I don’t go the Jake’s very often, but when I do go I always have a good time. They have the “back room”, which is a huge room with a stage where they have concerts. It’s never very expensive to get in, and it’s a really good room for concerts. When they don’t have concerts, you can go back into the room and they have extra seating and another bar than the main one. When Texas Tech plays on TV, it’s a good place to go because there are a lot of TVs and projections. They have pretty good drink specials, depending on what night you go. Every night they have a happy hour from 7 to 8 pm where you get $1.75 drafts, $2 bottles and $2 well drinks. Some of my favorite nightly specials are Monday nights are 2 dollar margaritas, Tuesdays are two dollars drafts and bottles and cherry vodka sours, and Fridays are ten dollars buckets. They also have poker tournaments on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesday at 7 and 9 pm. They have lots of seating room in the front room, a back room that has several pool tables, and then the “Back Room”, where they have stages and more seating. It’s a good place to have a large group of friends because they have a lot more seating, but it’s also fun to just go with a date and sit at the bar or at a table alone and have some drinks.

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The first bar that I ever went to in Lubbock was Bashes. There are two of them here now, but when iw wen there was only the one that is on Main street. I was only 19, and I went there for a poker tournament. They used to have them pretty often, and I assume they got into trouble for letting underage kids come in there and play for a cash prize. I did really well in the tournament, and that being so many years ago I don’t even remember what I thought of the bar at the time. But now, it’s a pretty cool place. It’s using that whole “old and shitty” motif to it’s advantage. There are a few different rooms in it, the front room is always the most crowded and has the main bar, then a little middle dark room, a game room, and the back room that has another bar. They have some decent sized screens and always show the UFC fights. They have 2 cent pint night on Mondays with a small cover from 9 to 11, which is probably the cheapest you can drink in Lubbock. They also have an “Around the world” beer club, with a pretty good selection of hard to find beers. I was in it, but you have to finish it in three months or they make you start over, so when I went in there and found out I had to start over I gave up. A few downfalls to the bar for me are that it’s incredibly smokey and sometimes it’s hard to sit where you can see a TV clearly. I am usually fine with smoke, but for some reason this place just holds it in like there’s a lit cigarette in your face at all times. And, the TV thing is bad when there’s something intersting going on, so you have to get there early to get a seat, and even if you do someone might just stand right in front of you. Fun, cheap, with a few downfalls, I enjoying going to the Original Bashes.

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Favorite spot in Lubbock for me personally: Blue Light. Not only because it’s Blue Light, but because it’s connected to another bar that I love, Tom’s Daiquiri, that I’ll write about later. Blue light has it all. You sit inside and watch awesome bands play, you sit outside in the front and can drink on the sidewalk or walk right into Tom’s with your drink, or you go outside in the back and they have a seating area and sometimes a band out there too. Their drinks are never expensive, and if you go early they have really good specials. They have a staff that never changes, so you actually get to know the door people and the bartenders because they are always the same. That just says that these people have a really sweet job and never want to leave it. The crowd is always good, it never seems shady, and everyone just wants to have fun. There’s a small dance floor right in front of the stage so you can dance to the live music. It’s just one of those bars I feel comfortable in, like I feel at home when I go there. And, being able to enjoy two completely different bars legally with the same drink is a lot of fun too. So, this one definitely gets my approval, because it is one of my very favorite places to go to. So, good job Blue Light, you win.

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I haven’t been to this bar many times, but Adolph’s has always been a fun time when I go with a group of friends. The first time I went there was a small group of us, but there’s constant entertainment when you go on a busy night. It’s a karaoke bar where tons of people actually get up there and try to perform and do well, as opposed to most of the karaoke bars I had been to. They get up there and sing their hearts out. Some of them are good, and some of the are awful, but it’s always entertaining to see someone get up there and try their hardest to perform. The sing some random songs, there’s a dance floor, and the drinks aren’t too expensive. They have little sessions where the DJ just plays regular music and everyone dances, and then they go back to singing. It’s a different crowd than what I usually am around, but that makes it fun and interesting. I’d say this isn’t a good bar to take a date to in the first stages of your relationship, because you guys might get a little uncomfortable or they might decide it would be funny to sign you up and make you sing, but it’s a good place to take a group of friends if you’re looking for a fun crazy time. But make sure you catch it on a busy night, it’s not fun to be at a karaoke bar when there’s no one there.

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A pretty popular club here in Lubbock is located in the Depot District. It’s called Klusoz. It’s a decent club, it has nice looking seating with TVs build into the back of the couches, and lots of TVs on the walls. There are lots of different places to sit and be comfortable and watch what is going on. They also have an outside area that is open when the weather is warm for a live band to perform. There’s a decent sized bar that has a nice variety of liquors, but not the biggest selection of beers. They do not have any beers on tap, but they do have a small selection of bottles available. They have frozen margarita machines and the bar is nicely decorated. The walls change colors, and just add to the atmosphere of the bar. It’s a nice place to go if you are looking for the club scene, there’s a decent sized dance flood and always a dj there. If you’re looking to sit around and watch the game and drink some beers I wouldn’t suggest this place. Usually the TVs are showing strange liquid displays that move with the music or a recording of what is going on on the dance floor. I do like the club scene, so I really like this place. They have really good drink specials if you go early, but after that it’s pretty average cost. So, if you like dancing and club scenes this is a good place for you to go to. If not, steer clear.

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A relatively new bar in Lubbock is called Fire House. It’s located where Bleachers used to be, down in the Depot district. I went there for a Halloween party, and it was pretty crowded. There are a few different places to hang out, they have an outside area and an upstairs, a game room, and a main room with a dance floor. But, they only have one bar. One bar, where you have to wait at least 20 minutes to get a beer if there are people there. This is the only time I went, and before then I had heard pretty bad things about the place. One of my biggest pet peeves is being in a bar that thinks it’s okay to charge cover and then makes it impossible to get a drink the first half hour you are there. There were only two bartenders behind the one bar, with a mob waiting to be served. I didn’t much care of the place. I remember going there when it was Bleachers, and how cool it was. They had live music going, places to sit instead of a dance floor, and you could just go upstairs and get a drink at the bar there. So, I don’t think this is going to be a place that I frequent. I don’t really think this is a place that I’ll ever go to again unless I get drug along by some friends that want to go for some reason. Sorry, Fire House, you just didn’t do it for me.

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Another bar in Lubbock that I tend to frequent is Chimy’s. It is one of the coolest bars in Lubbock, because it started out being so small and they continue to add on more and more areas to accommodate the crowds. They have really good food, I love their fajita nachos. The orders are generous and always good. Then, what they are most famous for, their margaritas. Famous, because for me, I shouldn’t ever have more than two. One of those things will do the trick, but two and I’m done for the night. They taste different than most margaritas you would be used to, but once you get over that initial taste, they become better. The original margarita, frozen or on the rocks, costs less than six bucks. And let me tell you that six bucks goes a really long way, as opposed to six dollars worth of beer. They close at midnight, so it’s a place that most people like to meet at before they make their concrete plans for the night. I like to head out there pretty early and make sure to get a table, then usually get some nachos as a snack and a margarita to start the night off right. There’s never a cover, the lines don’t take long to get a drink, and the one bar has many atmospheres to choose from, like sitting on the deck, sitting outside, or staying in. Only complaint is that they can get pretty crowded and you won’t have anywhere to sit. And, just a warning, if you haven’t had one of their margaritas then… make sure you have at least three in the first hour you’re there.

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Back awhile ago, Crickets used to be one of my favorite bars to go to. They have over one hundred beers on tap, pool tables, shuffleboard, Foosball, and awesome live music. Their don’t have the best drink specials around, but the atmosphere was great. You can tell a lot of locals like to go there, because they have numbered mugs hanging on the ceiling, where you can sign up and pay a fee and get to have your own mug to drink from while you are there. You also get a small discount on each drink you purchase with the mug, and are inducted into the “Mug Club”. They also have a selection of cigars you can purchase while there, not that this matter to me at all. When I was first legal to go out, I loved going here. They have really good food, and it’s a good spot to catch a game because they have lots of sitting room. There are a few set backs to the bar though, other than the drinks being more expensive than most college bars. They only have one actual bar, so get ready to wait a bit before getting a drink. Out of no where here recently, it has been completely taken over by the “greek” of Texas Tech. It has became insanely popular, mostly because they let minors in too unlike most bars here. Most of the time, you can’t even find a seat.. It has eventually turned as bad as you can’t even go in with out waiting in a line, so I’ve just stopped even trying. The only time I go there anymore is if we go out on a random weekday, and it’s not going to be too crowded to even get a beer. It still gets my approval, though, for having such a large selection of draft beers. So go on a Tuesday and enjoy it without the crowd.

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