Monday, September 21, 2009

Kelush's Lounge

Kelush's Lounge

1913 N Dort Hwy
Flint, MI
‎ 48506

(810) 232-6162

Night to go: Yes
On tap: Nothing
In Cooler: Lots of stuff
Serve Food? Yes
Specialty: Camel Burger
Is it fresh camel? Yes
Bartender: Chip
Chip butcher the Camel? Yes
Kosher? Nope, they chew cud
Juke Box: A treasure
JK: Don't remember

Beer drinking in Flint was boring this summer. It was my own fault and I had no desire to go to new places because it seemed like I was going to the same place with a different name. But, I knew if I kept trying I would find someplace worth visiting and revisiting.

I had a helluva good time at Kelush's. I was there with Emily and our friend Rob and we doubled the door count. Chip was the bartender that night and served us promptly and courteously. We had a few. They were good. The bar was good. The music was mostly good.

They have beers for $2 a can. It has a pretty good bar to sit at. And the whole place feels like 70's/80's bar. This is a pretty comfortable place to drink. We watched baseball on the new flat screen. Knocked a few back with some retirees. Kept getting fresh cold one's with Chip's prompt service.

I chatted with Chip for a bit and found out that Kelush's and the owner Al Kelush have been a Flint staple for 60+ years (Al is 60++ years). Chip gave me the Reader's Digest version of Al and he seems like a stand-up business man and family man.

Its good to have a few at a place your Grandpa remembers.

There's something about Kelush's

  • Gold caulk around the urinal
  • 1980's Miller Light signage
  • Easy to find on a map (huge, empty field to the southeast)
  • Camel Burger
  • Special short barstools for your pool playing convenience
  • A gaggle of St. Pauli Girl posters
  • This guy hanging out
  • Red telephones
  • Rumor has it the lady bartenders are a couple of lookers

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Jim's Garage Liquor Lounge

Jim's Garage Liquor Lounge
4509 S Saginaw St
Flint, MI 48507

(810) 744-3670

**Note: We have more pics coming (ours got deleted). We have one really good one (thanks Ira)
Nights to go: Not sure, I'll have to go back a few times.
Nights not to go: I told you, I don't know!
Theme: Grandparents remodeled spare room
Decor: Office furniture
Bar: Nice bar
Bartender: Old dude, pours a mean whiskey
Proper ID: referred to as "paperwork"
Beer selection. Miller Lite-y

I always guessed this was a grimy hole with skull shaped dents in the door and just enough light to roll your own. I was way wrong. This is the most non-bar looking bar I have ever been in. Before I get into that though, how about that name? That's a damn good name. But it sure doesn't look like a garage. This looked like a brand new office that just opened up in an old bar and decided to leave the bar in. Its a mildly darker computer-monitor beige. Room was clean as hell. And the bathroom cleaner that most pint glasses.

And a old surly crowd. Well one guy was visibly irked that some people were in there that are obviously not collecting Social Security. But the bartender didn't care. We were paying and we had our proper paperwork, as he put it. My sister in law is a whiskey drinker and I think that helped our situation.


While we were hanging out a girl came in in with a cake shaped like boobs. It was for her dads birthday party later in the night. What a sweet girl.



Beer selection was similar to Rite-Aid's. Liquor selection was decent.

What to expect when you are expecting another beer:
• foot tapping
• anxiety
• bathroom break in a really clean bathroom
• sing along to a karaoke song
• need to check wallet to see if you can afford a 7th one
• realization you have a debit card
• sadness from an empty glass
• jealousy of the full glasses at the table
• choose a karaoke song
• the waitperson is good/bad even though s/he is ugly/hot
• another beer
• watch baseball highlights
• strong desire to check your phone, FIGHT IT!
• realization that you should have ordered some greasy food too
• monopolize conversation until you have beer to put in mouth
• eaves drop
• bomb a karaoke song
• eat a cake that looks like boobs

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Reexamination of the cost of beer


One of the things it's easy to forget when you live in Flint is how expensive beer can be.

Photo courtesy of Sokwonele-Zimbabwe on Flickr


I've been living in Pellston (15 miles south of the Mackinaw Bridge) deep in the heart of tourist country for the last couple of months doing a temporary job. Whenever I go out to a bar around here I'm shocked when I have to hand over most of my paycheck to get a pitcher of beer.

Whenever friends come to Flint from out of town they seem shocked at the bill when we get it. I (being the mostly pessimistic person that I am) always assume that they think the bill is too high. Usually though they're shocked at the amount of change that they've gotten back. Last time we were at the Red Ribbon we got 6 shots for the big city price of a couple of Miller High Lifes.

In Flint, it's like happy hour all the time.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Caboose Lounge



Caboose Lounge
120 E Atherton Rd #120
Flint, MI


(810) 743-8000







When to go: Tuesday $1 Domestics
When not to go: When you should be at your daughter's wedding
Baby Powder: Available if you need it
Johnny Vegas: NO!
Credito? No
Urinals: Dual
Outside seating? HELL YES! And you can see trees and weeds!
Theme: Bar










This bar is an extension of the patrons living room. 90% of the bar sat at one long table. There were about 4 "Norm!" moments while we were there. And although none of us were Norm, no one minded a few strangers drinking beers and watching the Wings with them.

I hate taking photos at the bar. This was the worst place to do it. If you were throwing a party and some strange dude started walking around, taking pictures of people and your stuff, you wouldn't like it and you might hit them with a pool stick. I felt like I would be invading these folks home.

This is a small bar. Its about the size of living room in a trailer. When we sat down the other table shifted their table to make a little room for us. They joked about the room and then went back to talking about superior lawnmowers, healthcare, and damned fools.

There was a dark black spot on the television screen. While watching the hockey game we were making jokes about an extra puck on the ice but didn't want to be loud about it. later a regular said "It's hard to watch the game with that damn 2nd puck on the ice."




Small Bar Charms:
  • One can lean over from the table to get your beer from the bar
  • Tell a joke to your table and the whole bar can enjoy it
  • Heats up faster in the winter
  • Easier to make new friends
  • Tête-à-tête
  • Cheapest way buy the bar a round
  • Bartender can take entire bars order without moving

Small Bar Suck:

  • Farts
  • Heats up faster in summer
  • One damned fool ruins the bar
  • Toilets underneath the sink combos
  • People nosing in on my tête-à-tête
  • Speaker systems meant for the Palace
  • When regular loses his job, profits drop by 33%

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

C & S Red Ribbon Bar


C & S Red Ribbon Bar

2809 Fenton Rd
Flint, MI 48507

(810) 766-9908


Nights to go: Any
Nights not to go: Not sure yet
Urinal: NO ITS A TROUGH!
Word I didn't know that I didn't know how to spell 10 seconds ago: Trough
Computers Available for paying public: One
Paying Public: Full Bar -1 (freeloader ask for a second after Rob bought him a round)
Is there a house game? Yes
Is it easy? No, its not

Rob and I had many adventures last Saturday night only one I can talk about due to legal concerns. Thats a joke or is it? After a quick round and watching a one man karaoke show at Stumblin' Inn, Rob and I stumbled into Red Ribbon Bar. I had been there once before last spring with my sister-in-law Andrea for a few cold Ones. We shared a pitcher and a dude turned around in his bar stool and stared at me for 45 minutes.

That was my first experience. I figured I was in for similar treatment this trip. This time around I the only staring was coming from me directed towards the HUGE frosted pitcher and frosted glasses. Far too often I am subjected to pitchers fresh out of a hot-hot-hot dishwasher that are still warm to the touch when served with formerly cold beer. Its a bad sitiuation that makes us all uncomfortable and leads to me not coming back. On this night though, things were good. I asked the bartendress about the ring game. She explained the game and I'm going to try to remember exactly what she said, "Turn on the light and put the ring on the hook." Shoot, I can do that. But I didn't. So I drank more beer and listened to the juke box.

Sights to see when traveling through the Red Ribbon Bar.
  • Famed sign celebrating its 2nd place finish
  • Cooler labeled "Stroh's Light"Urinal trough
  • A computer that is connected to THE INTERNET
  • Tables
  • Properly spelled signs (I love those!)
  • Chairs
  • Jukebox
  • House Game
  • Parking
  • Beer can collection
  • Foods
  • Internet
  • Video Game
  • Cheap Beer when game is on

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Stumblin' Inn



Stumblin' Inn

3504 1/2 Fenton Rd
Flint, MI 48507

(810) 239-0930

Nights to go: When you are already drunk and you want to walk home and you live in my house
Nights not to go: Most often
Prices: Depends on who the bartender is
Urinals: Yes
Colors: NO
Awesome sign: Yes
Johnny Vegas in a tube: Yes. There are regulations
Stink like Dorals when you leave: yes
Plastic: Shots are served in it
Plastic: Not accepted for payment

Stumblin' Inn is really close to my house. I go there when there is no beer in the house and I'm in the mood for flat beer. Now I bet you are thinkin' I'm being an ass. I am. This place bugs me every time I go. And for some reason I still go.

I've had a shot and beer there for $3.00. It was an 8 oz. beer chaser with a regular shot of swill. Few weekends later I was considered crazy by the bartender for sugesting anything like that was ever served there. I got 12oz beer and a shot for $5.00. Few weeks ago I got the same thing for $5.75.

Stumblin Inn is full of some characters. First time there I grabbed a pitcher at the bar. Emily grabbed a table for us. Earl and Jeb lean over from their table and tell Emily that she is looks bangin' in her top (in a very nice way and not like a couple of creeps that flirt in pairs). Emily demurely smiles. The dudes suddenly see her MF engagement ring. They, being gentleman in a harsh and changin' world, apologize. They totally respect her for being able to settle down. Its just not for them.

Quite often at Stumblin' Inn there are folks new to drinking and have reverted back to girls at a junior high dance. They tend come into the bar yellin', then run outside screamin', then some other newcomer follows her outside and repeat.

Stumblin' Inn is fun because:
  • Prices vary from week to week, day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute, bartender to bartender.
  • Urinal Height is non-standard
  • Colors aren't tolerated
  • Live DJ
  • Pantera on the juke box
  • Drink in the alley
  • CNN on the big screen
  • Conveniently located on street
  • Colloquial Suffixes

Thursday, March 12, 2009

JW's Music Factory‎


JW's Music Factorydress:
617 South Dort Highway
Flint, MI 48503

(810) 234-0020

Nights to go: Every night is karaoke
Nights not to go: When the theater students show-up
Waterfall: Yes
Stage: Yes
Glowing Greek Columns: Yes
Living Room: Yes
Follow Karaoke Rules: No
Kids sing Karaoke: Yes, one day a week

To dudes (Erroll and Chase) were singing sad old country songs when we walked in. It was nice going in here and hearing normal people singing instead of the next American Idol contestants that seem to frequent this place. Since the last time I was in JW's they had added a living room. I wanted to drink there but we wouldn't be able to see the stage well. This is one of the few bars in in Flint with a mildly unique interior.

Karaoke here is good. The sound is fair but you get a stage, lights, and a large library of songs to make up for it. I've been here on nights when the place is absolutely packed and there is no room to move. Go on a Saturday or Friday if you dig that. We were there on a Wednesday and it was a great level of not-so-busy. I'll probably come back but, the service was not so good and the DJ skipped my friend three times in the rotation. That pissed me off but, not until after I sang my songs.



Karaoke Rules for Singers and DJ's
For Singer's:
  1. Sing. The words are on the screen. It's easy.
  2. Don't sing in groups unless there is a part for each person, like a duet or Bohemian Rhapsody.
  3. Don't sing Bohemian Rhapsody.
  4. Clap and yell and High-5 when people finish singing.
  5. Songs to not: "Black Velvet," "Me and Bobby McGee," "You Outta Know," "Picture," "Ice Ice Baby," "Baby Got Back." Some of these are karaoke cliche. Some are hard to sing. They all suck. Very few people do a great job. You know who you are. Most people do a terrible job. Thats probably you.
  6. If your friend is singing pay attention to him/her.
  7. If your husband is singing don't start a conversation with someone at the table about what Kenny Loggins songs were on what movie soundtracks because he's trying to sing a damn love song to you.
  8. Jumping in on someone's song is a jerk move. Everyone in the bar likes you a little bit less now. And the singer thinks you should be shot with pig guts.
  9. Buy the DJ a drink.
  10. Be cool.

For DJ's
  1. Don't announce "After Jenny is Rob" and then after Jenny say "We need Angie to come up here now."
  2. Don't sing every other song. Sure the regulars love it, but you're making a lot of other people not your regulars.
  3. If a wedding party comes in and the bride wants to sing a song, let her, don't made the maiden of honor bribe you.
  4. Have songbooks by artist and songbooks by song. Have more by the artist than song.
  5. Replace broken mics. Sure they are a lot of money, but a broken mic at a karaoke bar is pointless.
  6. Don't skip a person in three times in rotation.
  7. Be cool.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Terri's Lounge



Terri's Lounge
2605 Fenton Rd
Flint, MI 48507

(810) 235-8941


Overheard: Dude looking for a ride home because he was fresh out of jail for beating ex-wife's friend's ex-boyfriend: "Yeah I got dropped off here after they let me outta jail. I'm gonna need a ride home."
Fascinating fact: Terri is owner's ex daughter-in-law
Spell check: YES!
Bartendress has beautiful white teeth: affirmative

Bicycle parking inside: Yes (but you may need to be VIP)
Need to run from parking lot to building: Which one?
The one on the other side of the street behind the closed-up building: Medium
And the one behind Terri's?: Medium




Even with the bit of amazing jail time eavesdropping we may have
gone on a boring night. I've driven by this place a million times and it seems to always be busy. It was between pool leagues and business was slow. We caught it on an off night. Kim the bartender was really nice and tried to recruit us into the pool league. I am a terrible pool player and can't even think of the last time I held a pool stick. Burgers were inexpensive and not to bad. Comparable to a Halo burger 10 minutes before close. Jukebox was loud and had AC/DC and Celine Dion (rad). Think I'll come again on a busier night and see if it gets better. Right now this place is so-so but deserving of a second interview.

In Numbers:
  • 78: Days since last shooting (as of 02/25/09)
  • 1: Burgers you get for free after buying 1
  • 12: Pool tables with green felt
  • 5: People on a pool team
  • 0: Pool tables with red felt
  • 2: Beers on tap
  • 1.50: Dollars (American) it takes to buy domestic bottles on Sunday and Thursday
  • 1: Bucket you get when you buy a bucket of Budweiser Light cans
  • 6: Number of cans are put into a bucket
  • ~400: Ice cubes in bucket
  • 0: Ice Cube drinking at Terri's
  • 1: Lights Emily almost broke
  • 5: Family's favorite alcoholic drinks
  • 1 in 4.23: Chance I had to win the 7 spot Club Keno game
  • 0: Dollars (American) I won

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Timothy's Pub












Timothy's Pub
2890 Robert T. Longway Blvd Flint,
MI 48506

(810) 239-0972

Nights not to go: Night before you're performing surgery

in the morning
Nights to go: Monday Men's Night/Wednesday Karaoke
Cute Waitresses: Yes
Bartender wearing a vest: Yes
Need to run from car to building: Low
Fireplace
: Hell yes!
Avg Age: 55

If your grandparents are up from Florida and miss playing cards at the club house they should come out to Timothy's. We were there on a Monday night and it was Euchre league night. I've never played Euchre at a bar and I don't know if that is really common. And I didn't see one idiot with sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a welders mask, trying to hide his tells.

Zach (or Zac or Zak?) is a damn good bartender. He said one time, way before he was a bartender there, he punched his uncle in this very same bar (which doesn't mean what you think it does).

Men's Night is also on
Mondays. Andy's wife (sorry ladies) said in the past she never knew were to find many eligible bachelors in one place (I totally paraphrased that and she said it much funnier). Which makes me think its not so much for the ladies to go find men, but, for the men to not be found by their ladies. IN-FRIGGIN-GENIUS


In the end, a certain side of me loves Timothy's Pub. Its feels like going to a relatives house on Thanksgiving, if all of your relatives were drunk, they mostly left you alone, and they charged you for dinner. The beer is just left of free, there seems to be a lot going on every night of the week, and it was a comfy place to chug some swill.


  • Fact: Timothy's Pub has no graffiti on their bathrooms walls
  • Fact: You can get breakfast anytime of the day
  • Fact: Timothy's Pub is largest consumer of Miller Lite in Genesee County
  • Fact: The best night to go is Monday night.
  • Fact: The best night to go is Wednesday according to the the waitress that works on Wednesday
  • Fact: I hate taking photos in a bar.
  • Fact: They have Buzztime trivia and the Texas Hold'em
  • Fact: You will hear cowbell on a Monday night
  • Fact: Even though there is a Men's night, there is too much wood trim and wooden decoration for this to be a gay bar
  • Fact: Their website is crap but just informative enough for intrigue
  • Fact: Zach recommends the Steak and Onion Sandwich
  • Fact: Beer was so cheap that when my wife told me not to spend too much money or get too drunk, I was only able to do one of those.
  • Fact: Our generation won't be able to retire and move to Florida. Timothy's Pub will have to do.
  • Fact: Leprechauns have giant packages and even bigger fingers.


Monday, February 2, 2009

Soggy Bottom Bar




Soggy Bottom Bar
613 Martin Luther King Ave.
Flint, Michigan 48502

810.239.8058

Nights not to go: Fridays its College Night.
Night to go: Wednesday Karaoke
Cute Bartendress: Yes
Handsome Bartender: Shoot, I don't know
Need to run from car to building: Medium-low


It isn't any coincidence that Soggy Bottom is next to a fancy men's clothing store and a men's hat shoppe. The Soggy Bottom Bar is a classy establishment. They even have a dry erase board in the bathroom so the next guy can improve your dirty jokes and booby pictures. It's the kind of bar that makes you feel like you're not in Flint anymore (hardly any broken stuff). It's got a lot of dark wood, stained glass lamps and a small but stellar draft beer selection. The night we were there they had Bud, Bud Light, Killian's, Guinness, Bud American Ale, Heineken, Bass, and Goose Island 312. They used to have live music on the weekends with a cover charge, too many people packed into tight quarters, and the music was so loud it prevented conversation with the dude trying to hustle you at the pool table. NOTE: They no longer have live music with cover charge.

We recommend that you go in the early part of the week when you can hang out in mostly dark recesses of the bar with the regulars. Although we've avoided this place in the past, on our most recent visit Courtney convinced us (partially by playing the 90's channel on satellite radio) that we have to come back more often. Al B. Sure! to come back.



Drink at Soggy Bottom to:
  • Be in cool looking bar.
  • Drink from looks-like-more-than-a-pint pints
  • Choose from a choice beer selection
  • Pay a good price
  • Chat up a good looking bartender lady (beer wench is archaic, right?)
  • Sit in 98% matching chairs
  • Not notice any broken stuff
  • Enjoy live entertainment on the weekends
  • Enjoy karaoke!
  • See some dudes get a pizza delivered to the pool table
  • To get a lot of head on your mustache
Don't drink at Soggy Bottom if:
  • You need to sit more than 4 to a table
  • Huge awesome murals with a scary lady freak you out
  • You get offended when no one offers you a slice of pizza
  • Drinking draft Busch Light was your plan
  • Paying a cover is lame to you
  • You were hoping to get shanked in the parking lot (Durant Hotel is getting renovated and the homeless moved across the street)
  • You are afraid of anything north of the river (even if its just 2 blocks)
  • You're afraid of monkeys


First Legal Beer

Before moving to the factory town of Flint, I lived in the bustling village of Bancroft, Michigan. On my 21st birthday my girlfriend (I'll just go by the initials WT for her) was kind enough to take me out to the Teddy Bear/Bancroft Tavern as a licensed drinker.

The Teddy Bear was pretty normal local bar, a lot of rope lights, old and new beer signs, a lot domestic beers, few common imports. That night I didn't really care what the selection was, I was just hoping someone else was buying. Besides me and WT, there was the bartender, a stranger playing pool alone, and a older dude that I recognized from around town.

WT was nine days older than me and bought my very first beer. I had a Coors Light (that's what my brother always drank). Damn a legal beer tasted great. It was like a treat. And like that beer and all first beers after it, it went down really fast. The friendly recognizable gentleman bought me another Coors and a Canadian Club.

I was drinking and wasn't in a dorm or in a field, I was inside drinking with adults! The guy I recognized, socialized at the same mechanic's shop as my Dad. He was a genuine grown-up. I was doing my best to play it cool and be adult. So I slammed my Canadian Club on the rocks like an idiot while Recognizable Dude tells me "that is to sip, son."

I asked Recognizable Dude what he does for a living. He was laid-off. And your wife? Divorcing. Sometimes small talk is tough. He made a joke about still having his health, just no health insurance. I remember laughing, the bartender laughing really hard, and WT laughing. He wasn't laughing so much. But it's a birthday! So the bar bought me another beer! WT and I moved to the huge window in front and shared a pizza (beer and pizza is way better than Coca Cola and pizza).

It was nice evening, I was fairly uncomfortable at first because, I felt like I was doing something I still shouldn't. I was really hoping none of my friends parents came in.

It's still the same bar only now it's
The Pirates Cove. Sometimes the decor is hard to handle but, it's a fun spot for a few cold ones with old friends parents, and the patty melt is damn good.

I thought of going back there on my 31st birthday. I decided not to because WT broke up with me a few days after my 21st birthday and it turns out Recognizable Dude is a sex offender.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Thanks Flint Expatriates!

I'd like to thank Flint Expatriates for the kind words of support and challenge that dare us to press on with our task!

Some of you may be skeptical of our goal or our credentials. Here is a quick introduction to our team and methods.

Andy, Jason and I have known each other for about 10 years and all went to college at University of Michigan-Flint. We all live and work in Flint even though we have been accused by some of being suburbanite wannabees. Some may call us hipsters, some may call us drunks. We hope you read along and decide for yourselves.

This operation is basically an extension of our normal activities. We like to seek out new bars all the time. We'll be documenting all these bars with pretty low tech equipment. Like pencils and bar napkins. There may be a digital camera involved occasionally, but we may also use cell phones. This is gonna be as organic as we can get away with.

And for those worried about our safety. We drink early and we'll be watching for people hanging out in parking lots with screwdrivers...

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

What makes a bar a home?

What makes a house a home? It's not the nice cabinet knobs, or the 2 car garage. It's not the 47 inch plasma screen TV or the finished basement with a workout room. Home can be a trailer park. Home can be a tiny hut in the forest surrounded by hungry bears.

What makes a bar a good bar? It's the same unmeasurable quality that gives a home it's... home-i-ness. The Deville Lounge lacks many of the amenities of nicer bar. They don't have many beers on tap, the floors are cold concrete, the food is served on paper plates, but everything in the place is strangely familiar; the bartender unusually accommodating; the booths inexplicably comfortable.

I'm not usually one to recommend a bar with only 2 beers on tap, but The Deville Lounge is the perfect bar for a laid back evening. If you want to avoid the crowds and relax, or you just don't want to change out of your pajama pants before leaving the house, the Deville Lounge is the place you want to be.

I love Lucy

Maybe it's just me but I like my bars to either have 30 beer choices or two. The Deville lounge has two options Bud and Bud Light. While I don't really love Bud or Bud Light there is something so unpretentious about these kinds of bars that immediately puts me at ease. It also takes the chore of making decisions away from me. "Do I feel like watching my figure tonight or not?" That's the kind of choice I can handle.

Walking into this place I immediately felt like I was in my best friend from grade school's basement, where her dad had a homemade bar in the corner for when the fellas came over. The booths each had a separate theme with decoupage sports cut outs underneath the varnish on the table. We sat at the Dale Earnhardt table, (the other booths were all dedicated to various Michigan sports teams). The floors were concrete. My absolute favorite part of the decor though was the fact that the lights over each booth were shaded with a Christmas liquor tin. You know that tin with the harlequins that that bottle of DiSaronno that your aunt gave you for Christmas came in? That one. It was all so DIY. I loved it.

Lucy, the bartender was a super cool lady who is raising three of her 16 grandkids and by the end of our visit here I felt like she had taken us under her wing. She was very friendly while still being real. None of that phoney baloney stuff you get other places. This place was so unpretentious that I very quickly felt comfortable. It's nice to go to a place every once in a while and feel like you're hanging out in someones basement, drinking beer and eating wing dings off of a paper plate. yums!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Deville Lounge


Deville Lounge is a dive. There are two beers on tap, drunks, one person working, and a barely functioning bathroom that makes your hands filthier after you wash them. Its the best kind of dive.
What ruins most dive bars is their attempt to be more divey or deny their diveness. The Deville has not succumbed to such stupidity. This is a place to have some beer, play some pool, get drunk. No extras, just the things you need. It is what it is.

You might ask why the hell would someone want to drink in a dive. Well you shouldn't want to drink in a dive, that would make you hipster. You drink in dives because a comfortable bar has been discovered that lets you drink beer, sit, and talk without having to try to look good and be cool. You are already cool. Dude, you are drinking beers with friends and hanging out talking about stuff you like! Take off your sunglasses, you're inside. Take off your big fat coat and stay awhile.

When you go to the Deville say hello to Lucy. She's a beer angel. Rarely have a gotten such awesome service from any bar or restaurant. She went above and beyond what I would hope to get at a 2 or 3 star restaurant. I will becoming back to the Deville and she is the only reason. Plenty of bars are similar to the Deville but they are lucky to have someone like Lucy there.

While you're there take a look at the hallway floor to the bathroom. Its encrusted with pennies.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Frontiers and beers

"There are no frontiers left." Andrea Newberry 2008

New frontiers are hard to come by. Modern frontiers seem to be more about discovering a nuance instead of a grand new thing. Of course there are grand new discoveries all they time. They just require great machines and sophisticated equipment to explore. We have neither.

We don't have deep sea submarines or interplanetary rockets, so we have to create a new kind of frontier. We are going to have a drink at every bar in Flint, Michigan. It may be part of the known universe and almost all of the bars can be found in the phone book, but most bars in Flint don't have more than an address listed on the Internet. That will not interfere with our sense of adventure in exploring the city. Especially when the it requires us to have a beer.

One night last November we were having a drink together when we started listing all the bars we had seen in our travels around Flint but that we have never been to. Each of us came up with a nearly unique list. There are grimy old holes in the wall, singles bars, biker bars, nightclubs, shop bars, bars that open at 7 am, topless bars, gay bars, etc. The list went on and on and we thought to ourselves, "We live in Flint, we love Flint more than anyone probably should, why haven't we experienced every corner of it?".

That's when the idea for this blog was born. We are going to drink a beer in every bar in Flint, Michigan. We are going to take a piss in every dirty bathroom, eat every overcooked hamburger, generously over-tip every waitress that calls us 'hun', burn our mouths on every 35 cent hot wing, and tip back a few with every kind of person we have in this fair city. Flint isn't so big that it can't be done, but it is big enough that this will be an epic journey and we hope you'll read along as we drink our way to adventure!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

We'll be starting our adventure soon...

For now you can read our reviews on Yelp

Emily

Jason

Andy