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| - I realize that going to a cool-baby dive bar when you're not a weekend regular can be, well, not very fun. I've taken countless friends to Time Out and Palo and Yucca and they all hate it the first time, and I'm sure think "what's the big deal about this dump?"
But Bikini was just downright boring when a friend and I arrived there around 8:30p on a Friday night. The two bartenders were the most un-friendly gals of all time. One younger (maybe early 30s?) and one older (weathered mid-50s, gruff and had def seen some shit in her time) couldn't be bothered with just about anything. As I sat there, I wondered, "am I having a bad time cause I'm not a regular?" and decided that no, my fave dives certainly have friendly bartenders at least... and certainly have music!
When we inquired about the lack of any music, we were answered with a grunt and a nod at the (broken) jukebox behind us. We responded that we had noticed the jukebox .... And got back an empty stare.
Ok fine, what's on the tv. The Barret Jackson auto auction? Boring! We asked if we could get a switch to the Suns game. The two leaned in and whispered before responding that "that's what the rest of the bar wants to watch." We look around, not a person in the place was watching it. So my friend polls the bar "do you care if we change it to the suns game!?" no one objected and the bartenders were annoyed but began the process of tracking down the remote and figuring out how to change the channel. Nice try.
Finally around 9:30 things picked up, a DJ started and the bar began filling with the crowd I expected; young (really young!) hipsters - more specifically those who were coming from Trunk Space next door. Apparently there was a show going on but no booze there, so they trickled in and out between sets. The DJ was pretty good, I have to admit. The drinks were cheap ($4 for a well mixed drink) and there were about 8 beers on tap, including imports. and i will give a shout out to mini pitchers, they make me happy and make me feel 22 again.
I don't know, maybe I'm too old to bother "breaking in" another dive. Maybe I'm too old for sassy bartenders in dumpy spaces. But I found this particular classic to be just a little overrated.
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