#1941 - Office Bar, Las Vegas - 10/21/2012

From the outside it looks like a Staples.  Inside it is a pretty standard, friendly, neighborhood dive.

4608 Paradise Rd Las Vegas, NV 89169 - (702) 737-7756
Web site: facebook
Reviews: yelp

#1940 #S1080 - The Angry Beaver, Seattle - 19/14/2012

Beaver with some kind of red marijuana leaf tattoo

First of all, the Angry Beaver is not a bar for militant lesbians. It is a Canadian/hockey bar. So there, I saved you the embarrassment of having to ask. Why the beaver is angry, I do not know, perhaps due to the cold and/or the annual NHL work stoppages.  At any rate, if you live near the northern U.S. border, I do not have to tell you that our neighbors across the border are getting pretty cocky these days -- with their banks that don't blow up their economy, their crazy colored dollars being worth more than ours for a while, and their crazy poutine showing up everywhere.

Like every patriotic American, I have Heinz ketchup on my fries, and save the gravy for the mashed potatoes. But the Angry Beaver does not even stop at the gravy-on-fries depravity, they actually serve a "flight" of three different gravies -- mushroom, beef and curry -- on three little igloos of fries.

Painting illustrating how Canadians dress and travel

Further, the A.B. boasts that they are "the only Canadian themed bar in Seattle," which is a bit like the Montana bar expressing surprise that they are the only Montana-themed bar on Capitol Hill. But all is not lost at the Beaver, as they adopted some American conventions, such as electricity, and they do have whiskey, so at least you are not forced to drink Kohakee. And since NHL hockey is virtually always in some kind of lockout, there's an excellent chance you'll find football on the TVs instead. Also, if you don't already have the munchies, it looks like the Beaver got a jump on Washington state's pot legalization, as they big red images of marijuana leaves on banners and throughout the establishment.

We were given an eager introduction to the place by friendly bartender Adam, who did a remarkable job of hiding his anger. In fact all the staff seemed to be quite adept at disguising their anger from customers, and they also spoke fluent English, as opposed to the baffling tongue you often hear up north (e.g. "Do you have two loonies for a toonie?" WTF is that?). In fact they were so personable, that I plan to go back every now and then, to enjoy a drink and to witness their bizarre characteristics -- such as the belief that it is exciting to watch a game that that is 1-1 after two and a half hours of just going back and forth every couple seconds.

History of the building now housing the Angry Beaver

 Historical notes: This space, built in 1927, has hosted a variety of bars since the 1930s. City guides list a bar owned by Harvey Mashinter here in 1939, and if this was not already the "Central Tavern" (not to be confused with Pioneer Square's Central Saloon), it was so-named by the early 1940s, and remained under that name into the 70s. It became "Yo Babes" sometime shortly after that, and then "The First Edition" by 1980. By 1983 it was the Greenhouse Tavern; by 1985 it was "The Fillmore", by 1990 it was "The Winner's Circle" and then in 1995 became the "Pig and Whistle."

Some kind of weird hockey anthem

French cuisine - Dip and Fries

8412 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 782-6044
Est. Oct 13, 2012 - Building constructed: 1927
Previous bars in this location: Central Tavern, Yo' Babes, The First Edition, The Fillmore, The Winner's Circle, Pig & Whistle
Web site: facebook  
Reviews: thestranger - seattletimes - seattlemet - eater

#1939 - The Drink (Plaza), Las Vegas - 10/13/2012

Update: The Drink closed in November 2012 and owner Cools announced that he is out of the bar business. The Drink is being replaced by Z Bar.

---

The Plaza, and its bar The Drink, are weird.

The Plaza hotel and casino might be seem as perfectly representing the downtown Las Vegas area, as it seems to teeter between glorious rehabilitation and collapsing into squalor. It is on the site of the old Union Pacific railroad station, and part of the current structure houses a Greyhound Bus station. The bar, called "The Drink," is owned by Anthony Cools, a "comedic hypnotist" and the "King of Sociability."

The Drink recently replaced a miniature golf / dueling pianos / Elvis-themed bar which tourists mistook for a sex club. "It seems owner and hypnotist Anthony Cools got tired of people standing in the windows to look in without coming in to the bar. See, people thought the place was a real live swingers club despite massive windows looking in on the golf-themed bar, a miniature golf course and Caddyshack images on the walls." (Eater) The new place features hourly 25-cent "sociables," shots that everyone in the bar downs when the bell rings and after you shout out together "sociable!"

I am not making this up.

1 S Main St, Las Vegas, NV 89101 - (877) 687-5875
Est. Aug 2012 - Closed Nov 26, 2012
Previous bars in this location: Swingers Club
Web site: plazahotelcasino.com
Reviews: vegaschatter - eater - fremontstreetbars  

#1938 - PBR Rock Bar & Grill, Las Vegas - 10/13/2012

Big sports bar with a sizable patio in the Planet Hollywood

3663 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109 - (702) 750-1685
Est. Aug 22, 2010
Previous bars in this location: Hawaiian Tropic Zone
Web site: pbrrockbar.com - facebook
Reviews: lasvegasweekly - vegas.com - lasvegashappyhour - yelp

#1937 - Bar Moderno (Aria), Las Vegas - 10/13/2012

3730 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89158
Web site: arialasvegas.com - facebook
Reviews: lasvegasrestaurants - yelp 

#1936 - Heart Attack Grill, Las Vegas - 10/12/2012

God bless America.

450 Fremont St, Las Vegas, NV 89101                      
Est. Oct 21, 2011

Web site: heartattackgrill.com - facebook  
Reviews: wikipedia - lvrj - yelp
Calories in Quadruple Bypass Burger: 9,982

#1935 - Mermaid's Casino, Las Vegas - 10/12/2012

When what is now Mermaid's Casino opened in the summer of 1956 it was the first two level club in Las Vegas and the "motor stairs" were the first in Las Vegas. (Las Vegas Sun)  Mermaids is now a small, kitschy casino with a snack bar and no web page except Facebook.

32 East Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101-5602 - (702) 382-5777
Web site: facebook
Reviews: link - fremontstreetbars - yelp