Top Three Dive Bars in Philadelphia

Sometimes you really need a drink without dealing with the South Street crowd of tourists, the college kids in Center City, or the hipsters in Northern Liberties, sometimes you don't want great food or ass-kissing service, but just a beer. These are the three best places in Philadelphia to get just that.

McGlinchey's Bar & Grill is a dark and smoky little spot between Spruce and Locust on 15th Street that looks and smells like it crawled out of a Bukowski novel and can only be described as "it is what it is". If you're looking for service with a smile and a waitress that will check in on you every few minutes, this is not your bar, and they don't want you there. But, it's the perfect spot to grab a smoke (indoor smoking is allowed) and a drink alone or hold a long, uninterrupted conversation over a pitcher of beer (if you don't mind the long wait for the server to notice you). Apparently they have 75 cent hot dogs, but I'll never try one. Despite how negative my review may sound, the bartender's growl for last call is my favorite way to end the night.

The El Bar in Fishtown can be found, as its name suggests, under the Market-Frankford line on the corner of Front and W Master under the Market-Frankford line and is, in my opinion, one of the best spots in the city. The bartenders are funny but not fake, the jukebox is pretty loaded, there's a pool table, and, best of all, a backyard filled with a graveyard of stools and chairs. My suggestion is to grab a few friends, a citywide $3 pounder and shot of whiskey, and sit in the backyard. It's a little too small for the bands that occasionally play inside, but when it's nice out, you should be enjoying the warm night air and the rumble of the train anyway.

12 Steps Down (http://www.12stepsdown.com/) is right on the corner of 9th and Christian in the Italian Market. I will get it out of the way that my favorite part about 12 Steps is that they have Jawbreaker's Dear You on the jukebox and that when I put in five dollars to play the entire album nonstop, the bartender sings along instead of glaring at me. Bartenders with great taste in music aside, 12 Steps also has a pool table, a projection screen that's always playing the night's game or a weird horror movie, and dollar PBR pounders on Sundays without the South Street crowd you get at Tattooed Moms. They also have great food, including grilled cheese sliders with tomato chutney and nachos with chili.