After establishing the fact that “and Lounge” at the end of a restaurant’s title usually means “dive bar inside,” there’s been no problem finding bar exam victims. What lies inside these seemingly seedy establishments has surprised my bar exam team as of late. Cleanliness, beer variety, and friendly conversation have thrown us a curve ball — and we’re ready to find something different. Something dirty.

What we hoped to find inside the Ruston Inn’s lounge area were some local yahoos we could report back and describe using excessive expletives, but once again this was not the case. The service was extremely personable, the patrons greeted you with a smile, and there was no age/gender/income demographic to make fun of. This place was so easygoing it was hard to make fun of.

I don’t know if it’s my somewhat trashy Texan upbringing that’s made me numb to NASCAR paraphernalia, but even Ruston Inn lounge’s extreme amount of Kasey Kane wallpaper didn’t make me flinch one bit. Now that’s a damn shame, because there’s nothing more enjoyable to make fun of than a NASCAR fan. Just ask my dad; he is the epitome of a Southern racing fan. Tallboy Bud Light and all.

Pleasant carpet, sterile walls, sparkling clean mirrored shelves, and a nice new big screen TV masked out the fact that there were also pull tabs and bucket-seat barstools for the eye to behold. At Ruston Inn I really couldn’t find anything divey about this “and Lounge” theory I’ve placed upon restaurants. My crew and I struggled to hear the conversation of the middle-aged bleach-blonde drunk at the table next to us, but even her words were soft hearted. When I eavesdrop, I at least want to hear some good shit on someone. Not just what you think of the song playing on the jukebox. How boring. 

Ruston Inn

5105 N. Pearl St., Ruston, 253.752.3288

Food: typical blue-hair fare

Beer: typical domestics

Service: sweet and friendly

Bar Exam Dive Bar Grade: C (not divey enough)