bars

The theater/bar Hollywood Bar & Filmworks on South Meridian Street passed away in 2006, and we’re still in denial. With huge vintage movie posters on the wall and high-top tables, the place had the grimy charm of a comedy club.

Champions were chosen based on the following criteria, with each bar rated on a scale from 1 to 10: visual appeal, creativity/originality, inventiveness of ingredients, and the balance of flavors and taste.

The Aristocrat presented “a refreshing cocktail that reminded us fondly of limoncello and summer evenings on the front porch swing.” Congrats to the victor, and to all of the mix-off’s participating bars.

Three simple ingredients—vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice—go into the Moscow Mule, yet every bar makes this trendy cocktail its own. Our stubborn Mule aficionados found the best.

Step 1: a successful background check. If you’re not a felon, you’ve aced the first requirement.

Tini’s Raintini is made of Absolut acai berry vodka, violet liqueur, limoncello, lime juice, and muddled blueberries, paired with head-bopping Beyonce vids.

The approachable yet amplified bar played host to droves of Super Bowl visitors, including dozens of A-listers.

Editor’s Note, June 22, 2012: Sensu announced early this month that it will no longer serve dinner. It will, however, remain an upscale nightclub and special-event venue, with Asian-inspired catering services available.   You get the sense, stepping off Meridian Street into the vaulted pleasure palace of Sensu, another in Jeremiah Hamman’s growing portfolio of […]

“As all of us change, this place stays the same. Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to get in here. And one of the first times I bartended, my grandfather was sitting at the end of the bar watching everything I did. Which was intimidating. I just wish he could see me back there now.”