326 Spring Street
New York, NY 10013
(212) 226-9060
http://www.earinn.com

Food: Yes
Live Music: Yes
Hours: Monday—Sunday 12pm-4am
Type of Bar: Pub
What to Drink: Shot of Jameson and a Guinness
Why You Should Go: One of the oldest bars in the United States, serving continuously since online slots 1833, brothel and grog shop for the waterfront

One of the oldest continually operating bars in New York, aside from Bridge Cafe, the Ear Inn is a true piece of history. The building houses it was constructed in 1817 by a African-American Revolutionary War veteran named James Brown.

In 1833 it was sold and has been a bar ever since. It served as a watering hole for an unseemly crowd of river pirates and immigrant gangs of New York, but is now a favorite and trendy watering hole for nearby SOHO.

12808 Victory Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91606
(818) 769-0708
http://www.tongahut.com 

There are tiki bars and then there are tiki bars. And then there is the Tonga Hut!

The Tonga Hut is located at 12808 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, CA. What makes this place so fantastic is the fact that it is the oldest surviving tiki bar in the LA area. Two brothers founded this joint in 1958 after they were inspired by a trip to Tonga.

6245 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 462-5890
http://youtu.be/a9jmCNiTDjQ

There isn't a lot of "original" in Hollywood. Sure they celebrate the throwback,
with films like L.A. Confidential and others (which actually show a director's version of what actually happened there years before) but real, authentic Hollywood? Nah. It really doesn't exist anymore.

Well, that's what we thought anyway when we rolled into town. Turns out though, that on Hollywood Boulevard there's more "real" about five blocks east of Highland than all of the stuff they try to force down your throat at the Kodak Theater.

118 E. 6th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 622-4090
http://www.colesfrenchdip.com

Type of Bar: Café
Food: Yes
Live Music: No
Bar Hours: Sunday—Wednesday, 11:30am-12:00am,
Thursday—Saturday, 11:00am-2:00am
What to Drink: Red Car Named Desire
Why You Should Go: Real, genuine Los Angeles history
(not a lot of that around anymore), superb craft cocktails,
and the tasty French dip.

Cole's P.E. (Pacific Electric) Buffet was founded in 1908 as a stop for hungry getting on and off trains above at the Pacific Electric Building, which was the hub for the Red Car line of trains that shuttled people throughout the LA area up until the 1950's.

Cole's is particularly famous for inventing the French Dip sandwich--though there have been a couple of other locations to claim the same but Cole's story is particularly compelling.