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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Iowa Archive
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#1203: Zombie Burger + Drink Lab
Posted on July 2017 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1203rd bar, first visited in 2017. Popped in here for a hangover lunch / some hair of the dog. Zombie themed burger bar. When we... -
#1202: Locust Tap
Posted on July 2017 | No Comments(Downtown, Des Moines, IA) Scooter’s 1202nd bar, first visited in 2017. FANTASTIC historic dive bar, an old school gem in a highly-gentrified neighborhood. Great people, great times, and a great... -
#1138: The Landing Patio Bar & Grill
Posted on August 2016 | No Comments(Clear Lake, IA) Scooter’s 1138th bar, first visited in 2016. Stopped here for lunch on the way to the Twin Cities, a waterfront bar right on the lake. Had some... -
#1043: Hog Stop BBQ
Posted on August 2014 | No Comments(Council Bluffs, IA) Scooter’s 1043rd bar, first visited in 2014. Stop 1 in an attempt to pub crawl every state bordering Missouri in a single day. The three of us... -
#1023: Red Room Lounge
Posted on July 2014 | No Comments(Westside South, Sioux City, IA) Scooter’s 1023rd bar, first visited in 2014. This cash-only dive features a rectangular island bar in the center of the main room, small but cheap... -
#1022: The Old Brass Rail
Posted on July 2014 | No Comments(Downtown, Sioux City, IA) Scooter’s 1022nd bar, first visited in 2014. My visit to The Old Brass Rail reminded me a lot of my favorite downtown dive bar back home.... -
#1021: Firehouse Bar
Posted on July 2014 | No Comments(Downtown, Sioux City, IA) Scooter’s 1021st bar, first visited in 2014. The aptly named Firehouse Bar is located in a former fire station on the east edge of downtown Sioux... -
#989: Farragut Tavern
Posted on August 2013 | No Comments(Downtown, Farragut, IA) Scooter’s 989th bar, first visited in 2013. Our third stop on my brother’s birthday pub crawl. Most online maps get the location of this bar wrong. It’s... -
#988: Dirt’s Place
Posted on August 2013 | No Comments(Downtown, Shenandoah, IA) Formerly Mike’s Place Scooter’s 988th bar, first visited in 2013. You know, for a place called Dirt’s Place, this is one of the cleanest bars I’ve ever... -
#987: Kap’s Tavern
Posted on August 2013 | No Comments(Downtown, Shenandoah, IA) Scooter’s 987th bar, first visited in 2013. Walking in from the bright sunshine outside, we stumbled a bit in what initially seemed like complete blackness. It took... -
#752: Roadside Inn
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Martensdale, IA) Scooter’s 752nd bar, first visited in 2010. So we’re flying down Iowa 92, very far behind schedule for getting to a wedding reception we were do it, when... -
#751: The Irishman
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Indianola, IA) Scooter’s 751st bar, first visited in 2010. When we had mentioned earlier that we were going to The Irishman, the people we were talking to winced. Normally... -
#750: Mojo’s
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Indianola, IA) Scooter’s 750th bar, first visited in 2010. The birthday group from the previous bar led us to Mojo’s. There was a strong smell of paint or varnish... -
#749: The Garage
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Indianola, IA) Scooter’s 749th bar, first visited in 2010. This was a very small bar, with darts and video slots. The wood-grained interior was considerably nicer than what I’d... -
#748: Pete’s Pizza
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Indianola, IA) Scooter’s 748th bar, first visited in 2010. We had placed our order when we first arrived in town, and now it was time to head back and... -
#747: The Zoo
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Indianola, IA) Scooter’s 747th bar, first visited in 2010. I’ve been wanting to come here for over a year due to it having the same name as my hangout... -
#746: Main Street Station
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Milo, IA) Scooter’s 746th bar, first visited in 2010. Milo was always going to be a last-minute decision. We were on a schedule, and Milo was about thirty minutes... -
#745: Back In The Day Lounge
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Pleasantville, IA) Scooter’s 745th bar, first visited in 2010. We nearly forgot to go to Pleasantville. We had driven right on by, having not even seen a sign for... -
#744: Sandals Lounge
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Knoxville, IA) Scooter’s 744th bar, first visited in 2010. This turned out to be a basement bar. It was a HUGE place. Several pool tables, darts, foosball, and video... -
#743: American Legion Post 168
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Downtown, Knoxville, IA) Scooter’s 743rd bar, first visited in 2010. Based on how this American Legion looks on the outside, we didn’t originally expect there to be a bar at... -
#742: Dingus Lounge
Posted on July 2010 | No Comments(Knoxville, IA) Scooter’s 742nd bar, first visited in 2010. This was a place we had to go to just for the name alone. However it was a challenge to find....
