I am planning to go to a few away games, at the very least Lafayette.

So it got me thinking, how is the nightlife in some of these Sun Belt college towns? Do you have bars the stadium or near campus? Are away fans welcomed? Are they college bars or are they Applebee's?

I have made a list of bars around the Square in San Marcos. These certainly arent all of the bars in San Marcos, just bars around the square. The Square is the main entertainment district. It is centrally located, next to campus, walking distance from the stadium, offers a variety of bars, and is safe for pretty much anyone that wants to have fun.

I included a picture or two of each. Some bars were easy to find a good picture of, some weren't. These are in no particular order:

1. Sean Patrick’s
“Irish Pub – Texas Grub”
70 beers on tap
Food: Mostly bar food, including burgers, wings, sandwiches, pork chops, chicken fried steak, quesadillas, fish & chips, chicken pot pie, bangers & mash, soups & salads
Games: Pool, shuffleboard, darts
http://www.seanpatrickstx.com



2. Harper’s Public House
Good drink specials
Games: Darts



3. Slackers
Shot bar. Located upstairs above Harper’s


4. The Veranda
Roof top patio. Great view of the square, football stadium, and campus. Located above Harper’s. Accessible through Slackers.

(View of Courthouse from the Veranda)

5. Black Rabbit Saloon
Games: Skee-ball, darts, pool, video games
http://www.blackrabitsaloonsmtx.com



6. The Vault
Club music
http://www.thevaultsm.com


7. Nephew’s
Multiple bars and beer troughs throughout. Dance floor, loud music
Games: Pool
http://www.nephewssanmarcos.com


8. Green Parrot
Long and narrow bar, booths along the sides. Frat bar


9. Rocky LaRues
Similar to Green Parrot. Patio out back


10. Vodka Street
Neat building, typical college bar, great burgers


11. Taxi’s
Piano bar. In the basement of Vodka Street. Formally known as J’s Bistro
Food: BBQ



12. Chimy’s
Margaritas, draft beer. Patio out back. Ton of strange. Only open til midnight.
Food: Tacos, nachos, burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads
http://www.chimys.com



13. Tap Room
50 beers on tap. Tables and bar only, no standing.
Food: Good daily specials, great burgers (best in town, maybe America), ribs, wings, appetizers, sandwiches, shrimp, fish & chips, surf & turf, and salads.
http://www.taproomsanmarcos.com



14. Louie’s Oyster House and Beer Garden
Not open yet, will be brand new Fall 2013. Appears to have a nice outdoor bar too.




15. The Rooftop
New place, Live DJ upstairs, offers bottle service
Food: Burgers, sandwiches, tacos, and salads.
http://www.rooftoponthesquare.com


16. Showdown
Eclectic bar between the Square and Campus, same location for 35+ years
Games: Pool and darts
http://www.showdownsanmarcos.com



17. Zelick’s Ice House
Built in an 1930’s gas station. Mostly outdoors, lots of games. Two blocks off the square.
Games: Pool, washers, cornhole, bocce ball, and horseshoes
http://www.zelickssm.com



18. Triple Crown
“The Live Music Capital of San Marcos”
Opens every day at 8am. Has hosted 3 to 5 live bands every day for the past 6026 consecutive days (16+ years), a streak that includes Christmases and Thanksgivings
http://www.triplecrownlive.com



19. Railyard Bar and Grill
Indoor/outdoor bar with lots of games.
Food: Burgers, fried food, soups, salads, desserts, and appetizers.
Games: Pool, darts, ping pong, and horseshoes.
http://www.railyardbarandgrill.com



20. Eskimo Hut
Frozen daiquiris-to-go. Nice patio out back, never crowded, very cheap pitchers of beer.


21. Texas Music Theater
Very nice concert hall. Bands on the weekends. Built in a 1920’s movie theater.
http://www.txmusictheater.com



22. Barfish Lounge
Typical college bar. Downstairs from Bar One Forty One.
http://www.barfishlounge.com


23. Bar One Forty One
Nightclub. Live DJ Wed-Sat. Upstairs from Barfish.
http://www.baronefortyone.com


24. Shade Rooftop Patio Bar
Rooftop patio bar above Black Rabbit

Lord Jesus! Lol

That looks awesome, Lafayette has several places all downtown on Jefferson St. We do not have a large Greek population so you never get that out of place feeling. There are a few other bars scattered around town as well, but the "college" nite life is pretty much contained downtown.

Dauphin Street in Mobile is akin to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, just on a smaller scale. It's less than 10 minutes away from Ladd Stadium and there are probably at least 30 bars and pubs. If that's your thing then go to Dauphin Street and you'll find something there that suits you.

God, I miss college . .. . sigh . .. .

(08-02-2013 01:28 PM)geauxcajuns Wrote:  That looks awesome, Lafayette has several places all downtown on Jefferson St. We do not have a large Greek population so you never get that out of place feeling. There are a few other bars scattered around town as well, but the "college" nite life is pretty much contained downtown.

I took my daughter down the strip a month ago and it was really depressing. She is going to UL for grad school. I remember Mako's, The Loose Cabosse, Night Caps and the Keg. It was hoping in the 80's. After 2:00 AM if you hadn't had enough we would head to the Kingfish till the sunrise. Today only Night Caps and the Keg remain. Lafayette is second only to New Orleans as far as nightlife. At least it was in the 80's.

Troy has a few...

1) Cheers

2) The front porch

3) Trojan zone

4) The Brick

I'm
Sure there's others but I don't go to them anyway.

They REALLY cleaned up the old Gordo's...

And good god... They didn't have that many bars when I was in college (probably a good thing, lest I wouldn't have graduated).

San Marcos looks like an awesome town! Might have to make a trip down there...... Anyway Boone is probably known more for the house/frat parties than the bar/club scene, but we do pretty for ourselves for a town our size.
Howard Street
1) Char- Nice restaurant turned nightclub from Thursday-Sunday morning. Always a pretty long line on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Has a nice covered deck, and some extremely attractive women.

2) Paolucci's- Italian restaurant by day, club by night. Right next to Char, and equally crowded, also has a deck outside.

3) Espresso News and Wine Bar- Coffee Shop and wine bar that has a lot of live music, mostly reggae and folk stuff. Really chill cool place.

King Street
4) Galileo's- College bar with live music on the weekends and a nice covered patio.
5) Murphy's- Sort of a townie bar, has pool tables, darts, and other games.
6) Mellow Mushroom- Small chain pizza restaurant and bar. Surprisingly good beer selection and vibe.
7) Macado's- Really good sandwich restaurant and small bar. Awesome cinnamon buns.
8) Boone Saloon- Great beer selection and awesome vibe. Live music and the best $1 tacos you can get on a Tuesday.

Other parts of Boone
9) tAPP Room/ Klondike Cafe/ Parthenon- Little strip of dive bars all right next to each other across from Holmes Convention Center. tAPP room is actually really nice with a good beer selection, the other two are college bars where I spent a ton of time with AHO Rugby. Parthenon has the best wings in Boone in my opinion.

10) Town Tavern- A ton of TVs and live music around a nice bar and some pretty good food.
11) Legends- Venue owned by the University, has a show or two every weekend. Notable acts include Dave Matthews, Eric Clapton, and others.
There are a few others around town, but these are the most notable and popular.

Troy isn't a college town. It's a town in the middle of no where that happens to have a university. We have a few run down bars, Santa Fe, and Ruby Tuesday that's it.

(08-04-2013 10:23 AM)troy4ever21 Wrote:  Troy isn't a college town. It's a town in the middle of no where that happens to have a university. We have a few run down bars, Santa Fe, and Ruby Tuesday that's it.

I had a hell of a time finding an establishment that served adult beverages one time when a buddy and I daytripped(seemed like a great idea at the time) from Murfreesborofor a basketball doubleheader. We finally gave up and resigned ourselves to Ruby Tuesday's and they were closing for the day due to malfunctioning kitchen equipment or something.

We ultimately ended up at a BBQ place in front of Wal Mart(IIRC) that had decent BBQ and your basic bottled domestics, unfortunately we wasted like 45 minutes trying to find somewhere so we had time for a sandwich and a quick beer.

(08-02-2013 12:48 PM)tx.state Wrote:  I am planning to go to a few away games, at the very least Lafayette.

So it got me thinking, how is the nightlife in some of these Sun Belt college towns? Do you have bars the stadium or near campus? Are away fans welcomed? Are they college bars or are they Applebee's?

I have made a list of bars around the Square in San Marcos. These certainly arent all of the bars in San Marcos, just bars around the square. The Square is the main entertainment district. It is centrally located, next to campus, walking distance from the stadium, offers a variety of bars, and is safe for pretty much anyone that wants to have fun.

I included a picture or two of each. Some bars were easy to find a good picture of, some weren't. These are in no particular order:

1. Sean Patrick’s
“Irish Pub – Texas Grub”
70 beers on tap
Food: Mostly bar food, including burgers, wings, sandwiches, pork chops, chicken fried steak, quesadillas, fish & chips, chicken pot pie, bangers & mash, soups & salads
Games: Pool, shuffleboard, darts
http://www.seanpatrickstx.com



2. Harper’s Public House
Good drink specials
Games: Darts



3. Slackers
Shot bar. Located upstairs above Harper’s


4. The Veranda
Roof top patio. Great view of the square, football stadium, and campus. Located above Harper’s. Accessible through Slackers.

(View of Courthouse from the Veranda)

5. Black Rabbit Saloon
Games: Skee-ball, darts, pool, video games
http://www.blackrabitsaloonsmtx.com



6. The Vault
Club music
http://www.thevaultsm.com


7. Nephew’s
Multiple bars and beer troughs throughout. Dance floor, loud music
Games: Pool
http://www.nephewssanmarcos.com


8. Green Parrot
Long and narrow bar, booths along the sides. Frat bar


9. Rocky LaRues
Similar to Green Parrot. Patio out back


10. Vodka Street
Neat building, typical college bar, great burgers


11. Taxi’s
Piano bar. In the basement of Vodka Street. Formally known as J’s Bistro
Food: BBQ



12. Chimy’s
Margaritas, draft beer. Patio out back. Ton of strange. Only open til midnight.
Food: Tacos, nachos, burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads
http://www.chimys.com



13. Tap Room
50 beers on tap. Tables and bar only, no standing.
Food: Good daily specials, great burgers (best in town, maybe America), ribs, wings, appetizers, sandwiches, shrimp, fish & chips, surf & turf, and salads.
http://www.taproomsanmarcos.com



14. Louie’s Oyster House and Beer Garden
Not open yet, will be brand new Fall 2013. Appears to have a nice outdoor bar too.




15. The Rooftop
New place, Live DJ upstairs, offers bottle service
Food: Burgers, sandwiches, tacos, and salads.
http://www.rooftoponthesquare.com


16. Showdown
Eclectic bar between the Square and Campus, same location for 35+ years
Games: Pool and darts
http://www.showdownsanmarcos.com



17. Zelick’s Ice House
Built in an 1930’s gas station. Mostly outdoors, lots of games. Two blocks off the square.
Games: Pool, washers, cornhole, bocce ball, and horseshoes
http://www.zelickssm.com



18. Triple Crown
“The Live Music Capital of San Marcos”
Opens every day at 8am. Has hosted 3 to 5 live bands every day for the past 6026 consecutive days (16+ years), a streak that includes Christmases and Thanksgivings
http://www.triplecrownlive.com



19. Railyard Bar and Grill
Indoor/outdoor bar with lots of games.
Food: Burgers, fried food, soups, salads, desserts, and appetizers.
Games: Pool, darts, ping pong, and horseshoes.
http://www.railyardbarandgrill.com



20. Eskimo Hut
Frozen daiquiris-to-go. Nice patio out back, never crowded, very cheap pitchers of beer.


21. Texas Music Theater
Very nice concert hall. Bands on the weekends. Built in a 1920’s movie theater.
http://www.txmusictheater.com



22. Barfish Lounge
Typical college bar. Downstairs from Bar One Forty One.
http://www.barfishlounge.com


23. Bar One Forty One
Nightclub. Live DJ Wed-Sat. Upstairs from Barfish.
http://www.baronefortyone.com


24. Shade Rooftop Patio Bar
Rooftop patio bar above Black Rabbit

Looks like when the Cajuns come down next year i will need a week in San Marcos, could never visit a third of those places in two nights, and days. But Mrs. Express and I will give it our all.

(08-04-2013 11:28 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  Looks like when the Cajuns come down next year i will need a week in San Marcos, could never visit a third of those places in two nights, and days. But Mrs. Express and I will give it our all.

It's easier than you might think. None of the bars have a cover and they stay open until 2pm.

Its not uncommon to hit up 4+ bars a night. I was out on Friday and hit Zelicks, Rockys, and Taxis in a 2.5 hour period.

Like Bourbon or Sixth Street, Go somewhere, buy a drink, walk next door and repeat. Each of them have their own vibe and customer base. So if you feel out of place at one, you just walk to the next one.

And I'd actually skip Nephews, given the report I've gotten from a few current students.

That saddens me, as I used to love nephews.

(08-04-2013 11:37 AM)chrisattsu Wrote:  

(08-04-2013 11:28 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  Looks like when the Cajuns come down next year i will need a week in San Marcos, could never visit a third of those places in two nights, and days. But Mrs. Express and I will give it our all.

It's easier than you might think. None of the bars have a cover and they stay open until 2pm.

Its not uncommon to hit up 4+ bars a night. I was out on Friday and hit Zelicks, Rockys, and Taxis in a 2.5 hour period.

Like Bourbon or Sixth Street, Go somewhere, buy a drink, walk next door and repeat. Each of them have their own vibe and customer base. So if you feel out of place at one, you just walk to the next one.

Yeah most are located within the downtown square and easy to bar hop

(08-02-2013 03:48 PM)BurlingtonApp Wrote:  San Marcos looks like an awesome town! Might have to make a trip down there...... Anyway Boone is probably known more for the house/frat parties than the bar/club scene, but we do pretty for ourselves for a town our size.
Howard Street
1) Char- Nice restaurant turned nightclub from Thursday-Sunday morning. Always a pretty long line on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Has a nice covered deck, and some extremely attractive women.

2) Paolucci's- Italian restaurant by day, club by night. Right next to Char, and equally crowded, also has a deck outside.

3) Espresso News and Wine Bar- Coffee Shop and wine bar that has a lot of live music, mostly reggae and folk stuff. Really chill cool place.

King Street
4) Galileo's- College bar with live music on the weekends and a nice covered patio.
5) Murphy's- Sort of a townie bar, has pool tables, darts, and other games.
6) Mellow Mushroom- Small chain pizza restaurant and bar. Surprisingly good beer selection and vibe.
7) Macado's- Really good sandwich restaurant and small bar. Awesome cinnamon buns.
8) Boone Saloon- Great beer selection and awesome vibe. Live music and the best $1 tacos you can get on a Tuesday.

Other parts of Boone
9) tAPP Room/ Klondike Cafe/ Parthenon- Little strip of dive bars all right next to each other across from Holmes Convention Center. tAPP room is actually really nice with a good beer selection, the other two are college bars where I spent a ton of time with AHO Rugby. Parthenon has the best wings in Boone in my opinion.

10) Town Tavern- A ton of TVs and live music around a nice bar and some pretty good food.
11) Legends- Venue owned by the University, has a show or two every weekend. Notable acts include Dave Matthews, Eric Clapton, and others.
There are a few others around town, but these are the most notable and popular.

Wow, that's weird. I'm in D.C. for two weeks (well, Alexandria VA technically), and am a block off their King St, which also has a Murphy's. Really good, with good happy hours.

Moscow is a true college town. Here are some highlights:

-Blue Monday at the Garden Lounge: 60 different mixed drinks for $2.75 (until midnight). For some reason, they make the long islands super strong on that night.

-Tap a Keg Tuesday at the Moscow Alehouse: Microbrews for $5 a pitcher. Drink until the kegs blow.

-7 to 11 at CJ's nightclub: Unlimited beer for $5, between 7 and 11.

-The Corner Club was recently featured in Sports Illustrated: http://extramustard.si.com/2013/07/19/fi...e-formula/ It hails from a time when Idaho's drinking culture won us the title of best party school in the nation.

-The Plant is the local redneck dive, and it sells cheap pitchers called "the Plant Special". It's some kind of messed up mixed drink. They also do the ladder.

Honorable mentions:

-John's Alley is the local concert venue.

-Mingles is the primary pool hall. Best bar food in town.

-Champs is a sports bar & grill that features 30+ screens.

-The Perch the only bar on campus. It's in the center of greek row, and 100 feet from my office. It's a very easy choice for a lunch break.


Here's the best part: All of these bars with the exception of the plant and the perch are on the same main drag (those two are close). It's not uncommon to hit most of them every time you go out. Also, Pullman is 6 miles away, with an entirely different bar culture. It never gets boring here, and both WSU and UI still make the top 100 party schools in the nation.

(08-04-2013 03:01 PM)dmacfour Wrote:  -Blue Monday at the Garden Lounge: 60 different mixed drinks for $2.75 (until midnight). For some reason, they make the long islands super strong on that night.

How do you make a drink that's already almost entirely alcohol "super strong"?

(08-04-2013 03:04 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(08-04-2013 03:01 PM)dmacfour Wrote:  -Blue Monday at the Garden Lounge: 60 different mixed drinks for $2.75 (until midnight). For some reason, they make the long islands super strong on that night.

How do you make a drink that's already almost entirely alcohol "super strong"?

Less triple sec and Cola? More rum, vodka, and gin?

(08-04-2013 03:12 PM)dmacfour Wrote:  

(08-04-2013 03:04 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(08-04-2013 03:01 PM)dmacfour Wrote:  -Blue Monday at the Garden Lounge: 60 different mixed drinks for $2.75 (until midnight). For some reason, they make the long islands super strong on that night.

How do you make a drink that's already almost entirely alcohol "super strong"?

Less triple sec and Cola? More rum, vodka, and gin?

There's usually not a lot of triple sec/sour/cola to begin with at any college bar I've been to.