greatest bar in the world - seriously

The greatest bar in the world is in Rochester, NY. I have no idea why.

It’s a place called Bullwinkle’s that has been described as “if David Lynch and your grandmother opened a bar”, “walking into a Tom Waits song”, and “the kind of bar where you go back the next day only to discover that it burned down 30 years ago, and then you realize you were partying with ghosts”. All of these descriptions are correct.

First of all, the bar is only open on Saturday nights, and only from 11 PM till 2 AM. A man with no legs greets you at the door, and then he makes jokes like “don’t make me kick you out! Bwahahaaa”. Inside, it’s always decorated like Christmas with old Shirley Temple posters on the wall. They only have one of each kind of liquor, and everyone in the bar is required to wear wigs or silly hats (which are provided by the bar). Two woman (in way too much makeup) play the piano while you sing songs….but they only know songs that are pre-world war 2, so it’s a lot of “Roll Out The Barrel” and “Battle Hymn Of The Republic”. Also, on drums is an autistic blind kid who keeps amazing time and then at the end of the evening sings a heart-breaking version of Bridge Over Troubled Water”.

Last night the cast of Noodle, the improv kids, and a high school friend of mine I haven’t seen in 12 years (he now goes to u of r) went to the bar…and it was one of my favorite nights ever in Rochester. All through rehearsal today we kept laughing as we remembered the evening before.

If you are ever, ever in Rochester, I highly recommend going to Bullwinkle’s…I have to imagine that when the lady that owns it passes away (she lives upstairs), it will be gone…