Long Live the Dive

It’s 11:30 a.m. on a Wednesday, and a handful of regulars cluster together at the bar of Showdown, grabbing beers and maybe some lunch while “Mission Impossible” plays soundlessly on the TV.

The jukebox switches from the B52s to Shania Twain. The ceiling fan overhead has an almost nasal, rhythmic squawk. Showdown’s interior has a colorfully-layered, lacquered-over feel to it, the kind of patina one would expect from a dive bar that has been around since 1977.

In a way, Showdown is the quintessential Texas dive bar, but it is by no means alone. Call them roadhouses, cantinas, taverns or beer joints, these neighborhood bars are like islands unto themselves, a comforting sanctuary for every person who wanders through its doors.