(The Real) Cinco de Mayo

Well, Mexican Independence is coming up, so BTB's normal deal on the 5th of the month gets extended.

As I hear it, the festivities will be starting at 3pm, instead of 5pm, $.50 shots of Cuervo and $1 bottles to start. Given that school will be out and significant number of the students who stay in town over the summer are the ones who go out to the bar, this event will again be packed.

If you plan on sitting down, I would show up around 2pm. If you plan on getting a seat at the bar (recommended) I'd show up before 1:30.

Mitch's Place

The Location: 1220 S. University (at the corner of S. Forest), Upstairs

The Facts: Mitch's Place relocated a few years ago to it's current location from down the street. The bar features two pool tables, booth and table seating, and several televisions around the room generally with various sporting event on. Supposedly, they have a kitchen that serves various barfood type items, though I have seen one person ever eat there. Mitch's is generally open fairly early in the day, (I've walked in at noon on a weekday) but I don't know their exact hours. They are generally closed Sunday

The Specials:

Monday: $3 60oz pitchers of High Life

Tuesday: Well drinks starting at $1.50 at 9pm and escalating a dollar an hour after that.

Wednesday: $2 pitchers of High Life, $3 long island iced teas, Cover starts at 10pm and is $2.

Thursday: $2 bottles, $3 well drinks

Friday: Various shot specials throughout the night, $3 bottles of Amstel Light and Heiniken.

Saturday: $3 Bottles

Other Info:

Karaoke is on friday nights apparently supplied by some chick name Lori.

Review:

What is there to say about Mitch's? Well, it's a bar... That's about it. The nights when it's financially viable to go there, i.e. Mondays and Wednesday, it can get pretty packed, especially on Wednesday. It isn't terrible for meeting new people, but it is a bit loud so you'll have to deal with that when conversing with people. There is generally enough seating, though often the high tables are taken up by people who go to play beer pong. I honestly don't get the 'let's go to the bar and play beer pong' people. It seems strange to me, but I guess it's one of the draws for some people.

Other nights, Mitch's is pretty quiet, especially Tuesdays and Saturdays. Personally, if I plan on going, to Mitch's I show up just before cover starts on a Wednesday. Any time else, it seems like a lame way to go. However, if you do go on that Wednesday, you can drink (terrible) beer for very cheap, and still have a decent time. On Wednesday Mitch's has the same advantage as GTC's, you can run into a bunch of people you know. It also has the problem in that it's pretty generic.

The atmosphere is dull, to be blunt. I'm not a huge fan of the 2nd story bar. To me, a bar should be at least on the first floor, if not the basement, but I guess that's just my preference.

Oh, and the pool isn't free.

I give Mitch's two stars. I'd give it 3 on a Wednesday, but I just can't bring myself to uprate it that much for one really crowed day where there is rarely enough waiters/waitresses on to service the entire crowed. Sorry Jodi.

Updated Event: Euchre Tourney

Previously.

BTB's euchre league is now held on Tuesdays.

Dominick's is Open!

Huzzah! Constant Buzz is back!

Dominick's opened earlier this week. I stopped in this afternoon, and all is well.

Cinco de Montho at Cantina

BTB Cantina, once a month, has a night of extreme specials. Starting at 5pm on the 5th of every month, all bottles of beer are $1 and shots of Cuervo are only $.50. Every hour the price of each of these goes up by $.50 and settles at $2.50.

While I have a love-hate relationship with tequila, as I believe we all do, this is a rockin' deal for that first hour. I do believe this is actually in violation of the law (selling alcohol under the cost to purchase - Handle of JCE ~ $34/40 shots), but hey, who needs the law?

The first time I went was in January (coinciding with a friend's birthday) and it wasn't crowded at all. However, I also stopped in for Febuary 5th at around 5:15pm and it took 30 minutes in line to get a drink (I promptly left after said drink).

Next month's Cinco de Montho will probably be equally or more crowded, as student's will be concluding their first week back from Spring Break, and needing to unwind.

Dominick's

The Location: 812 Monroe (just south of the Law Quad)

The Facts:

Dominick's is a restaurant that's known for it's atmosphere and drinks. It is open during the spring, summer, and fall, and maintains fairly early hours closing at 10pm most nights. It has some indoor seating, but the majority of the tables are outside, with a first and second story patio in both the front and back.

Other Info:

Dominick's will be closing for the winter (I'll try to find out exactly when ASAP) soon. If you want to visit, now is the time.

Review:

As I said before Dom's is known for it's atmosphere. The almost exclusive outdoor seating and the interior decor give it a feeling of a spanish bistro mixed with an alpine cafe. The patrons are a nice blend of townies (often there with their children), law students, and professors. The undergrad population there is considerably smaller than you would assume given the proximity to student housing, but I certainly welcome the change of pace from the younger spots in AA.

Dom's also has a very famous sangria. You can order it in pints, quarts, and half gallons, (pricing scales from ~$6 to ~$17. It comes in a mason jar, and you can pour it into smaller cups at your table. It is mixed there at Dom's using their own recipe, much like MY favorite Dom's drink: Constant Buzz.

This stuff is to die for. Remember the first time you saw a boob that didn't belong to a family member? Yeah, like that, but with alcohol. And stawberries.

It's basically a strawberry daqueri but with about 5 more types of alcohol. It only comes in one size (slightly less than a half gallon) mason jar, and costs about $20. When it's fall, it's less fun to drink, as it's cold out, but during the summer, there really is nothing better, than on, a Friday afternoon, going to Dom's splitting, a Constant Buzz with a friend, and sitting out on the top porch watching Ann Arbor go about it's business.

Dominick's also sells a number of local wines, and has several local beers on tap. These drafts are fairly costly, and I have never had one there.

The food at Dominick's is what you would expect from a Continental restaurant. Pasta, pastries, seafood etc. The pricing is fairly steep, so, if on a budget, I'd recommend somewhere else, though the few times I've had it, the food has been pretty good.

Personally, I've never been to a place like Dominick's in the states. It's a very European experience. I recommend going there with someone who's already been once, just because the intricacies of ordering, etc. are a little confusing at first, but definitly try to make it there if you have the time and money. I give it 4 stars.

Village Corner

The Location: 601 S. Forest (corner of S. Forest and South U.)

The Facts: 

Started in 1970, Village Corner has one of the largest wine selections in Michigan, with over 5000 wines. It is also a general store, also dabbling in tobacco products with over 350 cigar varieties. Village Corner was built after a fire destroyed a once historic residence of many Ann Arborites, including Bob Dylan (Rob Zimmerman at the time). It remains one of the few places close to campus that acts as a true grocery store with (semi)fresh fruit and veggies, packaged meat, etc.

Review:

My VC visits up until this school year had been limited to the rare mid-night-on-the-town stops for 40s and the like in between parties. It wasn't until this year, when I moved across the street from it did I realize just how cool it was. The first time I went to buy a bottle of wine (a necessary aid when studying French, in my opinion), I spent 40 minutes perusing before coming to my final selection. I had been in VC before, but I didn't realize just how big it was until I took the time to wander through the selection. You can find just about anything you're looking for there, and if you can't, the expert wine staff can help you. They're there from 9am-6pm everyday but Sunday (noon-6pm). The beer selection is large, but not staggering, while the cigar selection is probably the 3rd or 4th largest in Ann Arbor. Good, not great.

While VC doesn't have a Meijer-sized selection of food, you can pick out most of what you need, from frozen foods, to canned goods, to meat and greens. The quality of the veggies is a big hit or miss, and the prices are a big higher, so it's best to do your shopping in bulk elsewhere, if you're on a tight budget, but for those who live nearby it's a convenient place to grab a few groceries.

VC's ability to sell liquor at current is in question due to unknown circumstances. I overheard this being murmered between employees, but when asked, they responded they just had a shipping snafu. I plan on updating info on this later. When it's there, the liquor is fairly standard in selection and price for a near-campus business, with perhaps a slightly larger selection than average. Being far from well versed on wine and the particulars of it's pricing, I'm unaware how VC stacks up to other places but it didn't seem too different, from my limited knowledge. Also, when buying wine, you can get a 5% discount on any purchase of 6 or more bottles, which seems like a pretty decent deal.

Village Corner's building is a little sketchy, with a fairly dirty appearance, both inside and out. The employees, especially the late night employees tend to be a bit crabby, and contribute to a less than stellar atmosphere. I give it three stars. It's an astoundingly good wine cellar with a convenent grocery store attached and I like the fact that I don't need to drive to Meijer to get my shopping done. It's off the mark on it's cleanliness and employees. I'd love to give it four stars but until the fresh food quality improves I don't see myself giving it a four star rating.

BTB Cantina

The Location: 1140 S. University (corner of South U. and Church)

The Facts:

Cantina opened it's doors last winter, after Upstairs at Charley's closed and was renovated. After several delays, BTB Cantina finally opened amongst much hype. It has much more of a lounge feel than a bar. There are several couches and tables arranged throughout. It is well lit, and generally not too loud. There are two dartboards and a shuffleboard table, along with a few video games. The bar serves standard BTB fare (burritoes, chips, etc.) as well as a wide assortment of tequila, margaritas, and Mexican beer (bottles only).  The tequila ranges from decently priced ($3) to YGBSM ($350). All tequilas can be had straight, tequila cruda, or in a margarita. BTB Cantina is open until 4am most (all?) nights. It's marketed as a stoner-getting-the-munchies hotspot with the slogan 'when you roll 'em... we roll 'em.'

Other Info: Cantina is rarely the only destination of it's patrons. From my observations most people stop in after going to another bar, to grab food and maybe one last drink, or as a short stop before going out to their final/next destination.

Review:

Probably the most hyped openings since I've been in Ann Arbor, BTB Cantina promised to be a combination of late-night-food and 'the next Charley's'. Well, consider me disappointed. While it's a very relaxed enviroment, it certainly lacks any real draw as a bar. The pitchers of margaritas are ok, but expensive for how much you get, tequila as your only liquor leads to upset stomachs and reluctant indulgence. My feelings regarding Mexican beer and how it is made are as follows:

Step 1.) Drink lots of tequila.

Step 2.) Urinate into jar.

Step 3.) Bottle contents of jar.

One of the few high points to BTB Cantina is the shuffleboard table. It is one of only two I know of in Ann Arbor. There often is someone playing it, but the wait is generally short. They also have a few nice dartboards, but the last time I was there (last week) the darts were damaged, so that's something to be aware of if you're looking for a place to play.

Though BTB Cantina is marketed to the 'stoner' crowd, I almost never see them there. Though I rarely stay past 3-ish, the plurality of Cantina patrons are college Greeks. It seems to take spill over from The Brown Jug, from what I can gather.

The redeeming quality of Cantina is going to it not at bar time. Going to Cantina with a laptop, using the wireless internet, and getting some work done with a margarita in hand seems like the best use of Cantina to me. It's fairly quiet, especially around 4pm, it's comfy (the couches rock) and food is within 25 feet. Other than that, it's a very sub-par bar/lounge. I give it two stars.

Good Time Charley's

The Location: 1140 S. University (corner of South U. and Church)

The Facts:

Since opening in 1979, GTC's has become a staple of the Ann Arbor college scene. They feature one of the largest shooter menus in town, along with a modest tap list. Charley's has several flat panel TVs hanging from the ceilings viewable from any seat inside the bar, showing college and pro athletics. Charley's has both interior and exterior seating, though as fall turns the weather colder, the exterior seating loses it's 'charm' and gains it's 'areyoujokingmemynipplesarefallingoffjustwalkinghere'. A little over a year ago, Charley's underwent a renovation, segmenting off several parts of the building. The top floor has since been filled with BTB Cantina, but the section on the west side has yet to be claimed.

The Specials:

Chuck's has one of the earliest Happy Hours in the Ace Duece, starting (on weekdays) at 2:30pm and running until 6. This features $3 pitchers of Miller Light, Killian's, Labatt Blue, and PBR, $2 tall beers (23 oz) of the same and a dollar off 'pub menu' food (pepperoni twists, onion rings, etc.) and mixed drinks. After 10pm, all of the above drinks go back on special but pitchers are instead $4.50, and talls are $3.25. Every night, there is a 'shot special' where one of the shots/shooters will be at a discounted price. Sunday nights are coin flips; after 10pm, you can flip a coin and if you call it in the air, your bill will be half off (only counts toward drinks bought after 10).

Other Info:

Charley's has karaoke on Tuesdays, supplied by DJ Stoo.

Review:

What to say about GTC's? The only real negative I can say about Chuck's is that after 10pm on Thursday-Saturday, it's pretty packed. Expect to wait in line to get in, unless you plan to arrive at 9:30 or earlier, and don't expect to get a table, either, especially when it gets colder.

While GTC's is rarely bad, it's rarely even close to spectacular. The prices are fair, but nothing I would really call a 'deal'. The beer list is uninspired to say the least, and it's generally too noisy to hear any of the TVs (though that's not really needed). Conversation is difficult from the noise as well, unless you don't mind yelling. Service is slow, more because of the number of people there than a bad wait staff, but I've waited over 45 minutes between sitting down and getting the pitcher I ordered.

While the crowd has it's negatives, it's also the reason why Charley's is to popular. You will almost never go to GTC's and not see someone you know. The fact that everyone seems to know someone and a friendly (if a little understaffed) staff, and comparably bright lighting make the bar have a 'happy' air about it, making it great for meeting new people.

The 'Longest Islands' at Charley's are quite popular. It's a giant mason jar (it used to be a hurricane glass, but people kept stealing them) filled with a selection from their various Long Island recipes. It'll ring in at $9.50 for  60 ounces.

Contributing, also, to it's popularity, is it's central location. It's right next to campus, it's very close to Greek Row, UTowers, and several other large student areas. On afternoons, it's a great place to get a seat outside and people-watch with a pitcher and a monster basket of fries.

I regard Charley's as a backup option every night. While it doesn't have a solid 'Must Go' night, it will never disappoint. I give GTC's three stars. If they were to add another special, I'd probably up rate them, but there's no real need for them to, since they don't have any problems filling up without it.

Link:

http://www.good-time-charleys.com/