In the quaint fishing town of Point Arena, CA, there was mysterious bar which looked tattooed & dive in stature, but when we gave it a chance, and entered. Â We were transported. Â (All dates should be like this.)
Hmmm....or maybe I should start like this: Â three Indians walk into a bar.
Nah....I know: Â "THE DEVOLVED MARGARITA"
Yes. Â Those words were scribbled on the mirror behind the bar (along with a cartoon face which had a cool twisty moustache, which was soon replaced by a REAL face, with even a MORE REAL (& cooler) twisty moustache).
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So on a windy April coastal night in Northern California, my brother, one of my sisters, and I were camping at Manchester Beach(<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/manchester-state-campground-manchester#hrid:tJxOSFDktnoKU9wTKeeDeA">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>).  We just finished eating s'mores.  The stars sparkled down on us.  A lighthouse pulsed at us.  For some reason, we should be blowing up Thermarests and tuckering in for the night.  Instead we jumped in my brother's pony, listened to 80s music from space, and walked up to the bar at Sign Of The Whale.
We assumed it was a simple dive bar, but when we sat at the bar, we could tell there was magic....and chemistry.
I had to know what a "devolved margarita" was. Â
The barkeep twisted his moustache with his fingers. Â "Are you ready? Â OK. Â Give me a sec to set you up." Â Before I knew it, I had a pint glass in front of me. Â Twisty Moustache then put an aqueous solution of some type in the glass (he mentioned a chemical compound, but I can't remember). Â Then a strainer was placed on top of the glass. Â Then a pink gooey glob was dropped on the strainer. Â "Ok, give this a few minutes and watch." Â
Whaaaat????
The gooey glob slowly & literally dripped through the strainer. Â Each drip splashed into the clear liquid and maintained it's spherical form. Â The drips looked ever the staring role of Alien. Â Over minutes a pile of these little spheres piled in the bottom of this glass. Â What were we witnessing? Â
!!  The birth of Cointreau Caviar  !!
After we had enough Caviar, they were taken away. Â And then I was presented with a plate which contained: Â
o Small sake carafe of tequila (& shot glass)
o Dehydrated orange slices
o Saucer of Cointreau Caviar
If I am recalling this right, I believe the procedure was one would take an orange slice, spoon a few caviar onto it, eat it, and then drink some tequila (and then probably pray to some sort of god). Â
I was blown away by the entire experience. Â It all seemed like a dream. Â We were supposed to be sleeping on the beach. Â Instead we were having some of the most interesting drinks we've ever had. Â There was another notable drink which involved burning something in a glass skull and a liquor was then placed in the skull and then the skull was shaken to infuse the smoke into the liquor. Â Everything we had sent us to some molecular chemistry lab.
Totally unforgettable.  We drove back to our tents on the beach mesmerized and pleased.  Our evening was just capital (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DSvufVjnGv9A&s=04f2ca1566b6437547250ed617c6a95031b2165650a771b78f7fc38dab19e2f8" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/w…</a>).
.
.
.
Or maybe it was all a dream.
HORRIBLE SERVICE !! Man behind the bar would not serve us as we were from out of town and told us so to our faces! We sunk 30 bucks into the juke box only for him to promptly turn it off and tell us it was now broken!  We were staying at the INN in town and only went up to play some pool and have a few drinks  but quickly left after such a horrible experience! It was also dirty the restrooms were disgusting.
Though I will say the peopl inside were sympathetic and friendly and were flabbergasted by the bartenders attitude with us. They tried to explain that he was grupmy due to a divorce but WOW to treat paying customers in such a way was un called for and just plain rude. Â I believe the bartenders name was John but he could have been lying for all we know!
DONT BOTHER WASTING YOUR MONEY HERE GO ACROSS THE STREET!
After an adventurous day on Hwy 1 between Mendocino & Santa Rosa we stopped here for a couple of drinks.
Pretty sure we were the only non locals, and were greeted with open arms. Granted those with open arms were loaded, but still somewhat charming.
Drinks were good, cheap, and it was a lively bunch. I'm sure I'll stop the next time I'm passing through.
When Hughless is bartending, and the place is not very busy, easily 5 stars. When the other dude is, 3. When the other dude is, and its busy, maybe 2. Think like 20 minutes to get a drink, an unfriendly and not very well made drink. While being constantly cut in "line" by whatever hideous creature is wearing the shortest skirt.
The bar itself is cool. weird decor in the back, but its got pooltables and the bar is pretty. Hughless likes to hone his mixology expertise by putting drink suggestions from antique drink recipe books  up on the mirror - ask him about them sometime. Great place for pregaming a movie nextdoor...
Local hangout with some class.
Hung out here one afternoon in July '06 with some people we just met. Â Had a fun time with the 5 people there.
Cool thing they do (or at least did): you can buy a drink for someone who is not there. Â They write who it is for, what you bought them, and who it's from on the mirror behind the bar. Â Then when they come in, they get what you bought them.
We met a cool guy who gave us a tour of the theater next door. Â So later we decided to come back and buy him a drink. Â Then as we were buying it for him, he walked in. Â So we hung out for a while longer and met some more of the locals there.
Fun time had by all.
Good drinks at local town prices.
When there was more than one bar in Point Arena, the owners would call each other every night, and they'd coordinate which place would close. The owners and their patrons would then saunter over to the place designated to stay open, and gather with the rest of the crowd to finish off the evening with friends.
While there's only one place in town left, The Whale keeps that old school charm and hosts loads of locals. I'd suggest forgoing the standard beer and well drinks, and asking for one of the special cocktails. Must double that the barman is fantastic. They're also serving fabulous fusion tapas a few nights a week, now.
Full disclosure: this place has been in my family for decades.
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