Date Dash: the unexplainably unique semi-bar experience

The bar at the Date Dash

I know that a sorority/fraternity date dash isn't REALLY your typical bar experience, but it is an experience that will drastically change once you turn 21.
For those who have never attended a date dash, it is basically a dance with a theme. You dress up to whatever the date dash may be called: Westerner, White Trash, Boogie Nights, Pajama Jam, Heaven & Hell, etc. The sorority or fraternity, whoever is holding it, invites date(s) and meets at the Greek house. Yellow school buses transport the group to and from the destination (which is unknown to everyone but the executive members and social chairs of the organization - to prevent drunk-driving).

Upon arrival at the destination, usually a conference room at a hotel, intoxicated college students make their way to the inside. Music blasts from the DJ - the latest trendy rap/pop songs mixed with the best dance hits from the past. Students dance provocatively to the tunes while sporadically taking breaks to eat the provided snacks.

The bar is separated from the rest of the area. Security surrounds the bar entrance to ensure that no one under the age of 21 enters. The drinks, no matter who the vendor may be, are usually over priced. Price doesn't really seem to be a huge factor because students are usually seeking any possible way to keep their buzz. The drink selection varies depending on the location. Usually, domestic beers are the popular choice. The only stickler for the bar situation is that the are to which you are allowed to drink is very limited. Sometimes, it is merely a 20 feet cubic space. You must finish your drink in the designated area before you leave. Drinks can not leave the vicinity and be brought to the dance floor (It's a precautionary measure to ensure that under-agers will not drink).

It may not be the typical bar, but turning 21 changes your date dash experience. You can now feel free to enter ANY part of the party experience. Believe me, you feel left out when everyone is squeezed into the bar area drinking and socializing while you are left solo on the dance floor.


Make your own Halloween drinks

DrinkOfTheWeek.com

Mastersschool.com"


Find the perfect costume for any theme:

3 Wishes

Costume Universe

Annies Costumes

Hollywood Costumes

Meet Rack: The only place in Tucson where party meets GOD

"It aint cheating; it's just a slice of the cake that no one misses"-God

The Meet Rack, 210 W. Drachman St., is a place everyone must see. It's one of those bars you want to check out - not for the alcohol - but for the experience. It was my first real sober experience at a bar, but to be honest I think I might've been a little scared being drunk there (at least without many guys I know surrounding me).


Don't get me wrong, it was a great experience! The only thing is the place is in a bad neighborhood, and the environment is kinda--sleezy. What do I mean by sleezy? Get a tour from God (the previous owner of the bar--a man who legally changed his name from Jim to God) and you'll experience a fascinating point of view from this outrageously funny and unique man.

You begin in the sex room filled with posters and sex machines. God walks you around every point of the room and explains the history and details of every piece of machinery. He even tells you the story of his two-time win in a masterbation contest.




After the room of promiscuity, he leads you to the women's bathroom. He demonstrates the little condom contraption. Inside the bathroom hangs a condom machine. When a person purchases a condom, the moment she walks out the door a loud bell sounds, signalling to the entire bar that this person is planning to get lucky.



Next stop in the tour - God's bedroom. A few minutes listening to God's view on life will bring laughter and cheer into your night. He tells of his single life, and how he enjoys it. The funniest quote of the night was when he talked about his freedom of doing what he wants. "It aint cheating; it's just a slice of the cake that no one misses," he said. I guess that's his theory on dating. It sounded funnier coming from him. He explained how he had the best set up anyone could ask for. He lived in the bar - a second away from all the women and alcohol he needs. that does sound like a pretty good set up. Along with the pornographic pictures on his walls, he had a mirror above his bed. Every man's dream.



The bar is decorated with photos of him and many other people, like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Elvis. Bras hang above the bar. The largest bra I've ever seen is signed with a heart and a woman's signature. Everything in the bar seems to follow the sexual scheme. Even the menu of drinks are all named with a sexual undertone, written on laminated cards that are held together by a metal ring. "Classy" is not a word to characterize the place, but "thrilling" definitely is.




Overall, the bar was an interesting experience. Even without a sip to drink, I left with some of the most unforgettable memories of my college experience. (For a little while I even got to experience God telling a story at the bar--drawing a picture on a yellow notepad explaining that your first 10 years are filled with drool, your last 10 years are filled with drool, and the hundreds of thousands of days in between should be filled with partying). It's one of those places everyone needs to see at least just once. It might not be your bar of choice for every weekend. However, it is a great place for birthday celebrations or an escape from the monotony of the same-ole scenery.

And for those who tend to do outrageous things when drunk, you can experience the infamous branding with God's face. What does it mean? You'll be marked for the rest of your life with a man with a beard. But it also means you'll get 50 cents off every drink at the Meet Rack for the rest of your life. You'll have a card marked with a number that IDs your branding. It's a story to tell your kids. Be sure to go to the Meet Rack and check out one of Tucson's craziest places. You'll leave with a the bar God's name marked on your arm (don't worry, a little scrubbing the next day can take it right off).





Check out what other people think about the Meet Rack:

Tucson Underground

Best of Tucson: 2003

Ten Ways to Shock Visiting Parents (Daily Wildcats)

Yelp.com

NoRTH: the elite's direction of choice

North, 2995 E. Skyline Drive, is one of four restaurant/bars located at the roundabout driveway at La Encantada shopping center. Along with Ra Sushi Bar, Bluepoint Kitchen & Bar, and Firebirds Rocky Mountain Grill, this restaurant/bar has the atmosphere that college students seek for a nice night of dinner and drinks.


Before I was 21, North was the Friday night hangout for underage students with fake IDs. Now that I'm of age, I entered the doors with excitement to experience what I had missed out on the past year. The look of this place was one of a contemporary restaurant with a sleek and shiny design for those dressed to impress. My friend said it had a "Scottsdale wannabe" look. Scottsdale is known for being a little fancy schmancy (suprisingly enough, there is a North located in Scottsdale). North was the kind of place that even before we walked in the front door, we had a guy offering to buy a glass of champagne for the birthday girl (I guess a large group of women always attracts attention - but I am almost positive the birthday girl wouldn't have had a glass of champagne offered to her at the neighborhood bar at T.G.I. Friday's).

The interior brick walls and the metalic legs of the chairs surrounding the bar filled the place with a conservative look mixed with the sensation of shining luxury. My group sat in a room set aside from the rest of the area, which isolated us a little. However, we still managed to enjoy the bar scene from our table. Our room even had its own flat-screen television, just like the ones surrounding the real bar area. We ordered a variety of Frizzantes (a mixture of sparkling wine and fruit), wine and champagne (compliments of the man we spoke to when we entered the building) from North's Wine and Beer Drink Menu.

For a non-lover of wine, the frizzante was not that bad. It did not taste a whole lot like strawberries, but the fruit mixture did offset the usual sharp, biting taste of wine. The prices weren't cheap. The small glass of Frizante was $8, and it barely gives youa buzz (and I'm a lightweight). North is definitely one of the places where your money pays for the atmosphere. College students dub this place as "expensive" so usually it is one of the places where people go for special occasions, especially birthdays. So if you want a fun night at a special place, try North at La Encantada.





Learn more about Frizzantes and other wines


Check out other reviews of NoRTH:

DotComTucson Review

Insider Pages Review

Open Table Review

Championship Dining: Drinks for UA Champions

Sam Hughes Place Championship Dining", 446 N. Campbell Ave., Suite 150, is the newer, convenient sports bar right on the edge of campus. Located on the corner of 6th Street and Campbell Avenue, it is surrounded by students' condominums and a few retail stores and eateries.

The buzz about Championship has grown vastly in the past year. Friday night seems to be designated the "night" to go to Champs (as some people call it). It attracts students with its stunning, higher-class-ish-looking interior. The honey onyx bar top swerves around in an s-shape and accents the honey-colored lights above it. Champs is the perfect place to watch sports games because of its collection of plasma flat screens placed around the bar. Though the place gets crowded very easily, there are a good amount of high-topped booths and tables spread throughout the bar area inside as well as tables outside on the patio. When the weather's nice out, the patio is the perfect solution when there's no room to move.


It was only my second time at this bar (and the first was in the summer so that didn't really count). I wasn't sure what to order because I felt like this was a bar where a beer just wouldn't look too attractive for a girl to have. I went with my typical drink of choice, a Long Island Iced Tea. My roommate was celebrating her second-to-last day as a 21-year-old, so I thought I would buy her her drink of choice: a strawberry daiquiri. We were a little surprised that they even made frozen drinks at a campus bar. Believe me, she looked a little funny walking around with such a classy drink at a place filled with college students; it was even topped with whipped cream and a cherry.

Looking around I saw an unusually large amount of colored drinks in place of the typical abundant sights of domestic beer bottles. I discovered that the popular, large glass mug of blue liquid was known as an "Irish Trash Can." I was curious as to why there was a can of Red Bull dumped upside down and floating in the liquid, but the name of that put my curiosity to rest. I took a sip of someone's drink and it tasted like pure Red Bull (at least to me it did). If you like Red Bull energy drink, you should try this enticing drink.

I'm not a huge fan of wine (I know, call me crazy), but Championship had a
seemingly large selection of wine set up on a glass display. The alcohol just seems to flow at this place.

There seemed to be a little bit of an older crowd at Championship, though it was predominantly college students. A few times I'd look around and see 30-something or 40-something-year-old guys. I just thought, "Hmm, what are they doing here?" One guy even tapped my friend and I on our way out of the bar. He wondered if he could ask us a question. We said sure. He then proceeded to turn around, place his hand on his side, and stand in a position so that we could check out his rear-end. He said, "It's nice, right?" We just laughed. I guess all guys are goofy no matter what age.

The prices didn't seem to be as high as I remembered this visit. The daiquiri and iced tea (both of which we thought were too strong, but I guess that's a good thing) were $13 total. My last visit there I thought the prices were so expensive when my friend bought two Yager Bombs and it cost him a little under $20. Compared to $1 drink specials at other bars, I guess the place is a little pricey. If you can fit the prices into your college budget, check this place out! Be careful what time you get there though. The line at the door begins around 11-11:30 p.m. And believe me, you will wait a while before getting through the doors.



Check out recipes for a few drinks mentioned in this blog:

Strawberry Daiquiri

Irish Trash Can

Jager Bomb

Check out other reviews of Champs

Tucson Weekly Review

Visittucson.org Review

Sullivan's: for a swingin' good time

I thought I'd change it up a little. Instead of the regular college-scene bars I'd try out something a little more...tasteful. I've been in Tucson for three years now and I had yet to have a meal at Sullivan's Steakhouse. I've heard a little about their bar (mostly that it was an older, richer crowd) so I thought I'd check it out myself.

I went in for a nice Sunday dinner at Sullivan's. Instead of just having dinner in the dining room, I decided that the lounge would be a better experience. The lounge housed the bar and the live jazz band. The bar was just gorgeous. It was not the typical T-loc scene of drunken messes all around. Sure, it was a Sunday night but even at bars such as Trident and O'Malleys you'd be sure to have a little college chaos around.


The drink display was, as they'd say in the movie "Swingers," MONEY. It was a pretty collection of alcoholic bottles - from wine to the hard liquors. The
columns behind the bar were lit with an orangish glow. The leather-topped stools were studded on the edges with golden bullets. The jazz band played a couple familiar songs like the opening jingle to "Cheers." The room was very open yet felt secluded at the same time. Windows acted as one of the walls. Because it was nighttime we were able to see the tables outside on the patio with candles shining on each setting.

The top of each wall was lined with a 2' to 3' border telling the story through scenes. It continued the bar's jazz theme with portrayals of people enjoying themselves with glasses of wine and musical instruments.




I tried the Pucker Up martini (Smirnoff Apple Tiwst & Sour Apple Pucker splashed with Sweet & sour). It was a delicious apple treat with a cheery on the bottom for $8.50. It seems that you're paying for the higher-class atmosphere, not really for the drink itself. They advertised their Thursday specials: "Swingin' at Sully's." From 5 p.m. until close, the white wine feature and signature martinis are $5 each (with complimentary cigars for the ladies).

The signature martinis include:
* The Knockout
* The Orange Blossom
* CEO
* Lemon Drop
* Pucker Up
* Margatini
* Cosmopolitan

If you're looking to meet a college-aged student, I wouldn't really recommend this bar. However, I did enjoy being greeted by the entertainers there. As my friend left me alone for a few minutes at the table, a man who I had seen frequenting the bar every few minutes approached me. Here's one difference between the college scene and the Sullivan's scene: guys actually talk to you. He politely shook my hand when he introduced himself and began explaining that he needed to keep himself entertained while it wasn't his turn on the set (he was the introductory act with Frank Sinatra-like music accompanied by the big band). Sure he was intoxicated and may have eaten a piece of my friend's calamari off her plate without her permission, but he was entertaining at least. At least he didn't drunkenly stumble or ask me what my major was.


Here's a recipe for a drink mentioned in this blog:

Pucker Up


Check out other reviews of Sullivans:

DotcomTucson review

Citsearch review