Weekly Top 5: Best State College Bars (and the worst)

This week our Top 5 list is the "Best Bars in State College."
Remember, this is just opinion!

Yeah, it's not football related, but people are down about the football business right now so we thought we'd do something that would be fun. Comment, criticize, whatever. You're probably going to hate us when we bash your favorite hang out later in this post.

The preview and BW Roundtable will also be up tomorrow.

Onward with the bars, from 5 down to 1.

5. The Lion's Den

We don't get there often, but we love the fact that you can be outside yet still be inside. It's a good place to go if the lines aren't halfway to The Deli. We like chilling in the basement where you can get away from the loud music upstairs if you need to. Oh, and they had hockey on TV when we went in during Blue/White Weekend. That's always a plus.

4. Sports Cafe

Okay so it's not the same Sports Cafe it was when we graduated in 06. It was great then because it was never all that crowded and, in most cases, whatever you wanted to see was on TV. It's not the kind of place you'd go if you wanted to drink, but it was a great place to go if you wanted to watch some obscure sporting event -- it seemed like they had every channel.

And what's better than sitting out on the patio at the end of spring semester? As long as that bearded homeless guy didn't try and reach across the wall and grab your nachos, it was a great place to be.

3. Pickles

We were skeptical the first time someone wanted to go to Pickle's. The first time we heard anything of it was when someone described it as "frat-tastic." Well, that label might be correct, but it's still a good place, and usually our number one choice to go watch games when we can't get into the stadium (which is almost every game). Multiple TVs, a big bar so you don't have to wait too long, good beer selection and a fair amount of seating as long as you get there relatively early. It's not generally a place we go for a night out, but its performances on Saturdays is good enough to land it at the number 3 spot.

Not a bad place to watch the game.

2. Beulah's/Bar Bleu

Most people probably haven't in Bar Bleu. But you know what? It's nice, it's clean, they have good drinks, lots of seating, lots of TVs, a pool table and you can talk inside without screaming! That's a lot of positives.

They also have those big 'ol fish-bowls for your mixed drink needs. Who doesn't love that? Add a half price happy hour from 9-11, which is perhaps the greatest time ever for a happy hour, and you can have yourself a nice start to your night.

We just like being able to go somewhere in that town where you can just chill out, since at most places, you can't -- it's just too loud and crowded.

And for clarity's sake, we usually hang out in the upstairs part, which we guess is technically Beulah's, but no one calls it that and neither do we.

1. The Phyrst

To most people, The Phyrst needs no explanation.

Between Table Wars, The Phyrst Family Band and Free Fry Night, it seems that the Phyrst is the place to be any day of the week. It's like hanging out in your basement because of the low ceiling and you're likely to break your knees trying to get in and out of those stupid picnic tables, but there's really no other place we'd rather be. Combine the seemingly nightly live music with the atmosphere and that Dark Side of the Moon you've been drinking from your personal stein, and the Phyrst is a clear-cut choice for number one. It's Graham Spanier approved.

If you're a student, you must get down there on St Patrick's Day and wait in line from 2am-6am. It was probably one of the dumber things we've ever done because those mid-March nights can get pretty chilly, but it was well worth it once we got inside.

The line to get in the Phyrst on St. Patty's Day, approximately 4:30 am.

Honorable Mentions: The Skellar (gotta love that crazy-eyed bartender by the pool table- we're pretty sure he never goes home) and the Crowbar. Yeah, we know the Crowbar has been closed for a while, but it's still holds a special place in our hearts. We liked it so much we made a facebook group.

And now, for the worst, from least suckage to most suckage.

5. The Saloon

Maybe some of you would disagree with us. It's obviously a wildly popular place, and yeah, we do enjoy the Monkeyboys as much as anyone else, but this was better when we were actually in college and didn't mind not being able to move and sweating our balls off. Now that we're out of school, the thought of standing in a 20-minute line just to be annoyed and not get a drink doesn't appeal to us anymore. Kudos to the bar since in snatched up Velveeta after the Crowbar closed, but that's not enough to pull us in.

4. G-Man

We're not going to lie, we've only been to the G-Man once, and that was only one of us. But that one time resulted in wild puking and a trip to the hospital with food poisoning because the wings. Bad times. Haven't been back since and don't plan on it.

3. The Gaff

Probably the weirdest place in town. Horrible music, really weird crowd, no real theme or feel to the place. Does that sound like a place you want to go to?

Pull that tap handle for bad times.

2. Cafe 210

We're not sure why people wait in lines so long to get into 210, but that alone is reason enough for us to dislike it. It's hard to think of a more boring place, but somehow people wait in line forever to get in there, and inevitably we make fun of them when we walk by. The Long Islands aren't that good.

1. The Cell Block

You know, I don't think we've ever been there, but since it replaced the Crowbar and isn't the Crowbar, we hate it. The Crowbar was the best. They had nickel nights, Velveeta, great shows coming through all the time. Just an awesome place, and every time we see Cell Block, which is now a shitty dance club, it kills us.

Special Honorable Mention- The Last Place In Town We'd Ever Attend Award: Indigo

Current Penn Staters know it as Indigo, but it will always be Players to us. There are a lot of reasons to despise this place. The unbelievably long lines to get in, the awful music pouring out of the open door, or because it's a gathering place for guys like these. But let's focus on the line, which is easily the most insane line in the history of State College. When the thing stretches down near The Diner, we're not sure why more people join it, but they always do. We secretly believe that no one ever gets inside. We've never really talked to anyone who's been in there. But one thing is fo sho: we'll never be inside. Enjoy the wait, we'll take cheap drinks and a seat at the bar somewhere else.