As our sister blog Eating...Our Words does, from time to time Rocks Off will be giving your our picks for the top taverns in various Houston-area neighborhoods. Of course, the lines can be porous, but here anything with a TABC license that cannot reasonably be considered either a restaurant, coffeehouse or live-music venue is fair game.
10. BLUR BAR Blur definitely lives up to its name, thanks to the three bars this giant club houses within its music-bumping walls. This place hides tons of nooks and crannies, so if you're not up for watching the impromptu Beyonce dance-off (yes, those happen here, often), you've got plenty of places to escape the chaos on the upstairs dance floor.
Most of Blur's diverse patrons are there to dance their pretty little asses off, so if you're not, you'll probably have one of the balconies all to yourself. But we suggest you at least try to bust a move, because the dance floor gets so packed there's not a chance anyone else will notice if you've got two left feet.
710 Pacific, 713-529-3447, blurbar.com
9. TC'S PREMIERE SHOW BAR Want to check out one of the best drag shows the city has to offer? TC's has definitely earned that "Show Bar" moniker the old-fashioned way -- their shows are damn near legendary at this point. The crowd is always so friendly, too. There's no pretentiousness here; it's just a bar with an extremely talented group of performers and customers who appreciate that. Oh, and the drinks are dirt-cheap, but that's just a bonus when you have shows this fabulous.
817 Fairview, 713-526-2625, Facebook page
8. THE USUAL PUB Air hockey? Check. Picnic benches? Check. Dog-friendly? Check and double-check. The Usual is a comfortable place for everyone to hang out, no matter what your orientation, a little like Cheers with better decor and a better beer selection. It's casual, gay-friendly, and the Internet jukebox provides endless possibilities. In short, we could live there, especially with the selection of microbrews.
5519 Allen, 281-501-1478, theusualpub.com
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