DIVE BAR REVIEW: 4S

For lawyers, gossip and comfort

 

Dive bars are really hard to review because their appeal is so hard to explain. I usually comment on décor, food and service, 3 things you're probably not going to find at 4S. But that becomes a case of judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Anyway the people who frequent the place wont be dissuaded by my post and those who don't can't be tortured into it. So I'm not going to use my usual format for 4S, instead here's a bullet point list on how to navigate the place.

 

1. The answer to any question you may have at 4S is to keep drinking.

 

2. The guy at the next table did just use the term heteronormativity twice in one sentence.  Keep drinking.

 

3. If you must order food restrict yourself to the Masala Peanuts or anything dry, chicken and fried. I strongly recommend you keep drinking.

 

4. Do not embarrass yourself by trying to order an Appletini or anything which has more than 2 ingredients (i.e., booze + coke). They do an unexpectedly good Bloody Mary though.

 

5. Someone may or may not have spotted a dead rat in the girl's loo. Let's not make a thing of it. Keep drinking.

 

6. Be nice to the staff, they're worth it.

 

4S is testament to the old adage that you can't argue with destiny. Defence Colony Market is full up with cheap drinking holes with crappy bar food but the universe keeps us all coming back to 4S.   
  

DIVE BAR REVIEW: PECOS

For losing time

Pecos is the sort of dive bar fans and patrons embrace wholeheartedly, defending each atmospheric flaw, protective of each grimy detail. So why write a review of Pecos? Because often you don't write for other people, often you're writing for yourself, trying to fix a feeling down before it washes away in a flood of daily mundanities. Because not every review is really a "review" in the sense of being a compilation of merits and screw ups - some are just references to memories and experiences. And lastly, because there might be some poor sod who's planning to go to Bangalore but hasn't heard of Pecos. Unlikely, but a risk I'm not willing to take. So for all you dive bar enthusiasts, known more commonly as drunks, your journey through India isn't complete if you haven't been to Pecos. I obviously refer to the original establishment and not the hundred, shiney new versions that appear to have mushroomed all over Bangalore.

 I first saw the place as a second year law student and remember it as an airy, laid back, cave sort of space. 8 years and a couple of extra coats of grime later, I realize it isn't all that airy but time has only added to Pecos' character. The Ghee Pork Roast is as explosive and the beer as watery as ever.

Time slows down inside Pecos and I feel myself grow calmer as I watch three college girls gossip and puff their way through a pack of Classic Milds. Over the course of the next couple of hours I see an elderly gentleman, a couple of couples and two guys bemoaning marriage walk in and settle down with their pitchers. The waiter smiles warmly as I ask for the bill.
 

As my friend said, "You could lose years here beautifully or lose beautiful years here."