Two things inspired GreatJoints.com: a love for bars and frequent requests from travelers that would ask for out-of-the-way and offbeat places to enjoy. We started with five cities: Dallas because David Mullen resides there, New York and New Orleans because both David and Christopher Mullen have spent much time there, and San Francisco because that is where together we gained our appreciation for great joints.

Oakland rounds out the initial list of cities because the brothers Mullen were born there and no one would ever think of going to Oakland and the East Bay for fun. The Oakland columns will dispel the myth that “San Francisco’s Brooklyn” has little to offer except for rowdy sports fans and higher education. (Those don’t seem to go together, do they?)

At GreatJoints.com, we feel that the matchbook is a subtle definition of the personality of a bar. That is why, when possible, the bar’s matchbook accompanies the review. California’s smoking ban has made it more difficult to obtain branded matches; thus a generic GreatJoints matchbook was developed.

GreatJoints.com will try to avoid the chain bar or restaurant, although some joints have become so popular that expansion was inevitable. We avoid the velvet ropes and steroid enhanced bouncers. We think that picture books are for the coffee table and not to be used as a menu.

And with apologies to Ron Shelton, here is what else we believe in:

We believe in the bar, the tavern, the watering hole, eating at the bar, the small stem of the martini glass, ice cold beer, single malt scotch, a quality cigar, and that there is nothing good about drinks flavored with chocolate or jalapeno peppers.

We believe that shots can be sipped and should be poured into a rocks glass not a jigger. That jukeboxes should have more rhythm and blues than country music and that the Irish Coffee should be served only in the traditional glass and never with crème from an aerosol can.

We believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone. We believe there ought to be a Constitutional Amendment outlawing blender drinks and the Cosmopolitan. We believe in the Highball and the Manhattan and that bartenders should wear white shirts and ties. We believe in tipping for good service, buying a round, and knowing what to order immediately upon request.

We believe in the “usual,” that you can meet women worth dating in bars, that no one can tell the difference between “shaken” and “stirred,” and that you can drink anything you damn well please before noon, not just a Bloody Mary.

We believe most of all in a place where you can relax and make friends. We believe in GreatJoints.com.

G’night.

– D.M. and C.M.