See Art and Do Laundry at the Exposition's Bar of Soap in Dallas

Called a "must-visit" nightspot in Dallas by the local paper, a Laundromat/bar is the hip happening place for some and is a new soul mate for laundry.

The Exposition's Bar of Soap, nicknamed "a cozy, artsy bar and occasional live-music venue that also happens to be a place to do your wash, enables people to soap up their suds while jamming to Gothic punk band Sub City Vamp," according to The Dallas News.

"As Deep Ellum continues to morph from fringe to mainstream, its edgier factions are migrating a wee bit east to Exposition Park…thirties storefronts - some shaded by trees, others with views of monumental Fair Park, house a smattering of businesses: cafes, clubs, art galleries, a vintage clothing store…and at Bar of Soap, a watering hole come washateria you can sip some suds while you wash your duds," wrote a local magazine.

The Bar of Soap, dubbed an "ingenious and imaginative bar," is located at 3615 Parry Avenue in Dallas and admission is free though you do have to pay to do your laundry. Hours are noon to 2 a.m. daily.

On Friday and Saturday nights are local and touring alternative music and you can schedule an art show if interested.

At the Laundromat area are 32 hard-working Maytags and arcade games and detergents and quarters are available at the bar.

For more information, call 214-823-6617.

At the Newport Bar & Grill in Chicago, you can say, "Tap me another barkeep while I check the dryer."

For those not fortunate enough to have laundry facilities in their building, the bar offers a respite. Also known as the Saga Launder Bar & Café, they offer up several ales on tap and great food.

"This was helpful one night when I did, count 'e m, nine loads of laundry," said one patron. "The Newport makes the arduous chore of doing your laundry far more pleasant."

One winner of a Yahoo! Internet Café Award was a unique Laundromat/Internet site in San Francisco, CA called Brain Wash which has comedy, poetry, and bands. The kitchen closes at ten but they have take-out and you can try culinary delights such as Wash Load Nachos, a Flat-Iron Chicken Sandwich, Coin-Op Omelet, or Wash Day Blues Blueberry Pancakes.

The facility also has drop-off laundry service and they sell laundry bags, baseball hats, and t-shirts.

At The Laundry Bar in Miami Beach, FL the motto is "Your clothes get washed while you get sloshed" and it's the only place in club land, according to one reviewer, where it
is okay to "Let friends drink and dry." If you're really going to do your laundry here, weeknights are the time to do it because the weekend crowd is said to be as out of control as a full washing machine, bubbles and all. The music is reputed to be good and the bar is gay but straight-friendly.

"Public Laundromats while hellish in nature, are abundant in Seattle where I live," said Matt who goes to Sit n' Spin, a laundry/café/nightclub.

At Louisiana Tech in Ruston, LA there's a place called "Fun-o-Mat where more beer is said to be drank than laundry washed.

At the Spin City Launderette & Coffee Bar in Noe Valley, CA you can enjoy a state-of-the-art Laundromat with 16 single-load washing machines, seven triple-loaders, a giant loader, and 18 dryers. A coffee bar is located in the bar's front window and two computers with DSL hook-up sit on a table nearby.

Business partners Rick Eakin and Charlie Harb said they created this laundry oasis because their research revealed a lack of full-service, well-maintained Laundromats in their area. Both of them share an animated interest in the corner where their business resides and since launching Spin City, the two of them have become experts in the art of clothes washing.

The facility is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and washing a load costst $1.25.