3rd Annual Spring Stumble -- DETAILS

It's almost time to get ready to STUUUUUUMBLE!  But, before we do that, let's take a look at this year's bars...shall we? Here are a few things to know before this year's adventure begins.

In fact, this great article from the Omaha World-Herald gives a good history behind the origins of the Spring Stumble.  

If You're On a Bus:  You can pick up your wristbands at the Village starting at 12:45.  We don't leave until 2:00, so that's plenty of time for several drinks to get you going.  There will be some beers on both of the busses, but feel free to bring your own as well...no glass containers.  We get back to The Village at 7:00, so make sure your ride home knows to pick you up here sometime Saturday night.  AND, I have been warned by the bus companies that if you puke on the bus, the clean up fee is $250...so if you're the nauseous-type...BRING A BAG!  If you have any questions AT ALL feel free to email HitThatDive at hittthatdive@gmail.com

Want to Join in for Only a Few Stops:  Feel free to meet up with the Stumblers at any (or all of the bars) the more the merrier!  There will be raffle prizes at each place, and all you have to do to win is be in the bar.  How simple is that?  Times listed next to all the bars below are tentative, but for once, I am vowing that we hit every place on the agenda!  Track down our exact location stop-by-stop on Foursquare, the HitThatDive Instagram account or by following along on Twitter #HitThatDive1.

A Special Thanks:  This year's Stumble would not be nearly as great without the help of Jack Daniel's and Jameson! They went above and beyond the call to duty to design and print this year's poster, had shirts make up that everyone on the busses will get on Saturday and provided all the raffle prizes.  Did I also mention that the Jack Daniel's promotional girls will be along for the first few bars too? Oh wait, that was a secret.  

At the End of the Day: This is really about supporting local businesses, having some fun with people that love bars, and making a few bucks on Armed Forces Day to donate to the great people at VFW Post 247 -- Saint Mihiel.  

THE ROUTE:

Village Bar (12:45-2:00)

5700 South 77th Street Ralston, NE 68127

This year's Stumble starts and ends at Ralston's one and only Village Bar.  While you're here...try a famous 14er Bloody Mary, play a little Skee-Ball, never say anything disparaging about the Denver Broncos, and try your luck at winning something nice for your Mom in the crane game in the back left corner.  Remember to thank owner Brock for letting us invade his bar not once but twice on the Stumble.

Brass Monkey Sports Bar (2:15-3:00)

5611 South 36th Street Omaha, NE 68107

New owner Barry is one of a handful of people to attend all the Stumbles, and this year is no exception.  While you're here...check out the 39 beers on tap, sneak a smoke on the back deck, say hello to the "Mayor of 36th Street", and just relax with the regulars who are some of the most eclectic bunch of bar-goers anywhere in Omaha.   And remember to pace yourself...we have a long way to go.

Lemon Drop Bar (3:00-3:45)

5423 South 36th Street Omaha, NE 68107

Just a short stagger up 36th Street is the Lemon Drop.  Of all the bars on this year's tour, this is the one I know the least about.  I do know that fantastic owner Rhonda was quick to say yes when asked if we could make a stop here.  While you're here...shoot a little pool, sneak another smoke on the back porch, and throw a few good tunes on the jukebox.  

Corner Pocket (4:00-4:45)

4201 South 38th Street Omaha, NE 68107

Back on the busses for a quick ride over to the CP.  Open at 9:00 am seven days a week, this is just enough off the beaten path that it's perfect for a little morning/afternoon drinking without the chance of being judged by some pretentious "I only drink in the evening" types.  While you're here...shoot some pool, order a shot or two of blackberry brandy and have a mini-pitcher.   

Andy's Place (4:45-5:30)

3701 F Street Omaha NE 68107

Quickly becoming my place to hangout on Sunday afternoons, Andy's is everything you want in a neighborhood bar.  While you're here...try a Busch Light draw (that's the only beer on tap they have), order another shot of blackberry brandy aka a "peep peep" or simply a shot of "Polish" depending on who's on the barstool next to you. Have a seat, relax be cool and get ready to hop back on the bus!

The Elbow Room (5:45-6:45)

4973 Center Street Omaha, NE 68106

You've made it this far, let's keep it rolling at second bar ever reviewed by HitThatDive!  Never been here before?  Good...we'll see if you can find the right door to get it. Owner Eric and barman Jeff will always make sure to have some of the cheapest drinks in town, great people in the bar, and a motorcycle or two in the parking lot.  At this point...you're on the home stretch back to The Village...where there are still 7 hours of drinking left in the day!

After we get back to the Village...YOU MADE IT!  And, as we have said on the Spring Stumble  before...LET THIS BE YOU!  

SEE YOU SATURDAY!

Third Annual Spring Stumble -- BUS TWO!

***UPDATE*** The first bus sold out in less than a day.  We are now down to only 0 spots left on the second bus.  It is quickly shaping up to be one hell of an afternoon!

Here's the good news, this year's Spring Stumble is already making the news...and we haven't even left the parking lot yet!  The bad news, as is par for the course with the good people here at HitThatDive, we are still working out the final details.

Since this year's Stumble is being held on Armed Services Day, all proceeds will be donated to a local VFW.  PLUS, this year, we have our good friends from Jack Daniel's and Jameson along for the ride with all sorts of giveaways at each bar.

As reported today by WOWT:

The web site, Hit That Dive, is sponsoring a South Omaha Pub Crawl on Saturday, May 18th. Organizers call it the 3rd Annual Spring Stumble and it is designed to expose customers to smaller, neighborhood bars.

The crawl will stop at six bars in south Omaha and Ralston.

The event starts at the Village Bar in Ralston at 1PM. Buses will be available starting at 2PM for safe transportation between the participating bars.

Those involved in the crawl will head to The Brass Monkey followed by The Lemon Drop, Corner Pocket, Andy’s Bar and finally coming to an end at The Elbow Room.

Additions or changes to the itinerary will be posted on the Hit That Dive web site. A link has been provided at the bottom of this story. 

This year's bus will hold a maximum of 40 people, so sign up here NOW!

This could be you.

JD's Circle-In, Omaha -- REVIEW

3602 S. 31st St.

Old.  Like, old, old, old

Omaha NE 68105 
402 342 9692

I don't really like to read novels (that's potentially the worst start to a bar review ever).  What does that have to do with sitting in a bar and having a few beers?  Let me explain.  Well, let me rephrase the first sentence...I don't really like to read novels if they aren't written by an author named Richard Russo.  For those unfamiliar with his work, he won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2002 book Empire Falls which is a story set in a fictional, small blue-collar town in Maine.

Much like some of his other books including Nobody's Fool (also my favorite movie of all time) and the Risk Pool, he can make the act of sitting in a old bar and having mundane conversations with a few colorful regulars more interesting than any reality show ever invented.  In my mind, I have an exact mental picture of what one of those bars he so brilliantly writes about looks like. Which as I write this makes wonder if he has ever spent time in JD's Circle-In because it is right out of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Pros: Great old bar.  Great 70ish bartender/owner. Great regulars.
Cons: Fireball from the cooler seemed warmer than room temperature.

Beer and candy

First Impressions:  Not sure I can explain how to get here.  Luckily, HTD's Director of Research Mark knew where the hell this bar is located.  It just kind of sits off the road a bit and first appears to be some sort of secretive Masonic lodge.   There's no doubt this is an OLD building and doesn't  look like what you would assume a bar to look like from the outside.  Not sure what to expect behind the front door (because there in nothing online about this place) I walked into exactly what I think the perfect old bar should look like.  Awesome!

The Bar:  A nice big wooden bar of the "they don't make them like this anymore" variety, and the back bar would give the one at Old Settler's (well when it was open) a run for its money as a classic example of what an old bar should look like.  Gazing around the room there are four beers on tap, neatly lined bottles of liquor with the prices marked right on them and a cool old weathered clock right next to a JD's Circle In sign.  There are some tables scattered around the old wooden floor and plenty of room to move around for a bar as old as it appears. Apparently, this was a one time a local grocery store OR a drug store...no one was 100 percent sure on that one.  Of note, and as someone pointed-out on a picture I posted on Facebook...the regulars must have a sweet-tooth because there is more than your usual amount of candy for sale.

NOT a strip mall bar

The Crowd:  Mostly older, and nearly all dudes, this is not the kind of bar to frequent if carrying on a conversation isn't your thing.  Within 10 minutes it seemed like I had three conversations going on with just two of the regulars sitting at the bar next to me.  Straight out of a Russo novel, these were real people with real problems that love to come to a friendly bar and not worry about life if only for a little while.  Every person in there never let me walk past them with out smiling, looking me in the eye and asking how I was doing.  I would say everyone here treated the each other like family, but I have seen some pretty dysfunctional families...so let's say they treated each other better than family when I was here.

Service:  This can be summed up in one word.  Donna.  If nobody has done so already, I am naming Donna the "Grand Old Dame" of local Omaha bars.  In her early 70's (I would assume), she reminded me a lot of my late Grandmother, the only difference being that my grandmother would have never been caught dead drinking...let alone in a bar.  Donna is the type of bartender that ALWAYS pours your first beer for you from the pitcher.  Such a simple act, but one that rarely, if ever, is done in bars these days anymore.  Grandmotherly? Yes.  But from what I can tell she can still throw down a few drinks, has no problem telling off color jokes, and a little birdie even told me she been know to dance on the bar on rare occasion.  Even if the bar sucked, it would be worth coming here to have owner/bartender wait on you for an afternoon.

Don't ask abut this special

Prices:   I was paying $4 for a mini-pitcher of domestic beer.  Mark ordered a Gentlemen Jack and Coke for sidekick Becky which also was $4 bucks, but from the look on Becky's face after the first sip...it was one of strongest Jack and Cokes she has had in quite some time! A sign on the cooler said "Ask about our $2.00 wine or shot specials" which Mark then inquired about.  Apparently forgetting that she still had that special advertised, Donna quickly ripped the sign off the cooler and threw it away.  So, feel free to ask about that special, just don't expect to get it.  I also did notice that on "Thirsty Thursday" you can get full-sized pitchers for $6.

Food:   Not it the mood for the wide assortment of candy offered behind the bar?  Donna has some full-sized bags of chips hanging back there too and I also noticed a sign on my way to the men's room that advertised 9" or 12" Tombstone pizzas for $3.75 or $5.75. 

Entertainment:  If chatting with colorful regulars isn't you thing, there are three TV's, internet jukebox a pool table and a dartboard right by the front door...better have good aim in this place and or be careful as you open the door to walk in. 

Cozy

Bartender Chat:  When asked why she wasn't drinking, Donna responded by saying that she didn't need to get into more trouble just yet.  Which then made my new buddy Walter respond by saying "you're always getting into to trouble."  But the more he thought about it, Walter told Donna "Yeah, you better not, we don't need Donna going down again."  Was that just a double entendre at the expense of a 70 year-old bartender? Why, yes it was.  And that she clearly got the joke and didn't mind at all just made her even more awesome!

Restrooms:  Small, yet inviting.  Hell, this is such a friendly bunch that the way that the men's room is set-up, there's no need to close the door.  That's almost as good as taking a leak outside!

How Far Did My $20 Go?:   Do a little mix-and-match on a Saturday afternoon and you can have two mini-pitchers and two of the strongest Gentlemen Jack and Cokes in town with more than enough money left over in your pocket.

Warm Fireball

Final Impressions:  More and more these days, people need to be entertained by a constant barrage of "reality" TV, over-the-top video games, and the false idea that as long as you're in constant motion you're a better person than people that are perfectly content on being nothing more than who they are.  If an onslaught of new media is what you consider fun, please never come into JD's.

But, if sitting around a real bar, with real people having real conversations...oh did I mention here that the customers bus their own tables out of courtesy too...then this is exactly the place you and (and I) have been looking for.   To quote Richard Russo from Empire Falls, “And there comes a time in your life when you realize that if you don't take the opportunity to be happy, you may never get another chance again.” Make it a point to stop by here, relax, have a drink and most importantly leave happy.  I know I did.


DIVE-O-METER
9

The Grand Old Dame of Omaha Bars!

 

Buffalo Company -- Omaha Wing Challenge

4725 S. 96th Street

Not very inviting

Omaha, NE 68127
402 592-9999

A few weeks ago, the Omaha World Herald assembled a few people to taste test wings places around town to determine which one served the best in Omaha.  Hey, wait?  Didn't HitThatDive already do that a few weeks before the OWH article?  Why, yes...yes we did.  

After reading the entire long, and slightly confusing article, I walked away with two thoughts.  1) Come on Sarah Baker Hansen, would a brief "shout-out" to the number one wing review site in town really have killed you? (Google: Best wings in Omaha and see what comes up first).  And, 2) if I read the piece correctly, are the wings at a place called the Buffalo Company really the best in Omaha, as I think the article finally eluded to?  Well then, for the first time in my life I am going to heed the advice of a fine dining and occasional fashion reporter and make a trip to try "Omaha's Best Buffalo Wings".  

30 minutes in the making!

First Impressions:  This usually begins once the wings show up at the table, but since that took 30 minutes in a completely empty restaurant to get my order of 10 wings (on wing night no less) I was able to make a few other observations.  One word Buffalo Company: VACUUM.  This modern invention would really do wonders for the disgusting carpets in your place...this coming from a guy that hangs out in dive bars so I know gross when I see it.   

Just wondering out loud here, but if the dining area looks like a rodent's wet dream...what does the kitchen look like?  If you indeed sell beer like your website says, you might want to make that obvious to your customers by you know, having it visible OR having a sign that says we sell beer.  I just saw that on your website now.  After sitting for half an hour in place that seemed intent on either making me sad, or pissing me off, a fine young lad toted my order out from the kitchen.  No celery. No blue cheese.  No extra plate for the bones.  Three words came to mind WTF!

Score: 0!

No sauce

Sauce:  This is supposed to be "authentic" buffalo wing sauce...it most definitely is not.  I ordered the hot sauce and it was sort of OK at first, but then started giving off some sort of mutant vinegar taste and smell.  Not horrible necessarily, but nothing I want to ever have to ingest again.  And, by the time I got to the second layer of wings on the bottom of the basket they were SWIMMING in what looked to be some kind of buffalo wing primeval ooze.  Not only that, while the poor wings at the bottom were forced to soak up the saucy-greasy-yucky puddle at the bottom of the basket, a few lucky wings were never even tossed in the "sauce" before they came out of the kitchen.  Looked like they went from the fryer, to a bucket with way too much sauce dumped on them then flopped into a basket.  Hell, you already took 30 minutes to make them, why not take the extra 25 seconds to coat them the right way? 

Score: 2

Crispy:  No doubt that they were crispy, but they were somehow oddly crispy.  Someone on a HTD Facebook post wrote that the wings here reminded them of beef jerky...I though they had more of a pork rind crunch going on.  The few that were spared from the sauce were on the chewy side, but most definitely not under cooked.   Not sure what else to say on this one.  I know, I'll say something positive...they were not under cooked!  Nicely done Buffalo Company. 

Score: 7

Coated in grease

Size:  They are big and meaty wings, can't argue that one either.  But, a few bordered on wings so big the chickens must have been raised in or around Chernobyl because there were some mutants in the bunch. For those that like giant wings in a bizarre soupy sauce while sitting in a dirty restaurant...I have found your place!

Score: 7

Extras:  No celery.  No blue cheese. No extra plate.  And those are just for starters.  This place is horribly over-priced for what it is, and serves arguably the messiest, most sloppy wings I have even eaten.  I went to take a picture of one wing, and was disgusted by just how much grease soaked through the paper towel in less than 30 seconds (and I am not easily grossed out).  I lost count of how many paper towels I needed just to try and keep my hands relatively "authentic buffalo sauce" free.  Even my cell phone received collateral damage from the grease that dripped off of one wing as I was trying to shove it into my mouth before it potentially dripped all over my pants. 

Score: 0

Final Thoughts: For the first time in a LONG time, I didn't even finish my order of 10 wings and happily dumped them where they belonged...in the garbage.  Five hours after eating there and I was still belching up the remnants of the Buffalo Company wings as I watched the Pittsburgh Penguins get slaughtered by the New York Rangers which only compounded the misery of my evening. Clearly this is the last time I take advise on where to eat wings that isn't from a fat guy!

Final Score: 16 out of a possible 50.  16???  The previous low score was 34 at Tanner's. 

To see the full list of HitThatDive wing reviews click here.  

Waiter there's a wing in my soup

 

The New Old Bar, Omaha -- REVIEW

1008 Bancroft St

New AND Old

Omaha, NE 68108

(402) 449-9130 

As usual, I'm a bit of a sucker for a bar with a slightly odd name.  So when my friend, and bar finder extraordinaire, Mark told me about a place called the New Old Bar, it didn't take a lot of convincing for me to find a few hours to sneak out of the house for a few beers.  Just one question...where the hell is it?  Not to fear, I met Mark downtown and we were off for a very short drive due south of the Old Market.

PROS:  Good get drunk vibe. Freshest smelling bar in town. High Life tall boys.
CONS: Dude to my left was not digging me. Not for inexperienced dive bar goers. 

First Impressions:  The place is surprisingly bright and smells...ummm...like being on the beach in St-Tropez.  OK, well maybe not THAT good, but the assortment of candles behind the bar, mixed in with a box of scented baking soda on the corner of the bar, gave the entire place a completely unexpected pleasant aroma.  Not sure why I was expecting dark and smelly, but that is the complete opposite of the bar when I walked in.  But, don't let the smell of bikini-clad women frolicking in the French Riviera fool you...there are some bad ass-looking SOB's hanging out in here.

Way cleaner than expected

The Bar: Let's call it a long, yet short L-shaped bar that can easily seat 12 people.  The bar-area itself is quite clean and organized, and has some old-school coolers with wooden doors that seem to be part of dying breed these days.  Surprisingly, there are seven beers on tap and the coolers are well-stocked with a pretty decent collection of beer including Miller High Life tall boys. It's kind of an oddly shaped building so there aren't a ton of tables in the main bar area.  As Mark noted before we got there, it's kind of an "F" shaped building.  You'll just have to stop by here to see what he means.  Of note, there was a bullhorn behind the bar as well.  I can only guess what its intended purpose might be?

The Crowd:  In the time we were in there, I'd guess roughly 20 people were in there at some point...and 95% of them were dudes.  For the most part they were a bunch of crusty old guys, mixed in with a few bikers, but a generally older good-natured collection of let's-talk-sports/no nonsense/take no shit sorts of bar goers.  Well, all but one guy directly sitting to my left that was just waiting for me to look at him the wrong way...being dumb (but not stupid) I never gave him the chance for him to tell me what he thinks of my Mother (you're welcome Mom) .  For good measure, someone even started quoting a line from the movie Fletch that immediately made me yell down the bar "You using the whole fist doc?" which actually got the intended laugh from the crowd.

Good place for pool

Service:   A younger good-natured, take-no-shit bartender wearing a t-shirt that read "Caution: does not
play well with others".  But don't let the shirt fool you, he was quick with the refills, told me right upfront that beers by the pint were a better deal than by the mug, and seemed to like the fact that I'm the type of person at a bar that says "Better give me one more" at least four times before leaving.  Mark and I clearly were not regulars, but that didn't stop our bartender from treating us like ones in no time at all.  Thumbs up!

Prices:  A pint of my usual domestic swill beer was setting me back $2 each... now that I can live with.  I saw a sign on the wall for $3 mini pitchers of Busch Light on Mondays, and another sign that said happy hour is Monday-Friday from 4-7 that gets you $1 Bud Light and Busch Light draws and 50 cents off of any mixed drink.  Not too shabby. 

Food:  Pretty standard assortment of bags of chips and a few vending machines back by the dartboards that sell everything from stale nuts to stale-looking Hot Tamales.  Come here thirsty, not hungry.

Box 'O baking soda

Entertainment:  Oh, you know, your usual stuff...pool table, dartboards, a long shuffleboard table and five smallish TVs that were fine enough for me to watch an ESPN 30 for 30 featuring Bo Jackson.  But, the best part of the entertainment here are the kick ass speakers when someone drops a few bucks in the jukebox.  It looks like they had a dedicated DJ area for karaoke too...but I was more than happy to just sit there and listen to a few AC/DC tunes BLASTING from the speakers behind me. 

Bartender Chat:  Since this is a pretty outgoing bar, it's not the kind of place where you sit and have a long conversation with the bartender, it's more the kind of a bar where every sits and has one big conversation and the guy behind the bar chimes in as needed.  And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Restrooms:  Not too bad.  Nothing to write home about, but also, nothing that needs to ever be avoided either.

Could do worse

How Far Did My $20 Go?:  Well, on this afternoon, $20 will get you 10 beers.  Well, make that more like 9 beers so that you have some cash left for a tip.  Get here for happy hour, and $20 will exactly double your beer purchasing potential. 

Final Impressions:  Two reviews of this place on Foursquare kind of sum this place up perfectly for me: "Best fight I've seen in a long time. Karaoke is awesome. Nice staff" and "If u like good lookin women dont come here.lol".  Well, I didn't actually see a fight when I was here, but I bet you when there is one...it could be of the Battle Royal variety.  

Not sure this bar is quite for everyone, but all I know is that I had a good time here.  It has a bit more of an edge that just your average bar, but that's what made it an entertaining afternoon as well.  Definitely a place I will stop by again when I'm in the area...just next time I'll bring an umbrella for my beer to see if it compliments the aroma of fresh mangoes or makes the guy to my left dislike me even more.  

DIVE-O-METER
7.5

How do one of these things work again?

Happy Bar, Omaha -- REVIEW

601 N. 16th Street

Come on get happy

Omaha NE 68102
402 346 9677

Every now and then I get some sort of smarmy comment on the HitThatDive Facebook page that I don't review nearly enough "shit holes", and what I really need to do (being the huge fan of unsolicited advice that I am) is go to a place like Happy Bar.  Oddly enough, I've meant to meet HTD first readers (ever) Mark and Becky there for at least a year...and finally we were all in the same area at the same time and decided to stop by downtown's most well-known shit hole for a few drinks.  Anticipating an afternoon in a dark, sticky, smelly dump...I was ready to get there.

PROS: OCD Friendly.  Close to the downtown attractions. Flasks for sale.
CONS: Made me sleepy. Bathroom door does not lock. NOT a shit hole as promised.

Shit is orderly!

First Impressions:  Ummm.  Well, yeah...it does smell a bit off.  But not the worst aroma I've ever caught as I walked into the place.  Looking around at the completely empty bar two words immediately did NOT come to mind.  "Happy" or "Shit Hole".  OK...make that three words.  The bar gave off all the excitement of a old snail crawling on a Quaalude, but at first glance was very neat and overly orderly.  Odd.

The Bar:  As standard as it gets.  A decent-sized bar with roughly 10 seats, and an additional 10 tables scatted throughout the rather long but narrow room.  If you like draft beer they have both kinds on tap, Bud AND Bud Light.  A decent collection of cool sports stuff is hanging from pretty much every wall, and there is even an old beer can collection that had an Iron City Beer Steelers can from the 70's.  Cheers for that!  Of note, there is an entire section behind the bar of "To-Go" flasks that clearly are meticulously placed in exact order every 33.7 minutes.

Echo Echo Echo

The Crowd:   Rimshot please!  Well, there were two people at the bar when the three of us walked in. One, as it turned out, was our bartender for the afternoon.  The only other patron looked like the kind of guy you would anticipate that you would see in an empty bar on a Saturday.  Seemed like a nice guy but had absolutely nothing to say.  Throughout the afternoon, several people stopped in to buy a quick flask of vodka and then scurry right back out the door.  Unless you're like George Thorogood, and prefer to drink alone, you may want to bring your own company if bar chat is one of your requirements.  On the other hand, if you're looking to get hammered in privacy...look no further.

Service:  Apparently there is a old dude named Jack who has been tending far here for decades, but he wasn't on duty when we were there.  There was a guy occasionally behind the bar to bring another round...but only after you sat with your glasses empty for a bit and finally asked for another round.  Jack ultimately did make an appearance, but quietly sat at a table alone slugging Mountain Dew from a can.

Random phone

Prices:  I kind of spaced out on this one.  All I know is that our first round, consisting of a tall Jack and Coke, a Bud draw and a bottle of water set me back $8.75.  There are a few signs on the front of the building that advertise "$2 pints during all UFL games"  Question, is there a UFL anymore?  If not...Happy Bar has one of the greatest marketing scams in town!  Nicely done.

Food: Just below the orderly flasks you will find an equally orderly assortment of beef jerky, Slim Jims, Beer Nuts, peanuts and even some peanut butter crackers and a few bags of microwave popcorn.  Talk about a selection!

Entertainment: Pool table, dart board and music to my eyes...a 20 year old CD-only jukebox with a pretty good selection of stuff like The Doors, KISS, The Cars, Jethro Tull and The Black Crowes.  What struck me the most odd were the four very nice higher-end flat screen TV's throughout the bar. They looked as out of place as an elevator in an outhouse.  The assumption is that once the CWS moved downtown, Happy Bar figured they needed to make a few upgrades to attract even more people so they are guaranteed to make an even bigger fortune for those two weeks in June.

No lock.  Be warned

Bartender Chat:  I just actually laughed out loud while typing this.  Other than the usual "what can I get you" conversation, the only other thing I have in notes that I heard our man occasionally behind the bar utter was, and I quote,  "Yeah, thanks." EDIT According to Omaha's only shoe-leather reporter, Matthew Hansen at the World Herald, the regular bartender is a big fan of "Walker Texas Ranger."   Thanks for the usual great intel Matthew!

Restrooms: Nothing too awful, and not that I needed it to, BUT, there is no lock on the door whatsoever.  So guys be warned, if you have an emergency of epic proportions and have to take a seat, bring a door watcher. Oh sure, there was no one in the place, but just your luck some hot-looking chick could potentially walk in and mistakenly open the wrong door. 

How Far Did My $20 Go?: I'm not sure.  But I do know, that the next time the Omaha Nighthawks kickoff, I can easily slug down nine beers and leave a tip.  My guess is the prices here are average, had Mark not ordered water I might have a better guess on this one. 

Final Impressions: Nothing really to love.  Nothing really to hate.  I wouldn't avoid this place necessarily, yet it would not be on the top of my list of places I have to rush to get back to either.  It's actually a relatively nice bar in a pretty old building.  I can only assume how big of  a dump (in the best sense of the word) this place was at one time.  Walk in here not expecting a shit hole and also  much of any sort of "happy" vibe and you wont have any issues with this place.  *SIDE NOTE* If you're reading this because you're plotting out a trip for the CWS by all means stop here as opposed to some of the corporate crap bars we now have in abundance in downtown Omaha!

DIVE-O-METER
5

Insert customers here

Aussie's Pub, Omaha -- REVIEW

Begin bad Austrailian accent now.

2326 N 72nd St
Omaha, NE 68134
(402) 391-1076

G'Day Mate! The good news of late is that I never seem to have a lack of bars suggested by people to go check out when I have some free time.  The bad news is that I can never seem to narrow down which place to check out next.  As it turns out, it seems like the best way for me to get off my lazy ass and check out a bar is "remind" me via Facebook several times..much like Nicole Rupe did with her favorite watering hole...Aussie's Pub. Checking with wingman Speck to see if he was up for a little day drinking on a Saturday, I had him pick me up and off we went.

PROS:  Great place to shoot pool or play darts. Cute bartender. Plenty of room.
CONS: Deceptively smelly men's room. Asked if we were "the Fuzz".

First Impressions:  There are quite a few things to take note of when you walk through the front door; several Australia-themed items (Including some AC-DC stuff), a ton of NASCAR memorabilia, and an honest-to-goodness fish tank behind the bar.  It's much larger on the inside than it appears on the outside and sitting down at the bar I didn't really pick up on any sort of "vibe" (positive or negative) one way or the other.  Fine with me, just seems a bit ho-hum at first.  Not a bad thing, just an impression.

Mini Pitchers

The Bar:  It's a pretty long bar, but only has roughly 10 seats so it looks like you'll never get too cramped while watching the fish as they swim next to the beer cooler.  They have five beers on tap including Foster's (which might not be one of their better sellers because it seemed a bit stale), a ton of tables throughout the two-room NASCAR adorned bar, and even a Dale, Jr. Bud hood prominently hung from the wall. The bar-area itself looked like it could have used just a bit of sprucing-up, but a fine enough place to have a few beers.  The rest of the space was clean and orderly looking.  Of note, there are two goblins hanging in both corners behind the bar, why they are there I can only guess?

The Crowd:  Fine enough collection of good old boy regulars.  Not the most outgoing crowd, but not too afraid to start telling dick jokes to the cute bartender either.  For the first time in a while, it was easy to tell that Speck and I were not going to really fit in at all.  In particular, I noticed a dude five bar stools down from me that could not stop looking my way and thinking to himslef that I was up to something "shady".  Come on dude, don't two strangers walk into your regular bar and start snapping pictures with an IPhone everyday of the week?  It got so bad that this budding Dick Tracy pretended to play Keno for the sole purpose of walking up to me and asking, and I quote, "Are you the Fuzz?"  A thumbs up ole Elliott Ness for just knowing something didn't seem right and doing something about it.

Race Fans!

Service:  Fine enough, but you won't hear any complaints from me.  Our dive bar-appropriate cute bartender was a good sport about all the dick jokes being directed her way and even played some pretty decent stuff on the jukebox.  She was kind enough to ask if we wanted some plastic cups to go with our mini pitchers. As it turns out, answering yes to that trick question makes you look even more suspicious to the already leery regulars   Note to self...if and when there ever is a HitThatDive calendar...our bartender from Aussie's can be Miss March.

Prices:  A mini-pitcher (plastic cup included) was setting us back $4 a pop.  I guess that's an OK price, but the whole mini-pitcher thing is always a bit strange to me. If most people just drink out of the things, why not just switch to a big ass 32 ounce mug?  In any case, it looks like they do have specials here on occasion like Jack drinks for $3.50.  Check the walls for other specials including Red Bull drinks for $4.75, Blue Moon and the always popular PBR Tall Boys!

Great for pool and darts

Food:  To the left side of the fish tank is the usual wall of assorted nondescript chips and that sort of thing.  Who knows, play your cards right on a Friday during lent, and I bet you can get a good price on fresh sushi straight from the tank.

Entertainment:  Here's where I think Aussie's really is set up for.  Two pool tables, including real pool sharks showing up with their own cues, and an entire back wall of dart boards...with plenty of room to throw for once!  As far as I could count there are five TV's, a brand new Internet jukebox, and plenty of room to shake your moneymaker on the nights that have a band in the joint.  There were a few other games scattered around the place too including a lonely pinball machine tucked away in a corner all by itself.  Safe to say this is a perfect set up if you aren't the type that just likes to remain glued to your bar stool.

Bartender Chat:  Nothing of note here.  The typical pleasant small talk, not standoffish in any way, and like I mentioned, she was not shy mixing it up with the good old boy regulars when the dick jokes were getting slung around the bar a mile a minute.  Q: What do you call a woman who loves small dicks? A: Hopefully your girlfriend.

Hold your nose and aim

Restroom:  Speck did the initial fly-by and came back with an interesting report.  He said they look nice until you get in there and then you're overwhelmed by quite the stench and a lonely fruit fly buzzing the urinal.  As it turns out, he was completely right.  My advise...leave your drink on the bar so you have one hand to aim and the other to hold your nose.

How Far Did My $20 Go?:  Five mini-pitchers isn't a horrible option.  Again, nothing outstanding about the bang for your buck, but you can do way worse in other parts of town.

Final Impressions:  This is a tough one.  Aussie's has just about everything you would want in a bar to hang out in for an afternoon and evening but somehow I just wasn't feeling it...that's not a knock on the bar necessarily.  Other than the smell in the men's room, I'm not sure there was anything that I didn't like here. Speck gave the place a 6.5 out of 10.  For our afternoon there, I would say he's right...but I just have this feeling we caught them on an off day.  We both agreed that this place is Omaha Dive Bar Certified...but I'm going with a number just slightly higher than wingman Speck.  In talking with a few a my Omaha bar insiders, they really like the place so that tells me even more that maybe I was just there at the wrong time.   In any event, thanks for the tip Nicole!

DIVE-O-METER
7

Freshest sushi in town

Brass Knocker – THEN AND NOW

3012 North 102nd Street  

Omaha, NE 68134

(402) 572-9400

  

Only thing that hasn't changed

As you may, or may not recall, Binge-Drinking Ben and I stopped by the Brass Knocker last year and were immediately underwhelmed by the place.  Oh sure, after a few beers we didn’t seem to hate it, but, we never made our way back there either. 

At the beginning of the year, I received a note on the HitThatDive “Hotline” (I didn’t even know we had one?) that said the Brass Knocker was closed as of the 1^st of the year.  Not completely surprised I quickly slapped up a “Now Closed” note on their review and went on with my day. 

Then, a few weeks ago I see an ad in the Sunday paper that the Brass Knocker was now hiring?  What the hell is going on?  Being men of action, and looking for a reason to have a few beers on a Sunday afternoon, Ben and I met up with Double-Shot Dave to do some investigating. 

This isn’t going to be a full review, but more of a reason why you should check out all the hard work that Butch, Derek and Justin have put into COMPLETELY renovating the place.  Not to mention they were all great to talk to while we sat there and marveled at how different everything looks! (Editor's Note: My "Now" pictures don't seem to do the place justice...just go and check it out for yourself.)

Then

First Impressions:  Then – Is it open? 

Now – Is it open?  Everything about the outside of the bar looks exactly the same.  In fact, much like the first time, I didn’t think that it was open.  A quick text to Binge-Drinking Ben inquiring on his whereabouts let me know that he was already sitting inside at the bar.  I opened the door to be immediately blinded by a bright, shiny, clean, orderly and pleasant-smelling bar.  Is this even the same damn place?

The Bar:  Then -- A very dark and quiet bar, this is the epitome of West O dives. The patchwork memorabilia on the walls captures decades of music and sports memories and the mix ‘n’ match seating includes everything from bingo-hall chairs to lifted 70’s bar stools to modern office furniture. 

Now

Now – Clean with a new car smell.  Everything, including the chairs, match.  The area that once was home to a huge disco ball now is the home to a stripper pole just begging for some attention.  Unlike before everything behind the bar is neat and orderly and gave the impression, also unlike before, that all the glasses and pitchers had actually been washed before they were used. 

Service:  Then -- A bit standoffish at first, it was dinner time as well, but not too awful considering we were throwing off the “vibe” in the empty room.

Now – Our man Justin was ready to serve-up some of the coldest beer in town in his Brass Knocker bowling shirt.  Even though the place was pretty empty on a Sunday, we were made to feel welcomed from the minute we sat down. 

Then

Price:  Then –   Pretty standard.  $7 a pitcher. Couple bucks a shot.

Now – We were drinking happy hour pitchers for $5 each. 

Entertainment:  Then -- It turns out the Brass Knocker was a staple of the Near-West Omaha Karaoke Circuit…which they seem to have nearly every night of the week.

Now -- Karaoke Monday & Wednesday.  But there is a DJ with the option of karaoke Thursday & Saturday night as well.  Add into that a pool table, great-sounding jukebox and Buck Hunter HD and Golden Tee and you’re good to go any time that you're there.

Bartender Chat: Then -- Before her Jimmy John's and the purchasing of her to take a shot:  N/A

Now

Now – For the first time ever, I blew my cover and introduced myself because I wanted to get the complete story on just how much work went into turned this bar around in such a short period of time.  Justin let me look at 100’s of pictures on his iPhone of just how much work was needed to make the Knocker look great.  Apparently 16-hour days, seven-days a week for two months DOES pay off.  Nice work guys!

Restroom: Then -- Small and a bit dingy. 

Now – Remember that TV show “The Swan” where they take a bunch of overweight homely women and make them hot?  Ditto!

Final Impressions:  Then -- Let’s be honest, if you’ve got nothing better to do then go ahead ‘n’HIT THIS DIVE!

Final Impressions:  Clearly we all were impressed at what the bar looks like now. But the real difference is that Justin, Butch and Derick really seem to care about running a great bar that they are proud to own.  This is place I will definitely be back too again...soon.  I can't give it a final number because I didn't actually write a full review...but this place is clearly Omaha Dive Bar Certified by HitThatDive standards!  Make it a point to give the new Brass Knocker a try and let me know if you agree with our second, and MUCH better assessment of the place!  

Now   

Then

Omaha Wing Challenge -- TIE BREAKER

"High tech" scoring sheet

As you may (or probably not) know…in the HitThatDive quest to find Omaha’s best wings, we currently have a dead heat between Choo Choo’s Bar & Grill and the Pheasant Tavern.

Determined to break the tie (and come up with an excuse to eat wings, not once but TWICE) on a Sunday afternoon…I concocted the Omaha Wing Challenge – Tie Breaker!

A huge thank you to the small, but devoted, group of volunteer wing judges (and two absentee ballots from Speck and wife) who lent their time and taste buds to do something I couldn’t do…and that is determine a damn leader of the top of the current leaderboard.

The rules were simple: Show up. Eat wings. Drink beer. And finally, rate each place’s wings on the usual five criteria. First Impressions, sauce, size crispiness, and the always ambiguous “extras”.

Of note…I did scarf down a bunch of wings, but I eliminated myself from the judging…who needs to do extra work on a Sunday anyway??


Choo Choo's

AND THE RESULTS ARE:

The highest possible score, based on the amount of people voting, was 250 total points. Drumroll
please…



Pheasant Tavern

Winner of each category:

First Impressions:  Pheasant

Sauce: Choo Choo’s

Crispy: Pheasant

Size: Tie

Extras: Pheasant


Final Point Totals:

Choo Choo’s: 188 points

Pheasant Tavern : 192 points

And there you have it! Our highly unscientific challenge has determined that the Pheasant Tavern gets the nod, by a NOSE, over Choo Choo’s. But, don’t let that deter you from doing your own challenge and checking out the wings at either place any chance you get. This is a situation where no decision is a bad one.  And that's a good problem to have.

Thanks to all the great staff at Choo Choo's and the Pheasant...I need to come up with a new reason to eat wings at both places in the same day again!