drive into the light.

Mondays are my day off. Monday is my day to clean. Monday is my day to work out. Monday is my day to buy healthy food at Central Market. BUT this Monday somehow turned into a quick (too short) run, a button-bursting dinner at Matt’s Rancho Grande, and drinks drinks drinks at Arcade Bar.

Their recession Mondays are brilliant. $2 for anything? YES, PLEASE! It’s so nice to walk up to the bar with a $5 bill and be able to buy a drink … and a drink for a friend … with tip.

The drinks were strong for $2 a throw. After our randomly expensive Sunday night at Stan’s, a cheap night was needed and we seemed to get the same buzz for $24 for the two of us (that included dinner at Matt’s) as Sunday’s $98!!

Arcade Bar is a good place to be a regular. When we walked in, there was a table in the back with an intense poker game going on and two dogs roaming around the tables begging for a sip of beer (yes, it’s dog friendly … and no, we didn’t give them any beer). The restrooms are delightfully clean, the music was fully of guilty pleasures, Trivial Pursuit cards were on each table for entertainment, and there was fresh popcorn beckoning us from the back of the bar.

To top it off, we got a private tour of the Lakewood Theater which is under the same owners as Arcade Bar. If you haven’t been inside, get there soon. Open since 1938, everyone in Dallas knows the bright neon lights of the Lakewood Theater tower. If you see it … drive into the light.

Drink strength: 4
Overall: 4.2

Arcade Bar/Lakewood Theater
www.lakewoodtheater.com
1825 Abrams Parkway, Dallas 75214 | (214) 821-7469

see ya (again), alligator

After we decided to find a last minute happy hour by my friend’s place on Tuesday, I was discouraged after calling the places I could think of in the West End that would be fun to review. Lo, all their happy hours had ended so we resigned ourselves to the fact that discounted drinks were not in the cards for the night. Boy, were we wrong…

Sauntering around the West End deciding where we’d settle for our full-priced drinks, we were walking up to Gators to see nothing but a chalkboard sign with “$2 you-call-it til close” scrawled in pink chalk across it. We couldn’t believe it; the drinking gods were smiling upon us.

And it got better … all night, Crown and down, $2. HOOOAH. I went for their ridiculously fun frozen drinks first – try the barfly; it’s dementedly good and will get you equally as demented. The drinks were pretty darn strong for $2 a throw and the service was great.

Our waiter was really nice and attentive and HONEST (there’s nothing better, right?). So we ordered 4 or 5 drinks and snacked on their yummy fried pickles and fried green tomatoes (pickles were great, pass on the tomatoes).

This place will see us again; if not for another $2 Tuesday, then for a $1 Jello shot Thursday (oh.no.). The crowd was fun and young for what you would think you would find in the West End. There is live music every Friday and Saturday and a free shuttle to most American Airlines Center events (cheaper parking and cheap drinks? yes, please!) They also have a killer patio for the warmer months.

They even have a 20% off coupon on their site!

Drink strength: 4.5
Overall: 4

Gator’s Croc and Rock
1714 N. Market Street Dallas, Texas 75202 | (214) 748-0243
— they just opened a new location at 18110 Midway Rd # 134, Dallas, 75287

The liver is evil, that makes us superheroes.

My wonderful friend Matt Meyers (via jenmcnasty)

Muddy Waters

This Dallas legend has been around for quite a while and is a bastion of the Dallas local music scene. If you ask any of the guys from the Local Yokel show, this is one of the places in Dallas you MUST go … just so you can say you’ve been.

The night we went, we sadly didn’t do our homework; it was open mic night. No one was playing when we were there but a DJ was setting up (it looked like it would have been entertaining to stay!). So, we did the next best thing and fed our dollar bills to the jukebox and played a few rounds of pool.

The drinks were pretty misleading … I had a few and was quite festive though I thought they tasted weak. The drinks were so misleading that I felt confident enough to order jambalaya (very out of the ordinary for this girl!) when we ventured over to Alligator Cafe to grab a bite when we discovered Muddy Waters didn’t have any food offerings.

The bartender was efficient and the regulars were bizarre to say the least (and one was a bit smelly). This wouldn’t be a bad place to grab a round of pool or listen to a great local band … try it sometime. 🙂

Muddy Waters
1518 Greenville Avenue | Dallas, TX 75206-7413
(214) 823-1518

A Pearl of a Place

After a bite and a few drinks at Angry Dog, our group ventured into The Pearl on Commerce. “Jazzed” about the band we heard walking in the door, we all ordered large (and a bit too ambitious) drinks, grabbed, a table, and listened.

The 20-person brass band was upbeat and just what we needed on a Tuesday night. Though a bit loud, it is what we should have expected from a jazz club. There was a woman singing that had an incredibly soulful voice and indulged us once more after a request.

The drinks … oh, the drinks … make sure you don’t order wells. I had maybe one of the worst dirty martinis of my life – I didn’t finish it (and for me, that is a huge deal). We all switched to the deal of the day after only one drink: $1 Pearl cans.

Many aren’t aware, even if they’ve been, that there are two more levels to the Pearl. After the concert ended, we made our way upstairs for a round of pool. This place is quite a bit of fun and very interesting … the crowd is incredibly varied – sometimes there are bratty kids like us and sometimes there are biker dudes.

Drink strength: 3.5
Overall: 4.5

Pearl At Commerce
www.pearlatcommerce.com
2038 Commerce Street | Dallas, TX 75201-4425
(214) 655-8824

It is better to spend money like there’s no tomorrow then to spend tonight like there’s no money.

P.J. O’Rourke

Angry Dog

All the way down in Deep Ellum, beside St. Pete’s, a quiet evening amongst friends began with cheap wells and drafts and a plate of chicken wings. As we recapped our days, our blast-of-a-waiter, Vincent, entertained us with his attempt at a German accent.

The night was filled with Angry Dogs (the namesake of the chow joint, a fully loaded hot dog complete with a side of beans! Not the angry, biting dog that might send you on a trip to Stewart Law Offices) and drinks. Not Their alcohol spread is impressive but know that they don’t consider Franconia domestic – even though it’s made in McKinney!

The crowd wasn’t what one would expect from Deep Ellum because Angry Dog is loved by all and it’s reputation reaches quite far. Give it a chance and definitely make sure you put plenty of nickels in the meters, though … the meter maids in that neck of the woods are vicious (two of our four cars got $35 parking tickets for expired meters – one only by 8 minutes!).

Drink strength: 3
Overall: 4

Angry Dog
www.angrydog.com
2726 Commerce Street | (214) 741-4406

Specials:
Monday – Friday | 4-7 p.m. | $2.50 domestic drafts, $3.50 premium drafts, $3 house wine, $2.50 house cocktails

amster-DAMN bar (Closed)

With the places I’ve spent time in Dallas, Exposition Park was new to me. The drive down there from my office and finding parking was a bit stressful (my friends did the smart thing and took the Green Line which stops right across the street from A.B.) but when I arrived, a drink was promptly shoved into my hand and we ventured out onto the roomy patio.

The patio has quite a bit of “potential”; the night we went it was a bit cool but I can imagine how nice it would be on a beautiful Dallas Spring day. We caught up and sipped our cheap(ish) drinks … and then another drink … and then another. It’s the kind of place you get caught up and spend a bit too long drinking (in a good way).