lucy's). Nice bar, decent pool table, great pizza (reckoned by my friend Bill to be the best in S.E. Asia)
A1 Pugasera- Food court heaven, Indonesian style. Out door dining, with friendly people, excellent food and great prices - and sometimes the Length Brewery beer is avaialble and tasting good. Try Seafood Hai San for great fish and serves.
Harmoni Hotel Wine Bar - Nice semi-up scale Bar in a nice hotel (but better you stay at the Goodway across the street). Chill out while the nice staff serves you a drink or sits and chats. Live jazz type music on weekends.

Welcome to The Pau Hana Time Lounge

I have been meaning to do this for about 20 years - to build a site of my favorite places (and of course most of them are bars). The project has been delayed mostly because I am lazy and would rather be out drinking in some dive.

The posts are by city, and they are all ongoing works in progress. The list is in no particular order. I update it and expand on it whenever I have time. For a place to make it on the list it has to have character and I have to have been there - and liked it. Those are the only criteria. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions. I'll probably ignore them, but your welcome to leave them just the same.

Welcome to The Pau Hana Time Lounge - okole maluna !