Roger Clark's Favorite New York Dive Bars

Image via Complex Original

Neighborhood: Yorkville
Address: 302 East 92nd St.
Website: reifstavern.com

Roger Says: When I moved to Yorkville a couple years ago, I stumbled into Reif's and wound up becoming a regular. The people are nice, a real regular crowd. They're all very loyal to the bar. One of the little things that makes the bar special is the backyard deck and grill. People will show up at any time of day with a steak or burgers, and grill food to eat there. The other day I was sitting there in the middle of the afternoon, and these two guys came in with shopping bags and did up a couple of steaks.

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 14 Ave. A
Website: doubledownsaloon.com

Roger Says: Double Down has an old-school jukebox with lots of old punk rock, which is my favorite music. There’s also some garage stuff that you won’t find on too many jukeboxes.

The place is famous for a couple of things: the “Ass Juice” shot and the bacon martinis. The bar is part of the old-fashioned punk scene, that East Village feel. The other location is in Las Vegas, and it's great too.

My only warning about the Double Down is don’t go there on a blind date. There's a looping video presentation that occasionally includes porn. Some people may not be receptive to that. They’ll show some horror movie from the '70s, then all of a sudden there will be some punk band playing, and then there’s midget porn. I went there on a blind date once, and the person looked up at the screen at that moment and was outraged.

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 99 Ave. B
Website: manitobas.com

Roger Says: Manitoba’s is managed by the guy who was the lead singer of the Dictators, this famous punk band from the '70s. He’s known as “Handsome” Dick Manitoba, and sometimes he’s there on weekends. There are tons of punk rock photos on the walls, pictures of the Ramones, David Johansen, and David Bowie. It’s got great atmosphere. Downstairs they have air hockey, and the jukebox is one of the best in town. It’s a great mix of punk rock and oldies. You can play the Monkees, then you can play Motörhead.

Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 7 Ave. A
Website: n/a

Roger Says: The jukebox at the Library is great. Nick, the owner, that's his baby. He stocked it with everything from the Descendents, to the Pretenders, to Nirvana, to Weezer. It’s by far my favorite jukebox in the whole city, no doubt about it; it beats Manitoba’s, and I love that jukebox.

Every time I'm there, I always feel the need to play “Angel of Death,” by Slayer. For a speed metal song, it’s kind of catchy.

Neighborhood: Rockaway Beach
Address: 1-55 Beach 95th St.
Website: facebook.com/connollysrockawaybeach

Roger Says: Connolly’s is only open in the summer and on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a surfer bar where tons of firemen and police officers drink. There are pictures on the walls of the lifeguards of Rockaway Beach, and they must have some kind of Best Body Contest because they have pictures of all of the winners inside. And the piña coladas, they’re ridiculous. I don’t drink too many piña coladas, but these are the real deal. They're strong. You can taste the rum.

Neighborhood: Hell's Kitchen
Address: 627 9th Ave.
Website: rudysbarnyc.com

Roger Says: The beer at Rudy's is cheap, there's a giant pig out front, and the hot dogs are free. You don’t get a free lunch too often anymore, but just ask the bartenders, “Hey, can I have a hot dog?,” and they give you one for free. It’s a true dive, but the bartenders are always nice, pretty attentive. If I’m there, it's because I'm going to see a show nearby and have a couple of minutes to kill. It’s just that kind of place.

Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Address: 317 East Houston St.
Website: parksidelounge.net

Roger Says: I found Parkside Lounge through my buddy “Magic Brian.” He’s a performance artist and escape artist, and he does variety shows there. I’ve sat at Parkside for two hours and watched contortionists, magicians, and burlesque. When the show's over, you go to the bar and they have a good selection of beers and a good jukebox. I really love the neon sign outside. I hope that they never, ever get rid of it.

Neighborhood: South Street Seaport
Address: 228 Front St.
Website: jeremysalehouse.com

Roger Says: It’s one of the last places in New York City where you can get a 32-ounce Styrofoam cup of beer. There are stickers for different unions all over the walls. It’s a real working man's bar, but with great food. Good onion rings, homemade potato chips, burgers. It’s no frills, with old tables and people that are there to party and drink big beers. Whenever I have friends in town, I try to take them to Jeremy's.

Neighborhood: Astoria, Queens
Address: 2257 31st St.
Website: n/a

Roger Says: It’s your basic neighborhood bar. There’s something about it, though. Once, I was there on my birthday and this older woman from the neighborhood who was drinking with her friend overheard that it was my birthday and she bought me a beer. O'Hanlon's is friendly like that. Usually, someone will be playing Irish music on the jukebox. It brings you back to a different time in New York City.

Neighborhood: Astoria, Queens
Address: 24-01 29th St.
Website: thesparrowtavern.com

Roger Says: The Sparrow is right across the street from the beer garden, Bohemian Hall, making it a good overflow place. The must surprising thing about the bar is the great food. I think Guy Fieri actually visited there with his show, and patrons weren’t happy about it because they didn’t want to draw attention to the bar. It has an East Village feel—it's dark and they play metal and punk. When I was living in Queens, if I didn’t feel like schlepping all the way downtown, the Sparrow was a good alternative to catch that same feel. And the bonus was, if you ordered a hamburger, it was actually good.