The Glory of the Lowest-Rated Bars in Lawrence, Kansas
Hi Wabi Sabi Readers! It’s Ella and Elizabeth from @The_Lowest_Star again. We’re two writers traveling across America — reviewing its lowest-rated bars as we go. You can read more about our story here.
That’s how we found ourselves at the two lowest-rated bars in Lawrence, Kansas on Valentine’s Day.
Our first stop was Logie’s on Mass. The drinks? One-part ethanol, three-parts sugar. The beautiful thing? Friends without dates laughing (or at least crying with company) on Valentine’s day. Also great? Sure, tons of bars put up autographed headshots when a famous person has visited. Logie’s walls are covered in framed photos of famous people — none of whom have visited. But sometimes you need to sit in someone else’s glory. There’s a nostalgic socialite in all of us even if you don’t want to admit it.
Our favorite part of Logie’s? We were there on a Monday. Why? “Come back on a Friday,” one patron told us, “the floor will be so sticky it’ll pull your shoes off.” The floor was carpeted. We tightened our shoelaces.
Our second bar of Valentine’s night was Jayhawk Cafe. The KU kids at Logie’s had told us that Jayhawk was a place their parents weren’t willing to go. Valentine’s Day it was a place it seemed no one was. We were the only two patrons there.
The great at Jayhawk? Character. The dirt between the floorboards has more of it than some whole bars do, and the graffiti and wood carvings are old enough to have earned their own college degrees. The seven employees there were having a great time — so we did too.
Still, when we learned the bar was going to get shoulder-to-shoulder as soon as the KU game ended, we decided to head out. Our shoes stuck only to the first few squares of pavement as we walked into the night.
