Carousel Lounge

Circuses are fascinating. People see them as silly, fun places to take kids and see elephants and funhouse mirrors. Which they are, but they're also places where true rebels of society have traditionally migrated. It's where criminals, contortionists, con artists, pickpockets, strongmen, and self-proclaimed freaks that didn't fit in anywhere else found a home.

The late Ricky Jay was a prestidigitator extraordinaire, scholar of the arcane, Hollywood actor, and world-record card thrower. (He was friends with David Mamet; you may have seen him in 'The Prestige' or 'Boogie Nights'.) He wrote multiple books, including the NYT bestseller 'Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women', in which he profiled circus performers and magicians. Like Matthias Buchinger, a 17th-century German magician who had no arms or legs but did have 4 wives and 14 children. Or Ivan Ivanitz Chabert, the "Really Incombustible Phenomenon," who could climb into a hot oven with raw steaks and emerge with them fully cooked.

So when I visited the @carousellounge—a bring-your-own-liquor, circus-themed dive bar—I found it to be less silly and more punk rock as hell. First of all, how many BYOL joints can you find these days? Not many; they are a rarity. Secondly, walk in with the wrong mix of substances in your system and the visit will quickly devolve into Fear and Loathing in Austin, Texas.

The bar has been open since 1963 and you can still find old-school remnants like a working pay phone and non-working booth jukeboxes. There's a consistent schedule of live music and all sorts of tripped out decor to stare at. I'm not sure if this place would make kids smile or cry.

The liquor policy is as straightforward as doing your taxes on mushrooms and Four Loko, but it's an option. Bring your tax lawyer if you're worried about compliance.

In another timeline, I'd hang out here all the time with Ricky Jay, David Mamet, and David Lynch. We'd talk about how to execute the perfect con or throw a playing card 50 miles an hour. I'd go home with an empty wallet and have nightmares all night long. Perfection.