what happens when u stop playing it safe?

look, i know my taste is niche and my writing style’s a little odd. that’s kinda why i stopped publishing travel guides or “what i’d do” lists and started begging you guys to write them LOL. what’s fun for me isn’t always fun for everyone else, and that’s fine.

but i love a good bar. a good bar is everything, especially when you’re in a new city. honestly, if your first stop isn’t a local bar, you’re doing it wrong.

when i travel, i don’t plan much. you can’t really experience a place if everything’s prepackaged and curated. the secret to a great trip is sitting at a local bar, talking to whoever’s next to you, asking the bartender what makes their city special. that’s how you see a place the way locals do. sometimes you even walk away with a new friend and a free couch to crash on next time.

i’m not saying skip the louvre if you’re in paris. i’m just saying if you stop by the right spot first, you might find out where the secret entrances are and if you’re lucky, skip the bill too.

i had a great conversation today with someone who loves atlantic city as much as i do, and we both agreed that the public perception of this place is way off. people come here, hit the casinos, talk to other tourists about how “unsafe” it is. meanwhile they’re missing the beauty, the mix of people, the energy that makes this city one of a kind. they stay in the casinos, never leave the boardwalk, and drink in some gaudy bar blasting radio hits from 2016 for some reason.

and honestly, atlantic city has some of the best bars in the world. i’ve been all over the country. and some of the world. im saying this with extreme confidence.

two of them made my all-time favorites list….

irish pub - atlantic city. maybe im biased with this one, but i truly think it is one of the most special places in the world. the vibe is immaculate, you get all different types of people through the doors, its BEAUTIFUL, i mean i could go on. cathy is a legend and the sweetest woman. the prices are affordable. i just could go on all day.,

caveau des oubliettes - paris. okay number one, i have seen some of the best jazz of my LIFE in the basement here. this place has an incredible history, its tiny, its smoky, its spooky. drink prices are kinda high but fuck, it is SO worth it. i was here alllll of the time when i lived in paris. the basement used to be a prison and they’d drown prisoners there hundreds of years ago using water from the seine. i haven’t met the new owners but i heard they redid the place well and the jazz is still superb.

tonys baltimore grill - atlantic city. OK lol another one where maybe i’m a little biased. again, i swear its not just bc i grew up going there! it is a fucking fantastic bar. it is SO classic and again, just a fantastic bar. shout out tony and nino for always knowing how to talk me into one more drink (not that it’s that hard i guess lmfao)

mcgowens bar - donegal this is hard. because any small-town bar in ireland is kinda my favorite. especially if the fire is running and there is a session happening. the kinda place that locks u in. those are the best bars in all of ireland, and there are just sooo many. mcgowens is your classic small town pub. will you get bullied? yeah a little, you’re in ireland. just be prepared to take the piss bc otherwise u wont have a good time. remember u can bully back. but you’ll be laughing your ass off the whole time drinking the best guinness of your mother fucking life. mcgowens just happens to be the one closest to my dads house. but i mean, it’s class, so.

rudys bar - nyc. god damn you guys, this bar is sooooo good. aside from the fact that they have FREE FUCKING HOT DOGS, it’s just a great vibe. the prices are right (esp for the area!), the music there is ALWAYS incredible (a few years ago we went on st. paddys day and lemme tell u they know how to get DOWN). it is beautiful. again, its no bullshit. its kinda dark. all different types of people go there. just a spectacular, 10/10 establishment. like, if i’m in nyc, i’m going to rudys. and eating maybe 5 hot dogs.

now, i need to say: id midtown 3 (philly) was still open, that place would replace rudys. when i tell you that midtown was one of the most incredible, wonderful places to drink, i mean that with my whole SOUL. the peeps there felt like family, popcorn or pretzels on the bar, fantastic music, an attached diner. the kinda spot you pop your head in, even just for a second, to say hello, because it was that special.

my least favorite bar? anything with a dumbass theme. or any place that charges $22.99 for a fuckin sysco burger. but i digress.

atlantic city is so special. the bars here are so special (well, a lot of them are). and this city is SO god damn walkable you don’t ven have to worry about drinking and driving.

like, for example my night last night:

walked over to the knife and fork, ate incredible food, drank great wine, made friends with our server, made friends with the strangers at the table next to us.

wrapped up, then we walked over to tonys baltimore grill. ordered two vodka sodas and two cheesecakes. made even more new friends (SHOUT OUT TO THE TWO BRITTANYS + ALISA U GALS ROCK AND ALL WOMENS ROOMS EXPERIENCES SHOULD BE SO FUN AND POSITIVE).

then i went out to smoke a cig and got to talking to a local homeless man. ive seen him around before and im always friendly with him but last night was the first time we really got to talk and connect.

okay so like, quick side note: the homeless ‘problem’ has been coming up in some of my recent meetings i’ve been having about AC. and like, on the theme of perception, a lot of folks feel scared to leave the boards because of this. but also on the theme of perception, we’re talking about human beings. instead of walking by these people and being a jerk and ignoring them, have you talked to them? because a lot of the folks on the streets are good people in a bad situation. sure some people suck, but most people have decent intentions. we need to stop judging people based on their circumstances and practice kindness. ive seen so many people be absolute jerks to some of the characters who will bum smokes in front of TBG and it is simply not cool. dont have anything to spare and dont wanna chat? just say “no dude, sorry. have a good one”. not hard to not be a fucking dick.

anyway that was a little side rant.

after that we had a nice little walk home. sometimes we even walk home on the beach. it is a dream.

anyway, you get it.

some events i’m really looking forward to:

joe and sarah’s scheduled spooky performance got postponed due to the noreaster…. now it is october 27th at angeloni’s club madrid

emo night hosted by everybodys fave couple, the escape plans. then dj dave earl (who else remembers the hangar 84 days?!) on halloween.

angeloni’s is having a halloween event. all i know is itll be sexy and you need to wear a mask (sexy kind, not covid kind….. unless maybe you could make that sexy? idk take that up with them)

molly ringoworms album release party is october 24th. its an all-star lineup. plus there will be a costume contest. plus sfx makeup and facepainting.

also on october 24th: catch dan ruiz and the west meadow dwellers (with the diving horse’s very own cm slenko on pedal steel). cj and the rain dawgz are also playing + you can get a slice from squares and fares.

october 25th, Crimson Catacombs Music & Camping Fest. again, dan ruiz and the WMD are gonna be performing with cm on the pedal steel. i hope some of u go so i have people to hang out with while they perform LOL.

anyway, i can’t keep writing about the upcoming events because there are just TOO MANY. check am all out by clicking anywhere in this sentence. also wanna let you know that we are working on finalizing the new and improved events calendar. less glitches, less clumpy, all of the events will actually show up, etc. thank you to dj for helping me w that!

i know you are all waiting on the tivoli pier piece. when i tell you i found some gems *cough diamond jim cough*……. this piece is going to take me longer than anticipated, so stay tuned for the surprise paid piece…..

also…. ZINE IS DELAYED. Don’t blame me, blame MIXAM. will let you know as soon as i get them in stock + drop them off at tonys and angelonis.

also stay tuned for halloween party guide, dropping friday.

love you guys but i gotta stop here. the folks at mixam have big time attitudes with me and im getting so stressed i could cry lol. so anyway. yeah byeee gotta go deal with this bullshit.

what are some of your favorite bars in the world?

chat soon,

claire

https://substack.com/inbox/post/176250546?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=5226954&post_id=176250546&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=c8731&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

PS - HAVE U LISTENED TO PASSENGER PRINCESS YET? I think the song is incredible and it has be SUPER excited to hear the full album. it is a #bop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj2_VEI-2dE&list=RDxj2_VEI-2dE&start_radio=1

i’d also like to talk about how cool and sexy and chaotic the MV is?! i love molly ringworm