Martini's

Ummm, I just don't get it.  Dive bars, I like them just like the next but this place is just down right odd.  Granted, they have a room dedicated to those who love their karaoke, but if you do that 7 days a week, seek help.  The live bands aren't local bands that get any cred, you couldn't get a big crowd in here without breaking a fire code, I'm sure.  It's in the "basement" of a strip mall.  

They serve food, but by the smell of the place alone.... I'd rather eat at TGI Friday's and I hate that place!

The whole place just gives me the creeps.... I'll stick to Danny O's for the dive bar... Thanks.

I like a dive bar as much as the next person, but I don't get the appeal of this place. I know they have a dedicated karaoke room, so apparently that's a big draw. And they do have live music, although, as I've said before, I'd rather a bar just have a kick ass jukebox than a live shitty cover band.

I guess this bar isn't really that bad, but I'm already in a relationship with another dive bar in the area, and coming to Martini's feels like cheating with a less attractive woman who has DSLs.

Ever had that love interest that you were head over heels in love with for no discernible reason? You know, maybe not that pretty or refined, but you knew you would have a blast with?

That's Martinis.

Martinis is the anything but apt name for a dive bar in a shopping plaza in Orange that I've been known to frequent any time I am in Connecticut. The decor is not fancy-- if you have a buddy with a bar in his basement, you pretty much have an idea of how this place looks. In fact, if you park in the front, you even have to go down a flight of stairs to get there.

The drinks are inexpensive, and the food is similarly priced, especially the massive plate of nachos. But the true draw for this bar is Karaoke. There is actually a dedicated room for it, complete with a huge collection of songs, and most times, an encouraging audience. Every night of the week, Martinis features karaoke with the best karaoke DJ you'll ever meet, Jim the Karaoke Pimp. There's a small stage, and Jim gives preference to entertainers over American Idol wannabes, so it rarely devolves into a string of bad renditions of the Bodyguard soundtrack.

The clientle is varied, from regulars like myself (as much as you can be a regular living 90 miles away), to yuppies actually anticipating a martini bar (they never hang around long), to fans of whichever band is playing in the other room that night. As much as you don't often find lookers in dive bars in CT, Martinis surprises now and then with a group of girls slumming to sing some 80's tunes, and it is as refreshing as finding a Bass in the beer bucket at a barbecue amongst all of the Coors light.

Most importantly, there's something magical about Martini's. For some reason, something amazing and outlandish happens every time I'm there, from the occasional scuffle, to a rendition of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" ending with an entire bottle of beer emptied on the shirt of an attractive young lady by her equally attractive cohort.

In short, I love this bar, and I recommend if you are in the area drop by. And if you see a redhead dude singing "Runaround Sue", tell him I told you to give him a high-five.