F I R S TP R E V201NEXTLAST

Li Po, Chinatown
Right out of a David Lynch film, Li Po is perhaps the best dive bar in which to plot a complicated murder/insurance fraud scheme. The spooky, dark red, cave-like interior contains an old-school wraparound bar, multi-color ceiling lights with an unbelievably huge ancient rice-paper lantern, and a glittery golden shrine to Buddha behind the bar. The jukebox contains Prince, Englebert Humperdink, and Chicago. Street cred is maintained by the fact this place used to be an opium den and by the deadly Mai Tais served. The place is usually empty with only a few regulars and a couple or two making-out in the red vinyl booths from another era.

The bar is named after the Tang Dynasty poet, Li Po one of the greatest poets in China's literary history. He is best known the Taoist imagery in his poetry, as well as for his great love for liquor. He is said to have drowned in the Yangtze River, having fallen from his boat while drunkenly trying to embrace the reflection of the moon. Li Po is the type of dive bar where you half-expect to wake up from the next morning, naked, hungover, and on a rusty steamer headed to Kowloon.
[ MAP F-14 ]