Welcome!
Some people collect autographs, some collect antiques, others collect stamps. My hobby is a little different, I collect bars. This site represents my collection, documenting each bar I visit.
This is not a review site, there's plenty of those already. Most posts in this bar diary are slice-of-life recaps of the half hour or so I spent having a beer. I hope you enjoy browsing through my collection!
--ScooterJA Few Random Favorites
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Holladay Distillery
18 June 2022(Weston, MO) Scooter’s 1533rd bar, first visited in 2022. This was a very cool find that I’ve probably driven past dozens of times and never noticed. The tasting room is...
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The Cellar
15 July 2009(Lincoln, NE) Scooter’s 573rd bar, first visited in 2009. A retro lounge (in decor, not theme) with a regular, laid-back vibe. The bartender was really into what we were doing...
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Darlene’s Place
09 August 2006(Ellston, IA) Scooter’s 107th bar, first visited in 2006. We sat at the short end of the L-shaped bar under the watchful eye of a mounted goat head smoking a...
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Dive bar Archive
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#1177: Fat Matt’s Vortex
Posted on November 2016 | No Comments(Strawberry Hill, Kansas City, KS) Scooter’s 1177th bar, first visited in 2016. Visited this dive bar for the first time on a birthday pub crawl. Very friendly bartenders! The building... -
#1174: Red Fox Bar & Grille
Posted on September 2016 | No Comments(Mile Marker 50, Climax Springs, MO) Scooter’s 1174th bar, first visited in 2016. For almost the entire visit I thought this was an outdoor-only bar, sitting out at a picnic... -
#1173: Possum Holler
Posted on September 2016 | No Comments(Mile Marker 61, Edwards, MO) Scooter’s 1173rd bar, first visited in 2016. We had intended to go here before Fatties, but when we arrived they were hosting something called the... -
#1172: Fatties
Posted on September 2016 | No Comments(Mile Marker 60-1/2, Edwards, MO) Formerly Rendezvous Scooter’s 1172nd bar, first visited in 2016. Odd mix of dive bar and Cracker Barrel. We had some good appetizers and Cari sang... -
#1171: Moonies
Posted on September 2016 | No Comments(Mile Marker 59-1/2, Climax Springs, MO) Scooter’s 1171st bar, first visited in 2016. Dive bar with upper and lower level outdoor seating. There’s a gift shop in the back. 296... -
#1163: Silver Dollar Tavern
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Madison, WI) Scooter’s 1163rd bar, first visited in 2016. This dive bar was directly acruss the street from the rear exit of our previous bar, and was our last... -
#1161: Paradise Lounge
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Madison, WI) Scooter’s 1161st bar, first visited in 2016. We passed at least half a dozen bars walking over to the south corner of the square, but I’d heard... -
#1158: Come Back In
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Madison, WI) Scooter’s 1158th bar, first visited in 2016. A dive-ish bar that shares the same kitchen (and I believe owners) as Eseen Haus but has a different menu.... -
#1154: James Ballentine VFW Post #246
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Lyn-Lake, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1154th bar, first visited in 2016. (Also known as “Uptown VFW”) It’s not often that a VFW shows up on nearly every list of must-see bars... -
#1153: Donnie Dirk’s Zombie Den
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Hawthorne, Minneapolis, MN) Formerly Stand-Up Frank’s Scooter’s 1153rd bar, first visited in 2016. I have a strict rule that I cannot count count a bar on this list if it’s... -
#1152: Neumann’s Bar
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, North St. Paul, MN) Scooter’s 1152nd bar, first visited in 2016. Though this was a painfully long Uber ride each way (including requiring an emergency bathroom stop 2/3 of... -
#1151: Palmer’s Bar
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(West Bank, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1151st bar, first visited in 2016. My apologies for the poor outdoor photo, a torrential rainstorm began right as we paid our tab at Nomad... -
#1150: Nomad World Pub
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(West Bank, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1150th bar, first visited in 2016. This wasn’t originally on our list but the bartender at The Local (who also works here) recommended it. In... -
#1145: Cuzzy’s
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Minneapolis, MN) Scooter’s 1145th bar, first visited in 2016. Downtown dive bar, plastered with dollar bills, that opens early for breakfast. I had pancakes and Wild Burnette (brown ale)... -
#1139: The Muddy Pig
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Summit-University, St Paul, MN) Scooter’s 1139th bar, first visited in 2016. The oldest craft beer bar in the Twin Cities. It’s hard for be to call it a dive with... -
#1137: Lockerbie Pub
Posted on July 2016 | No Comments(Downtown, Indianapolis, IN) Scooter’s 1137th bar, first visited in 2016. A small but charming dive bar with good food, a tiny canopy in the back parking lot, and a surprisingly... -
#1121: The Center Pub
Posted on November 2015 | No Comments(Downtown Square, Newark, OH) Scooter’s 1121st bar, first visited in 2015. The Center Pub is a genuine dive bar located i n Newark’s downtown square, in the front corner of... -
#1120: Old Folks Lounge
Posted on October 2015 | No Comments(East Side, Kansas City, MO) Scooter’s 1120th bar, first visited in 2015. This is a bar I have wanted to visit for years, but I’ve always been too scared to... -
#1118: Whiplash
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(East Topeka, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1118th bar, first visited in 2015. This biker bar was rather tricky to get to due to road construction, but was worth the effort to... -
#1117: Oscar’s Bar & Grill
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(College Hill, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1117th bar, first visited in 2015. Oscar’s is located in a rather nondescript building, a building shared with a hair salon, in what appears to... -
#1116: Hot Pockets
Posted on August 2015 | No Comments(Oakland, Topeka, KS) Scooter’s 1116th bar, first visited in 2015. This had originally been edited from our route today due to time, but when we realized how close we were...