Interlude Cocktails, Long Beach, CA

1710 Clark Avenue
Long Beach, CA ‎
 (562) 597-2963

• Price per domestic pitcher: N/A
• Credit/Debit: No (Cash Only)
• Parking: Public Lot
• Good for groups: Yes
• Music: TouchTunes

• Best Nights: Friday
• TV's: 4
• Smoking: Outside/No Drinks
• Alcohol: Full Bar
• ATM: Yes

The Bar: Considered the diviest bar in Long Beach, this little hole in the wall sits on Clark Ave. between PCH and Los Coyotes Diagonal. This is the bar that the locals come to when the Annex and Blondie's close early, at least that's what I did when I lived in Long Beach. Everything about this place screams dive bar, no windows, a door leading into the unknown, and the smell of stale beer from the night before, feels like home.
The Crowd: For a Saturday night, not much happening in here. Got your standard retirees, couple of drunk middle aged fellows, and a few in their 20's. Everyone seemed nice enough.
Service: Quick and delivered with a smile.
Prices: $4.25 16oz Coors Light, $5 shots of Fireball (heavy pour)
Entertainment: 2 pool tables (50 cents), TouchTunes, 2 dart boards, Lottery ticket machine. Complementary hotdogs and popcorn on weekends.
Restroom: One of the filthiest we've ever been in. It was hot & humid, with the smell of old urine. Perhaps a 99 cent air freshener could fix this issue.
Closing statement: We use to frequent this place on the regular. Not a terrible spot if you are looking for a relaxed environment. The restrooms could certainly use a facelift. We were told that Friday nights are the best and that we should return then, we shall try. In the meantime, stop on by and let us know what you thought.

We give the Interlude a 3 out of 5.

Alex's Bar, Long Beach, CA

2913 E Anaheim Street
Long Beach, CA ‎
(562) 434-829
http://www.alexsbar.com

• Price per domestic pitcher: Unk
• Credit/Debit: Yes
• Parking: Public Lot
• Good for groups: Yes
• Music: Live/Karaoke

• Best Nights: Fri, Sat
• TV's: 1
• Smoking: Outside/No Drinks
• Alcohol: Full Bar
• ATM: Yes

The Bar: This dark little punk rock bar is famously known throughout Southern California for having some famous bands such as, Black Flag, Green Day and The Offspring. This is also the set for the popular HBO show True Blood (Fangtasia) and some scenes from the movie Tenacious D Pick of Destiny.
   The bar is located on Anaheim street in Long Beach. A difficult one to find since there is no real sign designating the building. The main entrance to this bar is located in the back, off an alleyway, again, no sign in sight.
The Crowd: Depending on the band for the night, this can change drastically. Tonight's crowd was punk. A whole lot of piercings and a whole lot of tattoos. Ran in to a guy from London, he was 57 years young with around 25 piercings in his face alone. He was here on vacation with his wife and decided to hit Alex's, because apparently, this bar is talked about abroad also. Cool guy rockin out the whole night.
Service: Surprisingly excellent. The bar was packed, and when we say packed, we mean fucking slammed. By the time the first band started playing, this place was beyond capacity. Everyone standing shoulder to shoulder in a cluster fuck drunken daze. The stack of people waiting for drinks was about 4 thick all the way around the bar, however, it took but a second for a bartender to notice you waiting, and was prompt about getting you what you need. Very impressive.
Prices: $5 tall cans of PBR along with a very nice drink menu including our personal favorite Moscow Mule.
Entertainment: Karaoke on Tuesday nights. Live music almost every other night of the week. Check http://www.alexsbar.com/month for the upcoming events.
Restroom: The only complaint here; the the sit down shitter doesn't have a door. Not that we recommend ever dropping a steamer in a bar, but if ya gotta go, no other choice than to have someone possibly walk in on you mid squeeze.
Closing statement: On a show night, be prepared to pay a cover. Get here early to grab a table. The patio is cool, equipped with a taco cart provided by Gringo's Tacos on the weekends, however, even though the patio is enclosed, they don't allow drinks outside. Overall, it's a cool little spot. Come for a drink, stay for a show. Great cocktail menu too. 

We give Alex's Bar a 5 out of 5.

 

Black Light District, Long Beach, CA

2500 E Anaheim Street
Long Beach, CA ‎
(562) 433-5823

• Price per domestic pitcher: $10.00
• Credit/Debit: Yes
• Parking: Street
• Good for groups: Yes
• Music: Internet Jukebox/Live

• Best Nights: Fri, Sat
• TV's: 6
• Smoking: Outside/No Drinks
• Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
• ATM: Yes

The Bar: This was one of those nights where we could not wait to go drinking. We arrived while the sun was still up, and it was a ghost town in there. 1 bartender and 1 customer. We quickly headed to the bar, ordered our first pitcher, and the rest is a blur.
     The bar set-up: A hollow rectangle, with roughly 20-30 seats and 1 walk up service station. To the right is a shuffleboard and to the left you will find the ATM, 2 pool tables and a stage. We were here two weeks ago, and an awesome Social Distortion cover...I mean  "Tribute Band" by the name of Mainliner was there.
The Crowd: We talked to the one guy who was there for a bit, chill dude. More heads arrived around 9 along with whatever band was going to play, we didn't stay long enough to find out who they were.
Prices: $10 pitchers of domestic, $15 import. $6 Fireball. Heineken, Bud Light, Budweiser, Pyramid Hefeweizen, Blue Moon, Fat Tire, New Castle on tap.
Entertainment: TouchTunes, 2 pool tables, free shuffleboard, electronic dartboard, 6 TV's.
Restroom: Not sure what's up with the diamond plated decor, perhaps a piss deflector? It was clean, but poorly lit. Some stickers on the toilet seat that have been partially torn off and covered by a new one...process repeats.
Bartender: Tonight was Shaina, in the industry for years, but new to this bar. She was hot and covered in tattoos!
Closing statement: They call them a Rock & Roll Lounge, but it seems more like a night club. It was a cool place for sure, and we will likely be back for dollar beer night (Sunday) and to catch Mainliner sometime soon. This is a new bar, formerly Max Steiner's, so they are in the process of getting their new brand out to the world. In the meantime, stop in for a beer, a free concert, and a place with No Cover Charge...EVER.

We give Black Light District a 3 out of 5.

San Juan Club, Fair Oaks, CA

7420 Sunset Avenue
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 965-9883

• Price per domestic pitcher: $5.00 (mini)
• Credit/Debit: Yes
• Parking: Public Lot
• Good for groups: Yes
• Music: Internet Jukebox/Karaoke 

• Best Nights: Fri, Sat
• TV's: 3
• Smoking: Outside with drinks
• Alcohol: Full Bar
• ATM: Unk

The Bar: The outside looks very divey and the inside, just as good. As my friends and I were looking for a bar to sing karaoke at, this one came to mind. We first checked it out Wednesday, however karaoke is only on weekends. We stayed a bit, caught a buzz, headed home, only to return Friday night with a larger crowd of friends.
       Walking in to this establishment, we were immediately noticed by the locals for being new. I wasted no time heading straight to the bar, where a rather tall, bald, gray-bearded, intimidating bartender stands. I was quick on the draw, with I.D., credit card, and business card in hand. I gave him the normal speech of what we do, and he was totally cool with us....from that point on, the rest of the night was pretty much a blur.
The Crowd: My first encounter with the crowd was a gentleman with more tattoos showing than skin, infact the only skin not tatooed was between his forehead and chin. He says to me, "you're DiveBar Culture, I found your business card in the bathroom, I used it as a crutch." Hey man, use it for whatever, at least you remembered us. Moving on, the 2nd encounter, an older gentleman, who could not wait to tell me of every single dive bar in Sac County, as to remain polite, I listed as he rapped of roughly 50, nice guy too. As for the rest of the crowd, well, they came with me.
Service: 1 bartender on, and us with a crowd of 10, it took a minute to get served, but once the 1st round came, the beers stayed full the whole night.
Prices: Half pitchers $5.00, double shots of Fireball $4.50. Pints of PBR $2.50.
Entertainment: 1 pool table, TouchTunes jukebox, Karaoke on weekends. 1 electronic dartboard.
Restroom: Not too shabby, I expected worse, but to my surprise, it was very clean, and smelled great.
Closing statement: We had a grand time here. Singing karaoke wasted, always makes for hilarious entertainment. I will certainly come back to this spot for more drunken karaoke nights. If you're in the area, come on by for a beer. You won't be disappointed.

We give San Juan Club a 5 out of 5

Iguana Kelley's, Long Beach, CA

4306 E. Anaheim Street
Long Beach, CA ‎
(562) 434-0447
www.iguanakelleys.com

• Price per domestic pitcher: Unk
• Credit/Debit: Yes
• Parking: Public Lot
• Good for groups: Yes
• Music: Internet Jukebox

• Best Nights: Fri, Sat
• TV's: 10
• Smoking: Outside/No Drinks
• Alcohol: Full Bar
• ATM: Yes

The Bar: Located on East Anaheim... (insert Sublime lyrics here), this is a popular spot. I've been in here a few times, always packed, always a good time. We arrived here about 7pm Saturday night, and that place was poppin. A crowd already out front just hanging out shootin the shit and grubbin on the FireHouse Chefs food truck that was in the parking lot. To the right of the entrance there is the mystery door. Not sure what goes on up there, but people are in and out all night. When my friend asked about it, the response was, "nothing that concerns you". Okay buddy, whatever you say.
    Tonight was the new owner (Steve) celebration party. This bar has been here for 16 years, and Steve is the 4th owner.
    I'm guessing the occupancy of this bar is about 50-70, but I heard some nights, there are as many as 150. A long L-shaped bar, with 2 service stations and 2 bartenders. The bar seats about 15 people, along with some scattered tables throughout. In the rear, you will find the restrooms and 2 pool tables, which one was covered tonight.
The Crowd: Local Long Beach. Everyone seemed to know each other. Definitely a younger crowd, mostly CSULB students. A few of the women here like to fish for free drinks, I was approached twice for that. Denied!
Service: We arrived at 7pm and it was already packed. Took about 10 minutes to grab our first beers.
Prices: $4.00 pints of domestic. $5.75 pints of import. $2.50 tall cans of Rolling Rock and $4 tall cans of PBR.
Stella, Budweiser, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Fat Tire, Sierra Nevada and Shock Top on draught. 15 brands of Tequila.
Entertainment: TouchTunes jukebox, 2 pool tables, Big Buck Hunter, 10 TV's with the sports package and Shuffleboard.
Restroom: Smaller than an airplane, but somewhat clean. Paper towels overflowing from the trash can. New lock on the door.
Closing statement: Love this bar. Had a blast for the few hours we were there. Get here early to ensure you get a spot to sit. This was the second time in two weeks we were here. I want to point out, the girl:guy ratio was roughly 8 to 1. Good spot to come mingle. The owner knows what he is doing, and I see this new ownership doing very well in the future.

We give Iguana Kelley's 5 out of 5

Annex, Long Beach, CA

4300 E Stearns Street
Long Beach, CA 90815
(562) 597-0560

• Price per domestic pitcher: N/A
• Credit/Debit: No (Cash Only)
• Parking: Public Lot/ Street
• Good for groups: No
• Music: Internet Jukebox

• Best Nights: Weekends
• TV's: 5
• Smoking: Outside/No Drinks
• Alcohol: Beer Only
• ATM: Yes

The Bar: Offset from the main boulevard, tucked behind a failing furniture store, you will find the Annex, which clearly shows it's a beer bar only. This is not my first encounter with this bar and not likely my last. Upon entering this establishment, there is a raggedy black curtain hanging in the doorway, not sure why though. Once inside, empty. The bar is a long U-shape. Two sides have bar stools, and one side has 2 person booths. I was told, they use to serve food here, but that is no longer. There is the classic dive bar icon...a shuffle board against the rear wall.
The Crowd: Every time I have been in this bar, there hasn't been more that 4 or 5 guys sitting together. Local neighborhood retires shootin the shit havin a cold one. Nice guys to say the least. This is not the bar to come to if you are looking to mingle with some women.... but the bartender on Saturday night it a cutie, so that is worth the stop in. However, flirting with is practically impossible, since she has heard every line in the book from those old men. (Not that I use lines, just my natural charm, Ha!)
Service: As you can imagine, with the lack of occupancy, service is quick and delivered with a smile.
Prices: $7.50 Import Large Schooner, and by large, I mean fishbowl.  $5.75 Domestic large schooner. $3.75 Domestic small schooner, $3.25 domestic pints. On tap they have: Coors Light, Coors, Budweiser, Bud Light, Sierra Nevada, Blue Moon, Miller Light, Pyramid Hefeweizen, Pacifico, Smithwicks, Guinness and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Entertainment: Not much going on here in the hopes of entertainment, 5 TV's, a internet jukebox, and a shuffle board.
Restroom: Definitely one of the worst I have been in. The stall has a swinging door on it, and if you're over 5'5" you will unfortunately catch a glimpse of someone taking a dump.
Bartender: Sarah, hottie. Super nice. At least come here to say hi to her, if nothing else.
Closing statement: After 3 attempts to get in here for a review, finally a success. They are closed often due to lack of customers, but it's a cool place to relax if you are just looking to have a giant schooner of PBR and not worry about the mainline dating scene.

We give the Annex 3 out of 5.