The Poor House on SW 3rd Avenue is what a Fort Lauderdale dive bar should be: unpretentious, well-worn, with local blues and jazz on the small stage most nights of the week. The drinks are cheap by Las Olas standards and the crowd is a mix of regulars, musicians, and people who have wandered in from the Riverwalk looking for something without a dress code. The room is small enough that the music feels immediate.
The Poor House has been operating in downtown Fort Lauderdale long enough to have outlasted several waves of neighborhood redevelopment, which is a testament to both the owners' stubbornness and the loyalty of the local music community. The booking tends toward local and regional acts — blues guitarists, small jazz combos, occasionally singer-songwriters. It is a good place to spend a Tuesday evening when the tourist bars are quiet and the city sounds more like itself. Cash is preferred at the bar.