Earlier this year, Playboy magazine described a dive bar as:

“A church for down-and-outers and those who romanticize them, a rare place where high and low rub elbows — bums and poets, thieves and slumming celebrities. It’s a place that wears its history proudly.”

Well, get me to the church on time because Aces and Eights Saloon is a great addition to the late-night North London scene. On the corner opposite Tufnell Park tube, this bar is everything a good dive bar should be – loud, dark, full of hard liquor and fun people.

On this particular Thursday, music was thumping and perfectly pitched to old rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities, ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Poison, Guns ‘n Roses to Dylan. Seating in the main bar is mainly wooden high-backed booths, perfect for groups of friends. Or, take a perch at the bar on red velvet stools for a chat or proper barman-therapy. It did take a while for my eyes to adjust to the seriously low lighting, but when they did I loved the wallpapering of retro band posters and what looks like 60’s Playboy centrefolds.

So far so good – let me check more true dive bar evidence:

Jukebox? – check

Pinball machine? – check

Neon drinks signs? – check

Cheap drinks? – check

Suitably sticky menus have a range of bourbon and scotch capable of blowing your socks off. I plumped for the Parma Violence, a dry gin and violet liquor with lemon. Other old-style cocktail classics are available from manhattans to martinis and American lagers include Blue Moon, Goose Island and Brooklyn Lager

Intrigued by the not insubstantial collection of bras dangling above the bar, I had to ask. Great for the credit crunch ladies – it seems a boob flash will earn you a free drink, while donating a bra on a Friday will earn you a bottle of champagne.

Feeling a bit too shy, we decided to try some of the pizza options. They’re great value from £7.95 for a 12 inch or £15.95 for a 16 inch and range from hot and spicy to my favourite, Il Bacio, a parma ham, asparagus, parmesan and rocket number with home-made garlic or chilli oil is on hand to drizzle.

Daily Happy Hour is the perfect excuse for evening drinks, and the late license is an even better excuse to stay. Future plans include converting the basement into a live-music venue early next year.

Check out the Facebook page for future events.

Even neon signs promise Good Times – I can hardly wait.

Welcome to the Day of the Dead.

No, Dia de Los Muertos  is not a cult 70’s horror flick with teenagers massacred in a farmhouse or shopping mall. Rather a celebration of the lives and souls of those dearly departed, on All Hallows and All Souls Day ( 1^st – 2^nd November) in Mexico.

Traditional activities include fiestas or parties with tiny alters of dedication made to loved ones, sometimes with gifts of their favourite food, trinkets, marigolds or toys. In some parts, families visit the graves of the deceased to make their offerings, even hanging out to remember their family members at the graveside. Smiling skeletons are dressed to impress with sugar skulls proffered amidst bold colours and music – the antithesis of sober Christian death rituals.

So, if all this Halloween scary-gumf is getting you down, maybe you need a touch of Dia de Los Muertos humour and heel-kicking good times to perk you up.

Benitos Hat Mexican restaurants in Covent Garden and Goodge Street will be offering just that. From Saturday 30^th October they have special festive finery to get you in the mood, all of which I tried at last night’s preview.

Owner Ben and Head Chef Felipe have created a menu that complements the usual Burritos and Margaritas and is great for sharing with friends.

Vampiro

To start with, a Vampiro cocktail has a hell of a kick ( or is that a kick from Hell?) with tequila punching though a bloody mary-esque cocktail rimmed with salt.

VAMPIRO = 100% Blue Agave Tequileño Tequila, Tomato Juice, Freshly-squeezed orange juice, Freshly-squeezed lime juice, a squeeze of pure agave syrup, a touch of tabasco, Two dashes of Worcestershire sauce, Salt to garnish, Serve over ice

Spooky Sampler

A spooky sample plate has a portion of Nachos supported by yummy spinach and cheese quesadillas and taquitos.

For mains choose Felipe’s vegetarian or pork Festival Tamales presented on crisp banana leaf. The Pork was a winner with the succulent slow baked meat falling away from the doughy insides – delicious!

Tasty Tamales

My favourite thing without a doubt was the Pan De Muerto. Small doughy bread cakes, they look a bit like hot cross buns topped with sesame seeds, cinnamon and sugar, and served with a dipping bowl of chocolate sauce. If you’ve ever tried churros, this is the big brother - stodgier, but oh so good!

Blissful Bread of the Dead

So, get down to one of the two stores this weekend and celebrate your soul food. Remember, on 2^nd November Vampiros will be 2 for 1 and Pan De Muerto will be free to all customers – Hurrah!!

Wooooooohoooooooo! Spooky ghosts and ghoulies!

OK, so it’s the wrong side of Hallowe’en, but I assure you, that doesn’t make Clerkenwell any less spooky. There’s all sorts of ghostly goings on around the area, and we’re going to tell you about them. It’s been a while since Qype have ventured to Clerkenwell, but the story of Scratching Fanny of Cock Lane have got us intrigued and we want to know more.

Our lovely guide Luke, (who I’ve decided to call Spooky Lukey for the evening) will head up the tour and share all of his spooky secrets. He’ll lead us through Bleeding Heart Lane and tell us about Lady Hatton’s dangerous deal with the devil. Sounds brilliant, and there will be lots more spooky tales along the way.

Obviously, you’ll still have costumes left over from Hallowe’en, so if you fancy getting dressed up again, you’re more than welcome. And we will (naturally) end up in a pub at the end of the walk. The walk will last about an hour and a half or so make sure you’ve got sensible shoes on.

And if it rains? Well a little bit will just add to the spooky atmosphere, right? But fear not. We’ll still be meeting at Farringdon Station, and if it gets too treacherous, we’ll head to the pub and tell ghosts stories by an open fire. There’s space for 12-15 of you on the walk, and you just have to hop over to the events forum and get your name down.

See you there!

*insert spooky cackling here*

Flickr image of spooky London from Mathieu Gasnier‘s photostream.