Behold part 2 of the 2nd round of the Best Bar Tourney!
As with last round, you’ll be able to find all of the polls at the “Best Bar Tournament Polls” link at the top of the page.
The first matchup sees City View Tavern facing off against Dana’s.
City View Tavern: City View has history out the deck. The second-oldest tavern in the city (after Arnold’s) has enough lore to fill a book. Sit at the bar long enough and one of the regulars (or one of the owners) will tell you true tales of crazy times on the hill. The story about Charles Manson? It’s true. Haven’t heard it? Ask the bartender. While you’re there, order one of the best burgers in Cincinnati or a famously secret recipe Bloody Mary. http://www.cityviewtavern.com/bar.html (theworldofdale)
Dana’s: I hear that if you graduate from Xavier without going to Dana’s, they refuse to give you your diploma. On weekends, the bar is filled with current students, most of whom are of legal age. For Xavier Grads, Dana’s is the rallying point before and after basketball games. http://www.danagardens.com/ (David Ben)
Best Bar in Cincinnati Round 2 Match 3
Dana's (435 Votes)
City View Tavern (392 Votes)
Total Voters: 826
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Our final 2nd round match pits Hofbrauhaus Newport against Neon’s Unplugged. Ready?
Hofbrauhaus: Hofbrauhaus Newport is the first Hofbrauhaus in the United States, reinforcing the sister city connection between Cincinnati and Munich, home of the original. Where else can you get liter steins of quality German beer? Two or three of these steins will render an average man sufficiently lubricated for the night, and with heavy German fare to supplement, make sure to come with an empty stomach. http://www.hofbrauhausnewport.com/ (Hipp)
Neon’s Unplugged: Neon’s on 12th has been reborn. The second coming looks a lot like the first round, minus the neon signs- hence the unplugged. Also missing- the bras hanging from the ceiling. But the bikers are back (they recommended I restart the bra tradition; I declined). The dogs on the patio are back. The grill is back. The best part of Neon’s is that it never felt like a bar- it felt like a party at someone’s house. OTR’s backyard party is back, and better than ever (including free snacks on the regular). http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cincinnati-OH/The-Famous-Neons-Unplugged/140206284265?v=photos#!/pages/Cincinnati-OH/The-Famous-Neons-Unplugged/140206284265?v=wall (theworldofdale)
Some of y’all probably saw the results of round one, so we’ll skip all that junk and just get to the business.
As before, you can see all of the current polls at the “Best Bar Tournament Polls” link at the top of the page.
This is part one of Round 2. You ready?
The first matchup pits Arnold’s Bar and Grill against The Crazy Fox Saloon.
Arnold’s: Established in 1861, this is the oldest continuously operating watering hole in Cincinnati. Although not known for the quality of their food, their continuously evolving menu has won many recent fans. They also sport a solid if unremarkable beer selection, with several local favorites. The unique space at 8th St and Main downtown features an enclosed interior courtyard in the center of the block with a retractable roof for the seasons or times of inclement weather. The courtyard’s raised stage features prominent local music acts such as Jake Speed, Ricky Nye, and the Cincinnati Dancing Pigs Jug Band. http://www.arnoldsbarandgrill.com/ (JasonB)
Crazy Fox Saloon: The Crazy Fox Saloon is yet another Cincinnati bar not in Cincinnati. Located just south of the Levee on Washington and 9th, this low-key place is full of friendly staff who literally know your name after hitting the place a couple times. They have free pool most of the week, a FABULOUS jukebox, and sometimes a live band or two. Regulars are cool and non-regulars who randomly stroll in aren’t shitheads, unlike, say, Cadillac Ranch. This bar is Gay owned and everyone friendly, and they support a surprising array of Absinthe for a “neighborhood bar”. They also have a pretty cool softball team. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Crazy-Fox-Saloon-Fan-Page/119141044763035 (Megan)
Best Bar in Cincinnati Round 2 Match 1
Crazy Fox Saloon (551 Votes)
Arnold's Bar & Grill (364 Votes)
Total Voters: 915
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Match #2 sees Northside Tavern facing off against Hap’s Irish Pub.
Northside Tavern: Located in the always hip Northside (again, hence the name), Northside Tavern, or “The Tavern” as regulars call it, boasts a plethora of new and old beer faves, including the not-to-be-out-hipstered PBR and Burger. A beautiful courtyard with plenty of seating and small fire pits abuts a couple of restaurants, which openly allow feasting while drinking Northside Tavern’s beer. They have also opened a large back room for bands to play, so drinkers can hang out unmolested by the music. Weekends will find you standing in line for a drink, but weekdays, the place is relatively depopulated. Bartenders are efficient and friendly-ish. Great jukebox. Pool tables. Bathrooms usually clean. http://lisalouuu.com/northsidetavern/html/ (Megan)
Hap’s: Hap’s is a friendly Irish pub in East Hyde Park. Without overbearing music, it’s somewhere to relax and hold an actual conversation, whether having a pint of Guinness at the bar or playing a round of darts. Besides showing standard American sports, Hap’s also shows international soccer and rugby. If you show up on a Saturday afternoon, you may enjoy the spectacle of a Kelts rugby post-game social on the back porch as well. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cincinnati-OH/Haps-Irish-Pub/46652561555 (Hipp)
Whelp, you guys totally brought it in the first round. I’m more than impressed. You’ll be able to check the results until tomorrow morning right here, buds. For now, let’s take a look at the first round’s results, eh?
Some highlights:
Arnold’s Bar and Grill bounces last year’s champ, Mainstrasse Village Pub, in the first round. What hurts most-ish is that the Pub is probably my personal favorite bar; sad to see ‘em out so quickly.
The Crazy Fox Saloon knows their shit in TCM’s Best Bar tourney; they almost made it to the championship last year. If you’re the betting type, keep your eye on the Fox.
Hap’s Irish Pub beats out Fries Cafe by 5 votes. Close one, Hap’s patrons. Well done.
City View Tavern edges Milton’s BY ONE VOTE. ONE SINGULAR VOTE. Impressive!
Newcomer Dana’s wallops their competition by showing up with almost 200 votes. I smell a behemoth on the horizon…
Another newcomer, Neon’s Unplugged, lays down the wood in their matchup as well, with 55% of the vote. Good times, people. Good times.
Google engineers advertisements that essentially ‘read’ your email so that they can tailor which ads you see. Being mostly ignorant to how this process works, I can’t offer a better explanation other than that. I can, however, tell you that either their software needs a tune-up, or I must be the most difficult man alive to read.
You are what you surf... Or you are the exact opposite of what you surf. You know, whatever.
It is as if the software is saying, “Hey man. Are you an immigrant in need of some documentation? Got all kinds of documentation you might need. Oh. You already are a citizen? Well shit man, why didn’tcha say so? Lets go bust some friggin immigrants!”
Or “Man, this Kasich guy is straight outta Wall Street. Typical of those dirty scumbag republicans. Can never trust a word they… oh. You are a republican? Then lets kick some democrat ass in 2010!”
You gotta give them credit for trying to cover all the bases, I guess.
A couple weeks back, I posted about Jawbreaker. The subject of this, the last in my series of “J” bands that saved my life, is Jets to Brazil (and for the record, I didn’t forget about the Jesus Lizard–I posted about them quite some time ago).
Like his former band, Blake Schwarzenbach’s second major effort is highlighted by his remarkable lyrics–lots of hard luck stories where the luck seems to be created primarily, though not necessarily exclusively by the songs’ subjects. This isn’t to say that all the Jets’ songs are that way–there’s a solid happy tune sprinkled in here and there throughout their three albums. A central difference that you’ll notice right off between Jets to Brazil and Jawbreaker is that Jets to Brazil is a much more accessible, straightforward rock unit, whereas Jawbreaker was much more clearly rooted in the late-80′s/early 90′s Bay Area punk thing.
Too, Jets’ songwriting, while structurally similar to Jawbreaker and somewhat traditional, is much more polished and well-honed. You can tell that the songs have been worked on and cared for for a considerable amount of time. This fact makes me care about the tunes that much more.
Like Jawbreaker, and I think I mentioned this in that piece, I identified pretty significantly with Schwarzenbach’s lyrics on a number of levels, and same goes here. Men, that dude’s awesome. Enjoy.
Each week, TCM chooses its favorite comment from the previous week and enters it into a quarterly drawing wherein fabulous prizes are offered.
This week’s favorite comment comes from Matt, on our post about Napoleon’s stolen junk. As TCM simply loves puns, it only stands to reason that we’d eventually get one or two to end up in the CoTW pile. Here goes:
Bone apart.
</applause> Thanks for pitching in to the conversation, Matt! We appreciate it, and good luck in the August drawing!
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