Rag Doll Bar
My Beloved Hometown of Oakland Park Fl.
Andrews Ave and Prospect Road.

Back in the day, Oakland Park was home to some serious dive bars. Some are still open but most are closed😔

Just to recap a few of these blue-collar saloons:

Buck and Marys, The Owl Nest
Johnny’s
B&W
ITB
The Shamrock Pub
42nd Street Pub (I think is still open)
Mis-Cue Lounge (Still open)
Doc Watson’s
Edelweiss Pub
Charlies Rustic Bay (this wasn’t just blue-collar folks in this pub😎)
Jumping Jacks at the Tracks
Granny’s
Danny’s East
The Hurricane Lounge
Boars Nest (still open)
The Rag Doll

Now to be a true dive a bar needs to have very little light coming in. Similar to a casino, a clock is hard to find, if there is one at all. The inside is not ultra-modern besides TVs and a Jukebox. Most don’t have any “real” food to sell. They offer pull-tab machines or some sort of video game of chance. Budget-friendly cold beer and a heavy pour of liquor drinks. A sassy bartender that doesn’t take any 💩 but is excellent to chat with.

Now Ragdoll has everything I described above and more.

Being open for 54 years there is no way this place has changed much inside. It looks straight out of the 70s. Even Match Game was playing on the TV😳. Beers were 2.80 or so and they do offer a happy hour Monday thru Friday. The draft beers weren’t working when I was there but that’s standard to have something not working at a true dive. Whenever someone walked in the front doors (during the daytime) they looked like a movie star. The glow of the bright sunshine illuminated their entire body but shaded out their facial features. Truly dramatic for sure. I kept waiting for Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday character to walk in.

If you want to take a trip to the way pubs used to be you need to come here. The place has some wear and tear to it but that’s called character. Instead of hitting your regular “bougie” bar hit the Ragdoll and expand your horizons. You will thank me.

Let them know Dan I Cook sent you and Stay Hungry!