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.

EXAMS & TEQUILA

Exams are like tequila–without proper preparation, they’re both sure to kindle a cruel, pungent taste in your mouth and a sharp wince in your facial expressions. Despite the striking similarities, I loathe formal examinations. Still, I continuously long for an unopened bottle of Patron Silver.

I know what you’re thinking, but I promise the above introduction does possess both merit and relevance. I am going to spend the rest of my post sharing an inspiring tale that was told to me only a short while ago.

When out this past last week, my roommate and I pulled up a couple of stools at a bar downtown. I’ll refrain from using the bar’s name in order to add to the story’s obscurity.

A few minutes after we ordered our first round, a man sat down to my right. He was a few years older (He must have been a graduate student) and arguably in need of a razor. He wore a baseball cap, an unbuttoned, button down plaid shirt, and a clean pair of skinny jeans. He spoke first and proceeded to dictate much of the conversation. He noticed I was drinking tequila and commended me on the selection. At first, I thought he was simply admiring my decision to ask for tequila before dinnertime, but I was clearly mistaken.

I soon learned that he was a TA pursuing a Master’s in some sphere of environmental science. He explained to me that tequila measurably contributed to his academic success. According to the man, before each of his most critical exams he would pull a shot of tequila to ease his nerves. Eventually, pouring tequila soon became some sort of superstitious, pre-exam ritual in order to better ensure a favorable outcome.

I’ll end with this–The man’s story both tickled and enthused me. I have one more week of college. I have four exams left–none of which I have cracked a book for. Conveniently in my freezer, I am chilling a bottle of tequila with approximately six ounces left (1.5 oz. per shot).

"AFTIES"

All of my posts to date revolve around mingling and drinking downtown. To spike your interest however, we’re going to shift gears and shake things up a bit. Of course, this post wouldn’t have a place here on Sauced unless we kept with the “tipsy-business”. That said this post is about both the old and new. Keeping with the booze but leaving the bars behind, we arrive at a friend’s place and decide to continue the festivities into the wee hours of the morning.

We’re talking about “Afties”–the social episode that occurs immediately following bar close.

Afties is all about not wanting to let the night end. Rather than ambling on home when the bars shut their doors for the evening, a few people collectively agree to continue on with their night and shoot the entire next day. What I mean is that it is not uncommon for a fun-loving, back-slapping after hours to carry on until sunrise. So long as you don’t mind tucking yourself in shortly after the birds begin to chirp, Afties is something all college students should aim to experience.

Though I am far from a night owl, I do enjoy the occasional after hour affair. Even still, it’s certainly one of those things not to be abused, as I imagine Afties too often would lose its buzz. Keep in mind that I have only dedicated one post to talking about the after party. This is for good reason because again in order to preserve the Afties charm, ‘getting after it’ hard but also sparingly is the most ideal way to do so.

GREENER PASTURES

In only a couple of weeks–assuming I do not sleep through final exams or forget to correctly bubble in my name on the Scantron–I will finish my college career. What’s more, the four years of hard work is finally going to pay off, as I’ll be passing with flying colors. Provided Iowa City nightlife has occupied a decent chunk of my time for the past four years, it seems fitting to pause and reflect on the best way to spend my time before I move on to hopefully “greener pastures”. That is, other than the continuous caffeine fix and frantic, last minute brain-crunch, I also plan to frequent a few of my favorite haunts to get my buzz on one last time. All this in mind, I’ve decided to list out my top five must-visits when in Iowa City.

1. Piano Lounge–An excellent choice for all of your late night entertainment. Before you hit the pillow, why not have that extra glass (or bottle) of wine to make all of the night’s shameful moments appear a little less shabby and your taste slightly more refined. Along with your savory glass of Pinot Noir, experience a few of your favorite songs being played live. And if you’re really daring, feel free to amble on over to the piano and sing along.

2. The Mill–If music is your fix, look no further. The Mill books national acts all season long sure not to disappoint. Monday’s also mean open mic–needless to say, I’ve had some of my most memorable and shameful nights on stage contemplating why I was out singing to a room of 10-12 people, having been drinking since the late afternoon.

3. Mickey’s–Cool yet casual, Mickey’s sports a drink special 7 nights a week. It’s also a nice break from the typical, overcrowded, over-priced bars that suck in the bulk of the city’s people. There’s no live music, but sometimes that’s for the best.

4. Martinis–It’s no secret that my relationship with Martinis has always been somewhat of a love-hate connection. Even still, their patio is spacious, inviting and phenomenal. Weather permitting–it’s where you want to be.

5. Sanctuary–Sanctuary’s most valuable selling points are its expansive, tasteful beer collection along with its Old English locale. The crowd is always an eclectic, diverse mix of people, most of whom are eager to solve all of the world’s most dire problems. It’s off the beaten path, but it’s fireplace and cozy, comfortable décor is enough to make amends for the extra mileage.

End

I probably should have known better considering it was finals week and all, but yeah went out anyways. I declared it "my last night out!" Yeah, it better be or god save me. It was again, one of those nights where I should of just taken the hint and not gone out, but I decided to deny my sanity and morals and go for it.

Of course, night began at DC's...what else is new? I would rattle of the drink specials, but I don't ever pay full price there, but I wanna say steins were 3 bucks. It was more or less a ghost town in there. Like there was nobody out and it was depressing. Sign #89548 I should have taken note of...but no.

It was dualing pianos, "the last one" eventhough I decided just recently I am staying here this summer, so I guarentee that was NOT the last one, but was enough reason for me to go out. It was dead, I haven't been to Vitos in so long when you can actually see the back wall of the bar because it wasn't mobbed. And you can actually order a drink and get it within the same phase of being really thirsty. So yeah, it was an unconventional last night, but THE last night nonetheless. I would have liked to go out with much more of a bang.

OH MY GOSH, and today, my friends and I were originally going to Takanami for the lunch special, not even realizing it was 230 and the place closes at 2...SO we were stuck resorting to 808? strange sort of, but yeah so we get there sit down and order, mind you we are surrounded by the stale beer, puke nasty ass odor that is just never ever fading from that establishment. SO, once we got over that, we looked over and saw the bartender and he had 10 bottles of admiral lined up across the bar top. He had 5 that were full, and 5 empty, and the next thing we knew...all 10 had stuff in them...about 2/3rdsish??? UHHHH??

THen the next thing we knew...they were all full...a little uh lighter than usual? But full...? Mysterious? I think so. Not that I am going to draw any false conclusions, all I'm sayin is I saw him pouring a mysterious clear liquid out of a dispenser into the bottles, so there was miraculously 10 full ones....WOW.

PIano Lounge.

This was one of those nights, I just truly should of taken the hint " HEY ITS MIDNIGHT...DONT GO DOWNTOWN, SAVE YOURSELF!" That is in both the money and calories regard by the way. BUT no, never learn, ever! We were playing the worlds largest game of catch phrase literally like ehh 25 drunk kids crammed around a table completely amused by the little electronic device.

Then we got sick of it right around midnight...downtown it is! Vitos....no....DC's....no....piano lounge?! FINE.

It was four dollar Bacardi drinks, which is just a dumb "special" so I just followed the pack and got some orangey tasting fruity thing. It was fine actually, you could have mistaken it for orange pop in my opinion.

We were there for quite sometime, it was boring though, it was pretty apparent the piano guy was just playing whatever he felt like, because we wrote down and requested probably 15 songs and never heard one.

It was pretty dead in there, considering it was a Saturday night and all. All the workers were sitting around snacking on huge jimmy johns and dorito bags with walking taco's in them. It was all lame and fine until this pack of drunken slobs walked in and posted up at the table behind us. Typically I'd be ridiculously annoyed by that, but I all the sudden saw it as the perfect opportunity to finally add some spice to the night. They didn't dissapoint.

The piano guy was right in the middle of "Don't Stop Believin'" when all the sudden everyone turned and heard the biggest bang in the entire world and this one girl was done for the count. It was so loud the piano guy even hesitated for a second and stopped playing. The girl was like sprawled out and it was to the point where I was embbaressed for her just becasue I was within 15-feet of her. It was more of an older crowd so the entire place just gave death stares.

Her friends literally carried her out, and that was that. The night ended in Mesa pizza, not shocking. My guy friends devoured the biggest slices of macaroni pizza and like weird ass kinds. It was actually repulsive. I can proudly say I passed on the feast if nothing else positive.

BUST

The night started out so great, it really did. I ditched my night class, and a group of us were off to DC's for pitchers of margaritas with chips and salsa. We couldn't resist stopping at Saloon to grab some home-made quac for five bucks. We were destined for greatness...

The pitchers of margaritas were 12 bucks.....

Mind you they were huge, and did come with "free" chips and salsa...?

My roommate works there so we at least got them half price which made it all worth while. We got one blended strawberry one and one normal kind on the rocks. The bartender was pissed because apparently they are a huge pain in the butt to make, and...we kept ordering them? And when other tables saw us getting them everyone else started getting them too...so yeah we caused a little ruckus.

There were too many sporting events going on, so we could barely hear eachother, and I hate not having music! I feel like everything is 100x more fun with music! BUT no...but i can get over that. So then we went to formosa for a friends birthday dinner... It was expensive! The beer was only 3 bucks which actually shocked me, but virtually anything else...think again!

Then we went back to DC's, and this time...no specials what so ever. We bought 4 shots for 20 bucks, and a typical rum and coke for 4 bucks...talk about depressing. It was mobbed to the point of no return. You couldn't walk anywhere. The upstairs area, as much as I love it, is awful!!! That middle hole part needs to be a lot smaller so people can actually walk...because there is nothing more annoying then getting bumped every 30seconds and asked to "excuse me! sorry!"

Then off to Brothers which was also mobbed, WAY too bombed...it was wing night apparently and the entire place had the most god awful odor I have ever encountered. it was BAD to the point we just left because it was nauseating.

Then off to...summit? yeah, my drunk roommate insisted we should go "re-live" freshman year....we walked in, and boy did we! There were so many cops I think they out numbered the people in the bar. The upstairs was closed, so it was literally just police stopping every single person and shining flashlights in their faces and searching their wallets. It as out of control. I was there for maybe ten minutes before getting the heck out of there because I didn't want to deal with any of that.

All in all, the night started great, ended...not great? And...I spent lots and lots of money.