That Place in Greenwood-- Dr. Jekyll by Day, Hyde at Night!

I think the official name is now just That Place, since technically it's not in Greenwood now that they moved into the big strip mall on Emerson north of County Line Road.  That's a good thing if you're worried about being stopped by the cops-- The Indy Metro PD is much busier and more thinly spread than the Greenwood constabulary just across the county line, so if you're headin' north you might not even see one copper on your way home.  That Place is a Big Place which looks like it could seat maybe 400 people (wait a minute, the Fire Marshal's sign may read 252, if I remember right.  Anyway, it's big.) It's a true sports bar, with something like 13 satellite TV screens including a movie-sized projection screen on the wall behind the big ol' bandstand, tuned to every kind of sport imaginable. They have NTN game consoles, too, so you can play trivia quizzes if that particular screen isn't being monopolized by card game players.  Damn that Texas Hold'em!  There is something for everyone, like pool tables, arcade games, and a side room that has a two-lane miniature bowling alley! (Remember duckpin bowling?  Yeah, it's kinda like that.)  There is a humidor if''n you like your seegars, and a wall of maybe 15 draft beer taps with brews ranging from the usual Americans to exotic imports and local microbrews (the Sun King Oktoberfest is yummy!).   During the day the spaciousness of the place is rather intimate, like being one of the special insiders who get to roam Disneyworld when the park is closed.  At night, though, That Place is a happenin' place, as in if you aren't careful how you speak to people or whom you bump into, somethin' might be happenin' to YOU!  It gets pretty crowded, and although the high ceilings may mitigate the cigar smoke, the lack of acoustic padding combined with the hard non-carpeted concrete floors make my conversations go something like "HUH?  WHAT?" and that's when the band's not playing. (But then, that's how most of conversations go anyway.)  I understand, though, that you young people kinda like that sort of atmosphere, right?  Ha! Hey, the bar food's good all the time, at least.....

LJ's-- an old traditional watering hole.

LJ's, on Meridian Street south of Sumner (I think) is what you see in your mind when you think of "old fashioned dive bar."  It's kind of dark inside, has a big mirror behind the bar, and has a small dance floor and bandstand for use on the weekends.  Larry Johnson, the namesake owner, sadly passed away recently, but last I heard his wife and a couple regulars who became investors are now running the place. Larry renovated what used to be Lucky's, or Fonza's, or Doc Gainey's, or one of those names, some years ago when he bought it-- put in a number of new fixtures, new restrooms, and a deck/beer garden out back.  The restroom renovation was a little too ambitious:  they put two urinals and a stall in a space smaller than my bathroom at home-- being a 6-footer, when I sit down and close the stall door my knees touch it, and once a drunk at the urinal rocked backward and stepped on my foot!  Otherwise the place is pretty comfortable, with decent beer and drink prices, cheap if not memorable pub grub, and fairly friendly service.  The crowd varies from blue-collar types to some upper middle-class golfer types.  All in all I like the place, but it just doesn't inspire me like some others....