Big Nose Kates

I came to Salina, Ks. for a class with the military and stumbled upon this cool bar. It has pictures on the walls of Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp and a lady i'd find out later "Big Nose Kate". Turns out that before the famous showdown at the "O.K." corral and all the adventures in Tombstone, AZ. Wyatte Earp lived in Kansas as a "Law Dog" and Doc Holiday was his good friend. Big Nose Kate was Doc's ol' lady, (the one that sits next to him in the movie when he is playing Chopin and talking in Latin).

Enough with the history lesson. The bar is close to Kansas State University so its filled with a variety of people, the drinks are cheap and the music is surprisingly up to date. Plenty of pool tables, you might get the occasional drunk "Appalachian American" trying to hustle you in pool but other than that its a great bar.

As far as I can tell, this bar has the best beer selection in Salina, with around 30 on tap. About a third of them are macros, but the number of offerings dwarfs every other bar, earning serious brownie points from me.  Also, no beer is more than $4.50 a pint.  You won't find many ultra-obscure brews here, but it's a good value for a bar.

There aren't many traditional stools by the bar itself--the bar is just the place you pick up your drinks, not sit down. The establishment is much brighter and more open than one might expect for a bar.  I think its also the largest bar in Salina. It has a ton of pool tables (voted best pool hall in 2009 by the Salina Journal, and the runner-up for best bar--and the top bar ICE appears to now be closed). There's a patio for smoking (which was granted an exemption by Salina after they passed their recent smoking ban). Glass is not allowed there. The bathrooms are very clean. Woo!

The crowd veers very young here. I think some hooking up goes on here, but it doesn't have the full-out meatmarket feel you fight find in some big city bars. Nor is it primarily a pool hall. Most of the patrons appear to be hanging out together with their friends. Perhaps you'll feel out of place if you're middle aged or older, but I liked the crowd here, and I'm 28.

This would not be an honest review if I did not mention that the staff is quite attractive, especially the ones with glasses (like the guy who gave me a thumbs up when I ordered an Oatmeal Stout, and who I mention so that my girlfriend is not too upset with the end of this sentence), and the young women with short hair, and especially the young women with glasses AND short hair, who dance to karaoke.

Karaoke happens three days a week, and the bar is apparently open until 2 am every night--at least it is Sunday. Fun times.

A friend and I dropped by this place one night when a road trip took us through Salina.

I'm going to give this place the benefit of doubt and give it 3 stars instead of the 2 I had originally planned.

Big Nose Kate's is on the upper level of a building in downtown Salina.   It's a very nice looking bar, divided into two well-decorated rooms with comfortable furniture and a nice patio overlooking downtown.    

Unfortunately during our visit the bar was crowded with fratties and scenesters.    This made it really hard for us to enjoy ourselves.   "This Big Nose blows," said my friend as we bailed.    But we might have liked it better had we not gone there on a Saturday night.