Prepare to prove your Guile and have a Bal... rog just by hopping in your E. Honda to get the first look at Joystick Gamebar during a pre-opening party on Fri just for Thrillist readers. Some sweet geniuses have turned Edgewood's old Dynamic Dish into a wonderland of classic arcaders, childhood-inspired bites, and not-childhood-inspired cocktails (unless Rip Torn was your Scoutmaster), with a high-score-tracking blackboard present to shame you all the while. What this beauteous heaven holds
Games: There'll be a gang of retro faves, including 8-bit alien shooters like Space Invaders, fighters from Street Fighter II to four-player X-Men, and side-scrollers like Vs. The Goonies, and Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja, who clearly have no shot against the Bad Dudes unless it has another DragonNinja it can coordinate tight tank tops and gloves with
Food: Chef Mark Nanna (Pura Vida, FLIP Burger) has gone into a very creative way-back machine to work up tomato jam & chevre doughnuts and steamed buns w/ pork belly braised in Kool-Aid
Now, back to that sneak preview: to be one of only 100 to get in, you've just gotta post a photo of yourself mimicking a (recognizable) Street Fighter move and caption it with "#Thrillist" on Joystick's Facebook page, so just be sure to do the best you Ken.
This “barcade” is wild with its tonics. Joystick co-owner Brandon Ley has meticulously put together a top-notch program that takes fortified wines as seriously as it takes random cosplay parties and the hosting of weird local podcasts, plus sexy liquid inventions like the Donkey Punch.