Bars and Taverns

Into the Ashes: Cosmos Cafe, RIP

Last Call at Maud's

A New Way to Crawl

Lennie Ambrose, events and marketing director at Saint Arnold and @saintarnold on Twitter.Any Houstonian who's fond of beer is familiar with Saint Arnold, our hometown hero microbrewery.  And anyone familiar with Saint Arnold has been on at least one of their famed pub crawls through Ric ... More >>

Best Drive-thru Bank

Bank of America

Best Happy Hour

JR.'s Bar & Grill

Low B

M.I.A.’s DJ is the life of the after party

The Rosebuds

M.I.A.’s DJ is the life of the after party

Shock Treatment

M.I.A.’s DJ is the life of the after party

Best Downtown Bar

M.I.A.’s DJ is the life of the after party

Best Piano Bar

M.I.A.’s DJ is the life of the after party

Best Drag Queen

M.I.A.’s DJ is the life of the after party

Play Ball!

Sports bars and gay bars cater to a similar crowd: Guys who watch buff men

Hot Plate

Sports bars and gay bars cater to a similar crowd: Guys who watch buff men

Think Tanked

Sports bars and gay bars cater to a similar crowd: Guys who watch buff men

Houston 101: The Lesbian Bar That Shut Up HPD

​The 1960s weren't a very pleasant time to be gay or lesbian for most people, but especially in Houston. Somehow the Bayou City wasn't as accepting of alternative lifestyles as it is today (and we're not saying it's Nirvana today.)Police raids of gay bars were common. Common but bizarre, in the ca ... More >>

Dive Bar-ology 101: What A Dive Bar Is Not

​These days, there are a lot of misconceptions about what constitutes a dive bar. Going by lists on sites like Yelp and Citysearch, and especially this laughable list from the Houston Chronicle, apparently any drinking establishment that does not sport bottle service, valet parking and a velvet r ... More >>

Dive Bar Eats: At Best, A Mixed Bag

Photo by Option ThisAre questionable jars of pickled eggs the most you can hope for at Houston's best dive bars?​This week's feature is all about Houston's best dive bars. Dive bar food in Houston is a pretty hit-and-miss affair. If you lump icehouses in with the overall class of dive bars, as ... More >>

Dives and DIY Shepherd's Pie

Our readers weigh in.

Live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin

The UFC starts the fireworks a day early with a Live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena bout between two heavyweight contenders

Diving Into Houston's Best Dive Bars

​Although the number of "true" dive bars is shrinking by the day, that didn't stop our own John Nova Lomax from tracking down the best ones left in the city and covering them in last October's feature story, "Dive Bars: A Handcrafted Tour of the Best, Most Obscure Places to Lean on a Stool in ... More >>

Fourth Annual Montrose Pub Crawl

Prowl lower Westheimer bars in your costume

Where Are We Drinking?

A pool table and some long neck beers, hazy windows and boozy customers. It's all good here, at one of Houston's best dive bars in town. Think you know where we're shooting pool drinking this week? ​Leave your best guess in the comments section below.

Happy Hour Scene: Hans' Bier Haus

​The Place: Hans' Bier Haus 2523 Quenby 713-520-7474 The Hours: 4 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays The Deals: $1 off all beer (no liquor served) The Scene: On Tuesday, Hans Bier Haus didn't seem like the kind of scene that would inspire condo owners to allegedly destroy property and potent ... More >>

Where Are We Drinking?

The canned pineapple juice-based Blue Hawaiian is the Friday happy hour special at this diviest of dive bars. But the bar tries to keep things classy by serving it in a wine glass and using real blue Curaçao -- and even including a cherry if you ask for one. ​Think you know where we're drink ... More >>