The Original Coney Island

I think this place was only open during the Republican National Convention and only with drinks and bottles.  I had just finished working the convention and so a bottle of beer was fine by me!  It has a great space, and a terrific bar.  I'd love to see them make it into something... but it seems like it has generationally lazy owners or something.  Maybe like people just sitting on property... it doesn't really make sense to me... but I think they said that's what they're doing.

After a couple hours of chanting: "who's streets? OUR streets!" and "who is a terrorist? BUSH is a terrorist", the whole protest thing got a little old for me. Sure, I could do it for another couple of hours and maybe I'd get lucky enough to get maced in the face, but I'm an impatient man.

But I remembered I was in St. Paul which I rarely am, and a couple of my Yelp brethren has raved about The Original Coney Island, open only for a couple days. Hey, I like classic bars. Hey, I'm sick of waiting for a boot in the face. Let's do it.

Now, there was kind of a large police contingent between me and where this bar was. They were trying very hard to steer people, especially people with mohawks, in a very different direction. I had to go track down my bike and ride very much out of my way to wind up here.

I walked inside and immediately picked up on the "nighthawks at the diner" vibe. It was a little place with some classic vibe going on. Unfortunately, I found several factors displeasurable.

Most of these are likely due to their "temporary" status. The liquor and beer selection were lacking (no tap beers at all).

I arrived around 7pm, a little too early I figure. It was a weird crowd. Older, but not professional. Kind of like the people I'd expect in an up-north bar. Some were pretty damn drunk already. The lights seemed to be too bright, about the opposite of what I'm looking for.

Don't get me wrong. This place has potential. Big time potential. It seems like it could be a great joint to roll into at the end of the night. Classy, a little old school.

And perhaps most importantly, it's across the street from Mickeys Diner! Can you imagine closing your night out here, then stumbling over to Mickey's? I wan't OCIT in business for no other reason than that.

I hated to give it 2 stars now, but nothing really worked out tonight. May I stress the great potential here? This place could be something special. Go for it! Don't half ass me.

Wow!  I was walking back to my car after a show at the Fitzgerald last night, and came across a bar I'd never seen before.  It had such an awesome deserted, "Nighthawks" look to it, I had to stop in.  High-ceilinged cavernous room with 1930's deco bar on the right, and a line of plain wooden booths on the left.  No art on the walls, other than some 8x10 black and white photos of St. Paul landmark buildings.  The whole place smelled a little like City Salvage - like everything in there had been left in place, untouched, for decades.  The building is the oldest commercial building in Minnesota - erected in 1858, and  used as an armory in the Civil War era.  I was amazed that I hadn't heard of this place before.  It has such a speakeasy vibe, and is the perfect spot for a quiet drink at the end of a raucous evening before you slip home and call it a night.  I would move to downtown St. Paul just so I could call this my neighborhood bar.
So you ask, "Then why only three stars?"  and that is a valid question.  The answer:  If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a tease.  This Shangri-freaking-La of watering holes is open for a grand total of seven days.  Just for the RNC, and then it's shuttered again while the descendants of the Original Coney Island Proprietors try to make it financially feasible to open up again permanently.  I await their success with bated breath, and will adjust my rating accordingly as soon as I know I can come here year-round to find a fantastic drink in a fantastic atmosphere.