Oh, get over yourself. Don't act like you have a problem with hipsters. If you're reading this blog, you probably have at least a few points against you in that category. (Or else you were trying to read about the Trinity River and came here on accident, in which case, keep reading so you don't end up at any of these places.)
Let's face it: There's nothing wrong with hipsters, and goddamn if we don't like going to the same bars they do.
So let's embrace it, shall we? These 10 bars (plus one) are the perfect refuge when you need a place to twirl you mustache, contemplate tacky art and drink Lone Star in peace, all while looking très cool doing it.
In spite of our Dallas-centric predilections, we have to admit, there are some pretty strong hipster bar candidates over in the Panther City. From the Chat Room to Corporate Image, Bull and Bush and -- this writer's sentimental favorite -- the Royal Falcon, it's a tough choice. But at the end of the day, there's no place that can match the lure of The Boiled Owl. Between the karaoke nights, the drink specials and the top-notch bartenders, no bar in Fort Worth can compete with the Owl. It's even a good time in the middle of the day. Where else can you grab a beer with random folks, and watch things like Gymkata and seasons of Shameless? Jaime-Paul Falcon
909 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth, facebook.com/theboiledowl
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This jukebox bar is a retro and color-lit hipster hideaway for those in self-imposed exile from the nauseating mainstream. It's a place so hipster that its patrons think J.D. Salinger was too bourgeois. (It's a dad reference, you probably don't get it.) So hipster that they've outgrown vinyl and evolved to cassette tapes again.
The bar's deliciously greasy pizza is (without any hint of irony) to die for, and you may find some of the coolest musicians in Dallas in a jam session on the patio. It's also one of the friendliest places in Dallas; lonely souls who stand around awkwardly checking their Instagram feed for the fifth time will likely receive a sincere invitation to join a group. Eva Raggio
1212 Skillman St., Dallas, cosmosbar.com
8. Double Wide and Single Wide
The OG version is mecca, and it's as kitschy as they come. This place has cartoonish murals of country gods and toilets re-purposed as accent furniture. You'll also find plenty of cool kids with tattoos that don't mean anything (they're just art, man). The name Double Wide -- as in a trailer -- is ironic, because everyone who goes here grew up upper-middle class. And of course, there's the famous cocktail, the Yoo-hoo Yeehaw, a White Russian made with Yoo-hoo.
Owner Kim Finch didn't stop with Double Wide though -- its little sibling on Lower Greenville is no slacker either (or maybe it's a total slacker), with the type of decor you'd except in the crib of a guy named Buford. Thankfully, the company is infinitely more pleasant. H. Drew Blackburn
3510 Commerce St. and 2110 Greenville Ave., Dallas, double-wide.com, facebook.com/single-wide
Lee Harvey's is not concerned with the way it looks. From the shabby leather couches to the creaking floors on the deck, it's the Mary-Kate Olsen of bars, and hence just as hipster. The Old West structure could easily moonlight as a haunted house around Halloween. There are enough picnic tables on the patio to fit everybody in your poetry group (or any other hipster circle of choice), where you can argue endlessly about whether Warhol was denouncing or glorifying consumerism. (The real answer is pretty obscure.)
The food is cheap, the drinks are strong and the live music is always free, but most important, hipsters will find it is safely far away from the blinding deluge of Deep Ellum poseurs. Eva Raggio
1807 Gould St., Dallas, leeharveys.com
Imagine any hipster aesthetic: Bohemian, wabi sabi, quaint, etcetera, and that's the Oak St. Drafthouse in Denton. It's a bar that sits squarely inside a house on the corner. When you walk up to OSDH (you've seen the shirts in Denton), you step up to the stoop where the door guy is checking IDs.
OSDH feels more like a house party than it does a bar, what with the house itself and the enormous patio area where most people end up (to play Cards Against Humanity, smoke cigarettes and hang with their dogs). That said, OSDH is popular for another reason: their insane beer selection. They have just about everything you could ask for. If you're a microbrewery snob, OSDH is for you. James Khubiar
308 E. Oak St., Denton, oakstreetdrafthouse.com
Could there be a bar more hipster than one that's a combination bar and record store? Well, maybe if that bar also sold fedoras, or were a haberdashery. You get the point, though. Off the Record is trying to get "hipster" on lockdown, and they're checking off all the right boxes: The best liquor selection in Deep Ellum, a lecture series about music and events like crate-digging speed dating. (Sorry, we had to adjust our Warby Parkers to make sure we read that correctly.)
But you won't find us complaining. Sure, it's a little pretentious, but it's where you're most likely to find us when we need a break from bouncing betweens concerts along Elm St. Jeff Gage
2716 Elm St., Dallas, facebook.com/otrdallas
It might be the most self-consciously decorated bar in North Texas, and it's host to the most self-consciously attired clientele in North Texas too, but with cocktails this excellent, I couldn't care less. Hell, I've even fallen for all its kitschy accoutrements (a few too many Chartreuse-laden libations will do that), and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't spent more than my fair share of dizzy hours at that ol' wooden chessboard.
OK, fuck it, I'll tip my hand. Denton's Paschall Bar is my favorite watering hole in DFW hands down, no question. And if you have any reservations yourself, find Thomas at the bar (he's the one hiding behind that red handlebar mustache) and he'll be more than happy to sort you out. Jonathan Patrick
122 N. Locust St., Denton, facebook.com/paschallbar
Don't be an asshole, and fucking keep your goddamn swearing down when you walk into Dallas' favorite dive. Get a cheap draft or pay for some set-ups because you brought your own bottle, and load up some Freddie Fender on the jukebox. Then sit back and watch as the denizens of East Dallas wander in one by one, looking for the solace in another's plight and the shared residency in the one neighborhood guaranteed to lose power in even the nicest weather.
Oh, and tip your bartenders well; those ladies are true treasures of this city. Jaime-Paul Falcon
1613 Greenville Ave., Dallas
Here's the way it goes: Deep Ellum is Dallas' Williamsburg and Bishop Arts is the city's Bushwick or Fort Greene or whatever neighborhood in that shit-hole city those subway-riding thugs think is "happening" right now. Ten Bells Tavern looks like some massive aluminum shed, but what lies inside are affordable food and drinks, and the eats are criminally good for bar food. Once more, the folks have a "hipster" section on their drink menu for the PBR enthusiasts.
I visited this bar during the dog days of the summer and saw a pre-pre-pubescent girl do stand-up in front of a bunch of beer and mixed drink-swilling millennials during a trivia night. She was hilarious and Marnie, Jessa, Shosh and Hannah definitely Instagrammed the adorable moment. H. Drew Blackburn
232 W. 7th St., Dallas, tenbellstavern.com
Way back in 2013 Esquire named the Windmill Lounge one of the best bars in America, and it fucking damn near ruined it for those of us who enjoyed having a nice, quiet well-made drink amongst others in the know while some quality music played from the jukebox. Of course with time being a flat circle and all that, the fever for the place has died down, and now the clientele is a mixture of long-time regulars and Dallas hipsteratti. Granted, now that we've put the place on this list it's sure to see another uptick in -- oh fuck it, who are we kidding? Even we're not that self-delusional. Jaime-Paul Falcon
5320 Maple Ave., Dallas, windmill-lounge.com
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