Bars, pool halls and restaurants
among student popular hangouts
By Gerry Beltz
Staff Reporter
Okay, your assignments are fin
ished (well, you ’ ve thought about them
a lot), your room is all spic-and-span
(the uppermost layer of crud has been
removed) and a letter or phone call
home at this point seems a little inap
propriate (how many ways can onesav
“SEND MORE MONEY” without
sounding greedy).
It’s time to “hang out” or “kill
time” in Lincoln. However, you’re
probably asking yourself, “Self, where
can a college student hang out in
Lincoln?”
Here are just a few options that
many college students of the past and
present have taken advantage of.
Of course, one is not limited to the
selections on this list, but they have
been known to be popular for many
college students.
LATENIGHTRESTAURANTS
— very well-liked for both the study
ing and the non-studying student.
It is not uncommon to find these
places filled to the gills at 1 a.m. with
students hunched over a textbook and
acup of coffee, especially during dead
week or finals week.
However, it is also common for
groups of students to gather at one of
these restaurants for a study break to
enjoy a slice of pie or a cup of hot
chocolate.
All of these places offer a wide
variety of breakfasts, desserts, sand
wiches and appetizers, as well as free
refills on coffee, hot tea and iced tea
(each of which are vital ingredients to
a successful finals week for most col
lege students).
Denny’s (open 24 hours a day, two
locations at 900 R St. and 3031 NW
12th St.) has a special late night menu
(available 10 p.m. to6 a.m.), which is
an abridged selection of the full day
time menu, but still has some excel
lent choices, such as chili fries and
mozzarella sticks.
For a student with a sweet tooth,
Denny’s offers seven selections of pie,
as well as shakes, sundaes and banana
splits. Not only are the coffee and lea
refills free, but the soda products,
lemonade and herbal tea are as well.
Village Inn (open 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.,
lour locations at 2949 N. 27thSt., 111
S. 29th St., 6555 O St. and 5001 Van
Dorn St.) has possibly one of the best
dessert selections in the city with 14
kinds of pie available daily, five other
flavors offered on a seasonal basis,
PLUS a pie of the month. And that’s
not to mention the cobblers, cheese
cake and custard.
Village Inn also features skiiici
dinners, which consist of country
style potatoes covered with one of six
different styles of toppings (Garden,
Country, Mexican, etc.) and twoeggs,
all served in a piping hot skillet.
Perkins (open 24 hours a dav, two
locations at 121 N. 48th Sl and 2900
N.W. 12th Sl.) is probably the most
popular with college students out of
the three, and also features a late
night menu. However, if there is some
thing on the daytime menu that is not
lictrksl An iKn latA nidht mnnn it ctill
can be requested.
Perkins also features quite a wide
variety of desserts including more than
a dozen kinds of pie, six kinds of
“mammoth muffins,” and various
other treats — all homemade in the
Perkins bakery.
BARS — Well, those college stu
dents who have survived to the age of
21 occasionally find the desire to lake
in an alcohol ic beverage outside of the
privacy of their own living establish
ment, while still able to have a good
lime doing it.
Many bars in Lincoln do allow
minors on the premises, bulonly prior
to 9 p.m., in accordance with state
law. Lincoln offers a wide variety of
bars, all with a variety of drink spe
cials, but some of the more popular
ones with UNL students arc:
f,heslerfield,'i/Bie Red Pool Room/
Underground (Gunny’s Building, 245
N. 13lh Si., lower level) has some
thing for everyone. All three arc
equipped with a full bar for ils pa
trons.
section, complete witha wcll-lildance
door. It features mostly popular music
with some alternative music mixed in.
Ilisopcn 9:30p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednes
day through Saturday.
The Big Red Fool Room has 17
pool tables that have hourly rales or
arc coin-operated. Free pool (no pur
chase necessary) is avai table 6 p.m. to
1 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday.
The pool room has about six pin
ball and video machines as well as a
couple electronic dart machines. It is
open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday,
6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through
Thursday, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Satur
day and 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday.
Chesterfield’s of fers a bi l more of a
laid-back atmosphere than ils two
neighbors. Chesterfield’s has a full
menu, featuring such items as burgers
(10 kinds) and other sandwiches, ap
petizers and desserts. This menu can
be ordered anytime before 10 p.m.
Chesterfield’s also features a
Karaoke machine, which plays the
instrumentals of several classic tunes
while the customer sings, reading the
lyrics off a nearby monitor.
From time to time, Chesterfield’s
features local bands. They are open
from 11:30 a.m. until 1 a.m., Monday
through Saturday.
Duffy’s (1412 0 St.) is one of the
best places in Lincoln to check out
some of the local bands. Duffy’s fea
tures local talent on Wednesday and
Sunday nights and will soon be featur
ing comedy and acoustic actson alter
nating Mondays. Duffy’s features its
own monthly publication, entitled
“Duff Stuff,” which mainly hits on
the upcoming local bands and a cut
out calendar for upcoming Duffy’s
events.
Duffy’s is open 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1
a.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
on Sunday.
P.O. Pears (322 S. Ninth) is one of
Lincoln’s most visually stunning
places. The decor is unique; whether
it is something painted on the wall or
hanging from the ceiling, something
new can be found on each visit.
Some of the events also are unique,
such as the weekly hermit crab races
on Friday nights.
P.O. Pears carries a terrific menu,
featuring several types of burgers (for
those of you with a taste for danger,
they offer the “Jiffy Burgcr,”a cheese
burger topped with peanut butter), as
well as appetizers such as nachos
(made with homemade chips) and a
new arrival, armadillo legs (jalapeno
halves stuffed with cream cheese,
breaded and deep-fried).
In addition, P.O. Pears has a sand
volleyball court that is available year
round (weather permitting) and balls
can be checked out at the bar with
proper identification.
One hint if youdo goto P.O. Pears;
read the instruction at the door twice.
It s not as simple as it looks to tne nrst
limc customer.
P.O. Pears is open 11:30 a.m. to 1
a.m., seven days a week.
OTHER STUFF — These are a
couple of places that just didn't really
fit into cither of the categories above,
yet couldn't form a specific category.
Nonetheless, they do need to be men
tioned for the college student seeking
a change of pace.
The Coffee House (1324 P St.)
attracts an extremely wide variety of
people. Itfeatureseightdifferentkinds
of gourmet cofTee and three kinds of
specialty teas daily, and also has 30
kinds of both coffee beans and teas
available for sale.
Several types of “munchie” stuff,
including croissants, fresh fruit and
bagels are also available for sale.
In the back part of The Coffee
House is Afterthoughts, bookshelves
filled with hundreds of diverse books,
which are both for sale and available
for some light reading while enjoying
a cup of coffee.
Seating varies from the typical
tables and chairs in the front, to sofas
and easy chairs towards the back. The
Coffee House also has board games
such as Othello and Chess available
for its patrons.
The Coffee House features poetry
readings on Monday nights, a musi
cian of some lypeat least one Friday or
Saturday each month and art exhibits
that occur fairly regularly, which usu
ally last for about a month.
The Coffee House is open from 7
a.m. to midnight Monday through
Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
on Sunday.
Big John’s Pool and Billiards (399
Sun Valley Blvd.) has over two dozen
regulation size pool tables on hourly
rates and four coin-operated tables. In
addition, Big John’s has four clec
See HANGOUTS on 7
Marshall Price, a recent graduate of Lincoln High School,
and Wen Ma, a researcher in UNL’s engineering department,
play Go, a Chinese game at the Coffee House, 1324 P. St.
Students hang out in the shop to study, play games, talk and
drink coffee.
1 Session.$3
10 Sessions.$22
20 sessions.$38
Mftn Th, ire Q « ^^ 1350 N. 48th
Fri 9-6 (Next to Ken s Kegs)
l sat: ;: 9 4 466-8044
I Special student summer rates
I w/ student I.D. -Ask about FREE tans
I_ Exp res August 31.1992
Soft Taco, Tostada, i
Bean Burrito, and
Chips 'n Salsa.
>e pres**: coupon when ordering Limit on* coupon per ■
Not good w in any other otter Otter good at Lincoln ■
3*i oca’cs Bqiires June 30,1992 ■
I BUY ONE
GET ONE FREE!!
Buy a Burrito Supreme
and Get The 2nd One FREE!
Please present coupon when ordering Limit one coupon per ■
party Not good with any other ofler Otter good at Lincoln __■
Taco Bell location. Expires June 30, 1992
TACO BELL
2452JJJ3th>i_>RUNroRTJjlWR0IR^ii—4800^O^
