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A1A Dive Bar
3233 N. Ocean Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
954-565-9264
This Dive Bar is more about the deep sea than about sinking into a chair and drinking your pain away. Covered head to toe in a Key West-type nautical feel, the Dive Bar lures native South Floridians and Hawaiian-shirt-wearing tourists alike. Plenty of bottled beer including a couple of micros as well as wine and the harder stuff. The main stage is home to some of the hottest local bands (like Funky Blue Roots, Brother Bean, and the Heavy Pets), but if you're in the mood to perform, there's a ministage and a stripper pole waiting.
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All Stars Sports Bar and Grill
2201 W. Sample Rd.
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
954-968-7777
The quintessential sports bar. A long bar surrounded by tables and chairs gives way to televisions strategically placed around the room so that the game is always in vision. The standard "chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks" bar fare completes the picture.
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Alligator Alley
1321 E. Commercial Blvd.
Oakland Park, FL 33334
954-772-7474
http://alligatoralleyflorida.com Alligator Alley Native Restaurant and Music Hall serves poboys and gumbo. Our local jazz, blues, and indie mainstays pop in often to jam, but so do national names.
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America's Backyard
100 SW Third Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
954-727-0950
http://myamericasbackyard.com America's Backyard, it turns out, is nothing short of a huge pool party where the pool is swimming with bartenders and the deep end overflows with sparkling alcohol. The pool, AKA the main bar, is a tiled fortress of smiles and cocktails, the centerpiece of this open-air shindig.Wednesday is ladies' night, which means ladies drink free after 9 p.m. and at midnight play Pick-A-Purse for a $500 cash prize. It's '90s night on Thursday, so fill up on $3 Long Island iced teas and Real McCoy tunes, but the real party begins when the week ends and the inhibitions are tossed aside with work IDs. That's when alcohol mixes with dance music, rendering otherwise respectable young professionals helpless and desperate to dance on the bar.
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Anglesea Pub and Restaurant
200 E. McNab Rd.
Pompano Beach, FL 33060
954-785-8878
Behind its blue aquarium facade, Anglesea Pub splits in half: Hang a left for the full-sized sports bar, a right to reach a pub crowded with outdoorsy types dressed in boat shorts and golf shirts. An outside deck seats the majority of drinkers and diners drawn by daily specials and a relaxed atmosphere.
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Area 7
3809 Powerline Rd.
Oakland Park, FL 33309
954-561-9134
http://myspace.com/area7musicandale Area 7's got Yuengling, Foster's, Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Bass. There's also has a long and varied list of worldwide malty delights in bottle form. Those who know the Area well know it's famous for its pussy shots devilishly sweet treats that will put you on your ass and have fun names like Phat-Ass and Fuzzy. The go-go dance feel (complete with stripper poles and flashing red lights) pulls in a crowd of hip indie kids who come out to see the live bands but stay for the nightly specials
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Art Bar
300 SW First Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-524-6621
Art Bar has the requisite Picasso on the wall, pleasant dance music, and that huge, two-story structure full of well-dressed Lauderdale sophisticates.
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Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club
6701 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33141
305-403-7565
http://arturosandovaljazzclub.com at the Deauville Beach Resort
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Automatic Slim's
15 W. Las Olas Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-522-8585
Whoa, bro! This huge downtown Fort Lauderdale club brings upscale, trash American culture, cool rock mixes, and a skater vibe. Open up and say Ah! when the short-shorts-clad barkeeps stand in your face and pour shots down your neck.
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Bahama Breeze Pembroke Pines
11000 Pines Blvd.
Pembroke Pines, FL 33026
954-450-6450
A reasonably priced chain restaurant that ups the ante on food and entertainment, this venue's outdoorsy interior is broken up into palm tree-secluded sections that surround a big bar in the center. Local musicians play soca and calypso nightly on the outdoor deck.
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Bahama Breeze Sawgrass
2750 Sawgrass Mills Circle
Plantation, FL 33323
954-845-9311
A reasonably priced chain restaurant that ups the ante on food and entertainment, this venue's outdoorsy interior is broken up into palm tree-secluded sections that surround a big bar in the center. Local musicians play soca and calypso nightly on the outdoor deck
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Ballers Rock 'n' Roll Sports Bar
3200 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd.
Miramar, FL 33023
954-985-3870
http://ballersrocknrollsportsbar.com/ Leather-clad, tattoo-sportin' roughnecks gather at Ballers for some authentic rock 'n' rolla action: oil wrestling, pole dancing, and rock 'n' roll-only karaoke. Fuck yeah. Not to mention car shows and a weekly bike nights (no dude, motorcycles. Leave the 10-speed at home). And, naturally, the bartenders wear leather chaps and tiny brassieres when they dance on bar.
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B.E.D. Miami
929 Washington Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305-532-9070
http://bedmiami.com This self-explanatory supper/dance club oozes silky seduction with a dreamy decor featuring king-size beds garnished with snow-white drapes. Nightly house music and hip-hop affairs attract a jet-set crowd.
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Benny's Ice House
5803 S. Military Trail
Boynton Beach, FL 33436
561-734-6924
http://myspace.com/bennysicehouserocks A favorite local bar that stays open until 5 a.m. Nothing special here, just cheap drinks and a serious bar atmosphere. Just the place to go when you need to get hammered at 3 a.m.
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Biba Bar
320 Belvedere Rd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33405
561-832-0094
http://hotelbiba.com The full-service bar inside this artsy hotel draws a stylish, international crowd trust-fund kids who will one day inherit Palm Beach but find it too boring now. Wednesday is the night you want to be here.
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Biddy Early's Irish Pub
3419 N. Andrews Ave.
Oakland Park, FL 33309
954-567-1990
A winding bar and restaurant with nook-like booths and a polished bar that stretches on endlessly, past rugby stats and a portrait of John and Jackie Kennedy, toward the pool table and dart boards in the back, Biddy Early's has a sporty Celtic feel.
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Big City Tavern
609 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
954-727-0307
This classy bar and restaurant is one of Las Olas' key pickup scenes. Dinner is served in oversized, circular booths, from which the diners can eye the folks at the bar and vice versa. Located in the heart of Boca Raton, Big City Tavern is reminiscent of the classic, traditional taverns of New York City, Chicago and Boston.
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Big Dog Station
3148 NE 12th Ave.
Wilton Manors, FL 33305
954-561-4304
http://Bigdogstation.com The old space by the train tracks that once housed Roxanne's now serves as a low key neighborhood bar and restaurant known as Big Dog Station. If you were a fan of Big Dog Saloon in Wilton Manors, expect the same friendly atmosphere here.
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Bill's Filling Station
2209 Wilton Dr.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
954-525-9403
Hit the road -- without paying at the pump. At Bill's Filling Station, the road trip comes to you. And you won't be filling Big Oil's pockets, either. Instead, you fill up on cocktails. Play pool, chat, or soak in the vibe. Two bars stand at opposite ends of the main room, which is split by a couple of pool tables that are rarely occupied but look really cool: red felt lit by red lamps oozing red light. LCD monitors ranging from 25 to 42 inches line the walls and display resident VJ Gary Nolan's art, which comes in the form of dance music mixed to match offbeat videos (catch him Friday through Monday).
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Blue Anchor Pub
804 E. Atlantic Ave.
Delray Beach, FL 33483
561-272-7272
http://theblueanchor.com For a British pub whose menu advertises shepherd's pie, it might be unnerving that the house band is called Mad Cow. But there's nothing to be afraid of at this nautical-themed bar. The Guinness flows freely, the food is delicious, and the bartenders are more than happy to refill your pint. Often.