Auditions: the Crucible

Before

short ride recommended · 5 min - Long Beach

A Hungarian barber named Joe Jost opened a shop on Anaheim Street in 1924 and started serving beer on the side, and the family has run it on the same block ever since. Beer comes in a heavy glass schooner, and what people order with it is a pickled egg and a Joe's Special, which is a Polish sausage split and stacked on rye with Swiss and pickle. There are pool tables at the back and peanut shells on the floor. Cash and card both work now but the prices still read like an argument against inflation.

After

short ride recommended · 6 min - Long Beach

A 2nd Street bar that has been pouring since 1979 and claims a hand in inventing the American sports bar, with the old Rams and Raiders memorabilia still nailed up to prove it. Screens cover the walls and the booths face them. The kitchen does a tri-tip sandwich. It runs to two in the morning Thursday through Saturday and opens at nine on weekends for the early games.