Moe's Starlight Lounge

Dive-y bar.  Not too crowded.  Cheap.  Friendly people.  Add alcohol, and it's the happiest place on earth for the moment.  :)   I think there's a pool table or a ping pong table.  I can't remember!

There's no way I would have known about this place (or gone in) had it not been for a comment scrawled in the guestbook of the hostel where I stayed in Durango - "Don't miss Moe's for dirt(y) cheap martinis!"

Martinis? Cheap? I'm there.

My roommate and I had been wandering around the town with no plans. We had a day to kill and knew no one in town. Solution? Drinking. However, the night was filled with problems.

Problem #1: This place has the most epic martini menu I've ever seen. We're talking about at least five pages of martini options, and they're split into beginner, intermediate, and advanced. A beginner martini would be your average gin martini. Intermediate martinis introduce different liqueurs and interesting add-ins. Advanced martinis? Vodka, beer, and a cigarette. Yes, a cigarette in the martini. Oof. This resulted in the mixing of much liquor and at least 10 minute window after each martini in which I picked what to drink next.

Problem #2: Durango is at a much higher altitude than, say, Washington, DC. Result? Lowered tolerance.

Problem #3: Lowered tolerance + above average alcohol consumption + impromptu salsa lessons on their back patio (ongoing!) Oh, the churning!

Problem #4: Everyone in Durango is so damn friendly. Within 20 minutes we'd become best friends with the bartender, taken mysterious green shots (the contents of which I still do not know), and been told exactly where to go, what to do, and who to meet. As a result we ended up spending three days in town instead of one and spent solid chunks of time drinking, barbecuing, lazing in the sun, rafting on the Animas River, and generally having the best time of our lives.

Oh, and these aren't $9 martinis. They're in the realm of $5. And if they ever run their special mango-jalapeno martini again, make sure you order at least three for me.