Olympic Club

• 2 pints McMenamin's Oktoberfest - Olympic Club, Centralia, WA

The Olympic Club could be one of the best bars I've ever been to in my life. It was opened in 1908, before Prohibition, (there are tunnels underneath the bar where bootleggers would hide their illiegal liquids), but reopened in 1997 by the McMenamin brothers (which I'm sorry about). But the best thing is that it's probably one of the least "McMenamized" of the brother's properties. It has an original potbelly stove that heats the entire bar (and the terrific smell of burning wood), an incredible backbar that dates from the early 20th century and the men's urinals are so big that I could easily fall into them and never return. There is leaded glass, pool tables, secretive balconies, outside seating, traintracks within 50 feet, and genuine swiveley bar stools. If ever there was a place to take a shot of whiskey with a Rainier back, shoot some pool and smoke a pack of Camels, this is it.