The bar you're most comfortable at may be the best bar in America, and USA Today is helping curate community establishments for visiting and local imbibers alike.
The nationwide paper just debuted its list of the best bars in America for 2024, naming 27 spots that may not appear on other lists. That is, these spots aren't pretentious and necessarily vying for accolades and awards; they're neighborhood haunts that do what they do best across America: Serve drinks in a space guests want to spend time in.
To create the list, USA Today surveyed local contributors from its network of hundreds of local newspapers, picking the spots that food writers who live and drink in their own neighborhoods prefer to frequent.
"These bars are the places we love—a mix of old, new and in-between. They’re places with stories to tell, places that should be on your bucket list when you travel and your favorites list where you live," USA Today prefaced the list with.
The list extends from coast to coast, with plenty of venues in between.
Two Arizona spots made the list, Barcoa Agaveria in Phoenix and Boycott Bar, also in Phoenix, and the only lesbian bar in the Southwest United States, one of less than 40 lesbian bars across the country. Another lesbian bar, The Lipstick Lounge in Nashville, also made the list
Florida has two bars on the list: the 110-year-old Gator Club in Sarasota and Flora-Bama, a beach bar in Perdido Key.
While New York City establishments typically top mixology lists, the two chosen spots for this list are farther upstate: Saints and Scholars in Yonkers and Radio Social in Rochester. Nearby, the dog-friendly Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey was also named a top bar.
The Midwest features prominently on the list. Top spots include Law Bird in Columbus, Ohio; Longfellow in Cincinnati; Bryant's Cocktail Lounge in Milwaukee; Sam's Silver Circle in Indianapolis; Hello, Marjorie in Des Moines; Paramita Sound in Detroit; Edna's in Oklahoma City; Bryant's Cocktail Lounge in Milwaukee; and Neat Bourbon Bar & Bottle Shop in Louisville, which are all considered some of the best drinking spots in America.
As for big cities, Sahara Lounge in Austin earned a spot, as did L Street Tavern in Boston, Bloomsday Cafe in Philadelphia, and Hey Love in Portland, Oregon.