Los Angeles's Best Dive Bars

Los Angeles might be the capital of conspicuous consumption, but the other cliché about 'La La Land'-that it's a cultural wasteland-couldn't be further from the truth. For every 'Extreme Makeover-Club Edition' (in which would-be impresarios continually swankify their establishments in a relentless quest to be 'the' hot spot du jour), there is a well-worn drinking hole full of history, serving up a far more elusive and seductive mix of stiff drinks, loose atmosphere and keep-it-real regulars. In Los Angeles' Best Dive Bars, you'll get the scoop and the poop on the city's liveliest, lowlife n' liquor-soaked landmarks. This essential booze bible has the lowdown on which bars serve free food, which have great-and not so great-karaoke, bars that appear in your favorite movies and much, much more. Whether you're looking for a friendly spot where 'everybody knows your name,' a filthy blackened cave where nobody ever will, a gently-gentrified hole specked with dive-obsessed hipsters or a dusty relic full of hip-replacements, you're sure to find a spot to soak up-and get soaked in-here in these pages.