Fine by Derek Thomas Getting sloshed is fun any time of year, but it s especially nice in the summer. The heat makes you thirsty, the bikinis make you randy, and there s no place better to satisfy both urges than a beach bar. But forget seaside pickup joints serving overpriced pineapple cocktails to drunken stockbrokers in starched Hawaiian shirts.
Nothing kills a midsummer buzz faster.
Herewith, for your imbibing pleasure, a selection of dive bars, where the bad attitude comes cheap, and the ocean view is free. Park by the giant white clamshell and enter this small room barely lighted by multicolored Christmas lights and Italian-bistro candles. Just look for the HBYC on the awning outside that s code for Hermosa Beach Yacht Club, but don t expect to see Young Republicans eating from silver spoons here. You won t smell the chemicals belching from factory smokestacks down the road from the Redondo Beach Pier, because here it s all about fish . Tanks of live lobsters and crabs provide ambiance for the strolling tourists, and the smell is, well, memorable.