Lambsy Divey's

Every Phoenix neighborhood needs a dive bar. This one's on the verge of downtown, convenient to both Big Head Maude (who goes often) and Iphigenia Lapin (who doesn't).

Lambsy Divey's started out as a quick little project to distract me from larger projects. There is no such thing as a quick little project. Every now and again, I come back to it to be tormented. The frame is a box from Hobby Lobby circa 2010-2011.

I built the bar from basswood, with fancy toothpicks as the beer taps. The shelves are still awaiting their bottles. I've owned clear Fimo for this purpose for at least two years, possibly three. The bar stools are buttons and screws; there are more, waiting to be reglued. The beer signs are actual beer caps, and I made the lamp from random craft notions at Walmart.

The PacMan machine is a Pez dispenser from Gotham City Comics and Coffee, where the young men in charge clearly thought I was a little weird but were nice about it. As well as being action figure central, this is the best place in Mesa to get an Italian soda that looks like world-destroying green slime but tastes good. My original plan had been to have a jukebox, but finding one in half-scale proved daunting.

To know more about related things:

• 10 Best Dive Bars in Metro Phoenix (2013) from the New Times
• Ode to the Dive Bar from Fine Cooking