Fun With Pop Culture

TV’s Best Bars

The Gem Saloon Dakota Territory, circa 1877 Obviously, the average bar crawl isn’t going to make this stop, as the bar hasn’t existed since the late 19th Century. Still, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.  It’s important, when grading the Gem Saloon, to remember that the standards of the time, particularly with regards to hygiene and customer services, were wildly different than those of today.  For the rough-and-tumble clientele inhabiting this mining settlement, the surly bartender and outright hostile owner wouldn’t seem out of place.  Still, it’s very jarring for the modern drinker/time traveler.  And even by 19th Century standards, the Gem is an especially combative place.  The people of the time would blanch to see a customer stabbed to death by the proprietor, to the people of our time, it’s almost unthinkable.  All that aside, the Gem features a fine selection with an emphasis on whiskey, though an 1876 vintage is significantly less impressive when one is drinking it in 1877.  And it must be noted that the Gem doubles as a brothel, and its various goings-on tend to spill out into the main bar area, which can be off-putting to say the least. Two Stars (Deadwood)

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6 Comments

  1. The Regal Beagle!

  2. You just heard two people simultaneously kicking themselves for forgetting that one…

  3. DAMMIT!

  4. Bob’s Burgers sells beer!

    • But I guess it wasn’t on the air yet when this was published. I just wanted to give the Belcher’s a shout out. (Also it’s a restaurant, not technically a bar)

      • They definitely would have made the list these days! It’s a weird detail that they rarely acknowledge, but it’s very funny that Bob has a liquor license.

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