The Bashful Bandit: there's nothing bashful about it

The Bashful Bandit, 3686 E. Speedway Blvd., is known to most people as a biker bar. On the southwest corner of Dodge and Speedway, this bar is reserved for the leather-wearing, motorcycle-riding crowd. On Tuesdays, however, the bar undergoes a transformation - the crowd goes from biker to college.

Tuesday is Ladies Night, a.k.a. college night. Buy a domestic long-neck beer for $1.50, or take advantage of a few other drink specials. As one of thbars that is frequented on a regular school night, it is surprising how large of an audience this bar gets. Parking can sometimes be a hassle depending on the time of night you get there. You might have to park on the street instead of the parking lot. The few Tuesdays that I went to the Bandit I luckily didn't have to wait in line. When you are about to walk in and you get your ID checked, the door man sometimes uses a little nifty device that scans your idea. I'm not really sure what it does, but it showed a neon light that said 21. I guess the little piece of technology has some sort of way of scanning your ID to tell your age. It was actually pretty cool to see.

Once you step into the biker bar, you see the bar to your left and the crowd surrounding it and the area to the right. To the right is an open area filled with students talking, dancing and laughing at the drunk people making fools of themselves singing Kareoke in front of all their peers. (Believe me, Karaoke can get pretty intense and can be really> fun) Most people don't do the songs justic when they sing, yet they still sing their little hearts out not knowing that they are off-tune or off the beat. Nevertheless, it's a fun opportunity to request your favorite song and get a few minutes in the limelight.

It might take a little while to order a drink from the bar, but the easy alternative is a pretty quick trip to one of a handful of stands that are placed around the bar selling beer and a few other liquors. Cash is essential for these beer/alcohol stands. (But if you do start a tab at the bar and perhaps forget to close your tab, you will be charged a 20% gratuity when you pick up your credit card the next day, f.y.i) The beer stands have places for tips as well.

The crowd at the Bandit seems to vary every time I'm there. It's always very diverse - from gangsta to preppy to grunge-ish. No matter who you go with, you'll always find someone you know there. Really, it's a place where you can't not fit in. The Bandit is a unique change of scenery and the hoppin' place to be on a Tuesday night!



Check out other reviews of The Bashful Bandit:

AZ Night Buzz Review

City Search Review

Arizona Daily Wildcat Review