It's hard to find a honky-tonk joint in Rochester. Daisy Dukes just ain't it. She and her sister in Webster cater to the flashy faux-cowgirl crowd, rather than to the guitar-picking, fun-loving, hell-raising rest of us. I figured this town must have a real country bar hiding somewhere. Sure enough, it didn't take too long to sniff out Sandra's Saloon (276 Smith Street, 546-5474). Sandra's is open just three nights a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and it maintains a low profile. Listed only under the owner's name, Sandra Rodgers, it's never tried to attract a big crowd. Rodgers says she doesn't want the kids, she doesn't want drugs, and she doesn't want trouble.

It makes sense, then, that when I call to get the bar's hours, Rodgers hesitates. "Well...do you like country music?" she asks. Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline are the names on the jukebox, and the regulars - many musicians among them - always have flattops handy, ready, and willing to serenade anyone within earshot.

Sandra's is friendly, to say the least. If you don't know anyone, you'll have met them all within the first few minutes. And you feel looked after here: there's a story that a patron found $250 on the floor, and turned it over to Rodgers, who returned the cash to its rightful owner. The other night, when it came time to switch our parked cars to the other side of the street, Rodgers came in from a smoke break and yelled, "Move your cars, everybody!" She's also been known to take keys away from would-be drunk drivers.

The saloon is, according to Rodgers, the second-oldest bar in Rochester; it's been a watering hole and hotel since 1890. She still rents out rooms upstairs. One of the regulars claims the place used to be a bordello, and says the bar was lined with a trough you could spit or pee in. Not that he remembers any of that.

"Jesse James came through here," Rodgers says. "Artie Shawcross used to sit and drink at the bar," she adds, though it's not something she's proud of.

The saloon is festooned with memorabilia of all sorts: an enlarged postcard of what the area looked like in the early 1900's hangs on a wall, a small carousel horse sits at the back by a cozy corner table, and other tables are set up family-dinner style, within view of the stage.

Before the music starts, Rodgers tells me she grew up in the South. She lived in Georgia, and had moonshine-making relatives in the backhills of South Carolina. Rodgers retired from the South, moved to Rochester, then bought the building that houses her saloon in 1993, after other ventures - including what she calls a redneck-music-scored biker bar - didn't prove fulfilling.

While talking, Rodgers cracks cans of beer and pours drinks. These come one way: extra strong. "I poured you one like I'd pour at the biker bar," she says of a stiff whiskey ginger.

The music begins when two local musicians - Dave Richardson and Carl Trenchard - grab a couple guitars and sing Marty Robbins' "All Around Cowboy." A few more music-makers show up, and the stage fills, as do the seats. When the live music ends, the jukebox gets plugged in, and everyone drinks and talks and dances ‘til the wee hours.

"I got this bar in self-defense," Rodgers says. "It's the only place I can go."

Sandra's Saloon has an open jam session on Wednesdays 7-10 p.m., live music from guys like Dave Lawrence and Mike Snow on Fridays, and a jam session 2-6 p.m. on Sundays. Hours can be whim-driven, though, so you might want to call ahead; sometimes Rodgers closes the place when the gang has a barn dance to go to.