Late Night Panchy's

Being from Minneapolis, I hate to admit that I have just this year become disgustingly obsessed with Panchero's.  I was born and raised eating Chipotle, since we don't have Panchero's in Minneapolis. (Actually I think we have like one or two, but no one really knows where they are or if they actually exist.)  My obsession literally is disgusting.  I am known in my sorority house for eating Panchys pretty much everyday.  At least I used to be.  I became so obsessed with it that when Lent came around, I decided to give up Panchys.  Ever since then, my obsession has been more controlled.  

Regardless, my number one enemy this year is post-bar close Panchy's.  Seriously.  There have been way too many times when I have literally laid in my bed eating Panchy's right before I fall asleep, and have woken up the next morning with crumbs all in my bed.  One morning I woke up literally cuddling a chicken quesadilla.  This was a low point in my life for two reasons; one, because I was literally cuddling a chicken quesadilla, which obviously tells you that my love life was in the shitter, and two, I'm pissed that I didn't even eat the quesadilla.  It was a complete waste of money and, more importantly, a waste of a completely good chicken quesadilla. 

With all of this being said, I am certainly not the only one who fiends for late night Panchy's after bar close.  Every night, Thursday through Saturday especially, the line is literally out the door, down the street,  around the corner, and up the hill, from about 2AM until it closes at 3AM.  I just want to take this time now and give Panchero's a shout out: Panchy's, you are single-handedly making the Iowa student body fatter with every drunken night we have.  Congrats, and god speed.  See you tomorrow night.

The Liner

What's not to love about Airliner?  It is easily one of my favorite bars in Iowa City.  A rare trait that I have for being a girl is that I LOVE watching sports, especially basketball.  I am a die-hard Boston Celtics fan.  So, as the playoffs have been heating up, I have been watching all of the games.  There is nothing I love more than posting up at Airliner on a Thursday night (the Celtics have been playing on a lot of Thursday nights) in one of their booths, and watching the Celtics kick ass on one of Airliner's many TVs.  What makes watching basketball on Thursday nights even better is that they feature half-price appetizers until 10, and, let me tell you, their appetizer menu is to. die. for.  My personal favorite is their cheese curds (mmm, nothing better than straight up fried cheese), but I also love their spinach-artichoke dip, and my boyfriend can't get enough of their wings.  

Also on Thursdays, Airliner serves two dollar domestic big beers.  And the ads don't lie, the beers are indeed big.  I have two of them and I am usually done for the night.  So, all-in-all, I spent four dollars to get drunk.  Not too bad.

I also love Airliner so much because of its atmosphere.  It doesn't stress me out because it is completely over packed with people, and it is not so ridiculously loud like some bars that I need a megaphone to communicate with the person standing right next to me.

Airliner has been around Iowa City for quite some time now, and it is not hard to believe that this is the case.  Year after year it has been a fan favorite, and they continue to do great business every year.

21 Ordinance; handing the Greek community its fate

On June 1, 2010, there will no longer be any 19+ bars in Iowa City.  After June 1st, you must be 21 to enter any bars in Iowa City. With that being said, as a member of the Greek community, I am waving goodbye to ever socializing with Greeks outside of my own sorority.

What Sally Mason and all the other ignorant old folks who have authority at this university don't understand is that the Greek community relies heavily on the 19+ bars for social events.  Every Thursday, a fraternity and sorority are paired together to have what is called a "social," where they rent out a bar for an hour or two for the fraternity and sorority to socialize with each other.  We do these socials at the bars because, as I'm sure every Iowa student knows, we are dry campus, which means parties, let alone alcohol, are not allowed at the fraternity or sorority houses.

With the 21 ordinance going into effect next year, the Greek community is currently in a state of panic.  It has been brought up that there may no longer be socials at all, because there is no where for us to hold them.  This is just unfair, especially for new freshmen pledges, who don't know anyone outside of their chapter.  Socials are a perfect way to branch out and meet other people in the Greek community.  Should that really be taken away from us?  Isn't the main reason people go Greek is so they can meet new people?  To me, it is completely unjustifiable to completely cut off all possible socialization options for the Greek community, which makes up over 10% of the Iowa student body.  It is literally impossible to declare Iowa a dry campus and then take away our bar access as well, and still expect the Greek community to still thrive.  As it is, less and less incoming freshmen rush every year.  Iowa is a Big Ten school with over 25,000 students, we shouldn't struggle to get people to join the Greek community.  Yet this 21 ordinance is just another barrier.

Sure, it has been brought to the attention of every Greek chapter that Greeks get a majority of the drinking tickets issued in downtown Iowa City.  But, again, this is an unfair accusation.  This is so because everyone in the Greek community is social.  I'll be completely honest, everyone in the Greek community likes to drink and likes to go out.  But is this a bad thing?  To single out Greeks as the problem with drinking in downtown Iowa City is completely unfair because it's a guarantee that a large percentage of the people downtown are Greek.  We're social, we like to go out, so, yes, you'll see us downtown.  Not everyone outside of the Greek community is as social, or likes to go downtown, which is also not a bad thing.  But, in that case, obviously Greeks are going to receive majority of the drinking tickets because they make up a majority of the people that are downtown every night.

Furthermore, if Sally Mason thinks that by passing the 21 ordinance, underage drinking at the bars will stop, she is seriously mistaken.  This 21 ordinance is simply going to encourage the use of fake IDs, which is also a serious crime.  Does it make more sense to encourage kids to use fake IDs or to allow fraternities to have alcohol in their house?  Sally Mason is not going to get away with this for long, she has to allow one or the other or the Greek system is going to disappear fast.  

Talib Kweli & Girl Talk

I'm going to be completely honest right off the bat, the IMU Main Lounge is a terrible place to hold a concert of any kind.  The sound system is far from ideal, making it hard to enjoy or even identify any of the songs that are being performed.  I attended the Wilco and Third Eye Blind shows in the fall, and came out with the same result.  I literally could not recognize one of Talib Kweli's songs.  With that being said, it makes it almost impossible to even say if the show was good or bad.  

As for Girl Talk, I really don't understand how he sells out so many shows.  I certainly like listening to him on my iPod when I'm working out or getting ready to go out, but never again will I attend one of his shows.  It's honestly a waste of money.  I could listen to my iPod and get the same result.  The one part of his show that I thought was cool was that he made up songs as he was up onstage.  However, I could probably find that on youtube for free.  This ticket was not worth $27.50.  

Another thing that I thought was weird was the toilet paper streamers.  There were people walking around in the front of the stage with these giant contraptions that somehow unrolled a roll of toilet paper and blew it into the crowd.  It didn't even look cool so I don't really understand what that was all about.

I guess what my point is, is that if someone you wish to see in concert ever comes to the IMU Main Lounge, don't go.  Seriously, it will make you hate that artist.

Mike Posner at Blue Moose

When I walked into Blue Moose Tap House, I could immediately tell that this bar had a different feeling to it than your typical Iowa City bar.  Previously known to many as "The Industry," Blue Moose, first of all, is a lot bigger than many of the Iowa City bars.  I think I got that feeling because the layout of the facility is much more conducive to fitting more people than some Iowa City bars (i.e. Airliner, Vito's, 808, etc.)  Blue Moose has several small booths up against the back wall, then a number of larger round tables in the middle of the bar with stools around them.  However, the round tables are small enough that it is still very easy to get around without bumping into people or it taking 25 minutes to get from one end of the bar to the other because you had to wait for so many people to get out of your way.  This is a big problem at a lot of Iowa City bars, and nothing is more annoying (especially when you really have to go to the bathroom).  Anyways, the bar itself takes up almost one whole side of the wall, which I thought was pretty cool--the longer the bar is, the more people you can serve at once.

As for the concert facility?  Horrible.  Absolutely horrible.  I've never been so uncomfortably overheated in my entire life.  The place is a fricken dungeon.  First of all, the facility is very small, so there were a LOT of people crammed into a very small space, which obviously makes any facility hotter.  Secondly, there are no windows or, really, any signs of life in general.  It is as if Blue Moose attached a massive boulder to the back of their bar, cut a huge hole out of the middle, and called it their concert facility.  It doesn't breathe well at all.  I am honestly shocked that no one had a heart attack while being in there with the combination of extreme heat, flashing lights, jumping around, and loud music.  

As for Mike Posner himself, I've decided he sucks.  I have been listening to his music for like a year now, and I don't mind listening to it on my iPod or in my car, but never again will I attend one of his concerts.  I went to one in the fall in Madison, WI as well and was disappointed there too.  He builds himself up by having such long opening acts, then he doesn't come on until really late and does like, a 30 minute performance.  BOOOOOOOO.  And I'm sure some people thought it was cool that he wore an Iowa basketball jersey during his performance, but I have news for you, he did the same thing in Madison; he wore a Wisconsin basketball jersey.  Way to be original, Mike.  

Summit; we were all freshmen once

Okay, let's be honest: we've all been to Summit, and despite what we say out loud, we most likely had a great time.  However, they don't call it "Scummit" for no reason.

With the biggest dance floor in Iowa City, raunchy, X-rated dancing is guaranteed at the The Summit on a nightly basis.  And let me warn the females, unless you enter this infamous dance floor with a dance partner already in hand, prepare to be pounced on instantly by random (and most likely highly intoxicated) males lurking on the outskirts of the dance floor.

It is an unspoken fact that Summit is the #1 underage bar in Iowa City.  The bouncers themselves who check IDs at the door are barely even 18.

However, the neat thing about Summit is that, if you are an Iowa student, no matter what night you go there, you are guaranteed to see several people you know there.

In my opinion, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays are the best nights to go to Summit.  Every Monday, Summit hosts "country night," where people are encouraged to dress in country apparel and country music is played all night.  Free bacon is also served on Mondays in lieu of of country night, and drinks are $2 you call it.  Tuesdays are good simply because it's $1 you call it and the bar is ALWAYS packed because, let's be honest, college students like to get drunk cheap.  Thursdays are the best because it's $1.50 you call it and everyone likes to kick off their weekend at Summit.

My one precaution at Summit is to watch your step going down the stairs from the second to the first floor.  I've seen far too many people slide down those stairs on their butt.

Formosa; a place unlike any other

From the moment you walk into Formosa, one sense a somewhat sophisticated, yet relaxed atmosphere.  Doubling as what is formally called an "asian cuisine and sake bar," Formosa has something to offer for all crowds.  Although they are known for their exceptional and extensive sushi menu, they offer a series of delicious cooked plates as well for those who turn their nose up at sushi.  However, I'm convinced that anyone who says they don't like sushi has never actually tried it.  Exhibit A; despite his "dislike" of sushi, my boyfriend took me to Formosa for dinner on Valentine's Day this year.  He ordered a sesame chicken I ordered three sushi rolls knowing that he would try some of mine and like it.  Long story short, he ended up eating more pieces of sushi than I did and has loved it ever since.  (Kudos to the Formosa sushi chefs)

Formosa serves dinner from 5-9PM, and after 9PM it becomes a swanky bar.  The bar is fairly small, and gets crowed pretty easily.  It gets especially crowded on Wednesdays, as their feature is half-price unlimited glasses of wine.  Finally, although it should go without being said, if you're going to dabble in the likes of an Asian-oriented bar, I must insist on you ordering one of their infamous sake bombs.  You won't regret it.  Just sure you have a bottle of Advil handy the next day.

With all of this being said, I would like to stress the fact that Formosa does an excellent job of keeping a tidy and classy appearance, much unlike many of the other restaurant-turned-bars in Iowa City.