The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, October 10, 1995, Food and Entertainment, Page 2, Image 14
Coupon For 10% OFF any purchase at CASEY’S ^ Sports Cards & Collectibles v The best selection in Sport Cards, Memorabilia, Card Supplies and More! 233 N. 48th St. Suite R Expires 11/10/95 It's Not Whether You Win or Lose, It’s Where You Eat After The Game. Good Sportsmanship and Good Food You'll Find them both at Friday's. Jrail FRIDAYS 48th & O 467-4007 Students under 21 search for fun By Jeff Randall Senior Reporter When in a college town, do as the college students do. But in Lincoln, where the bar scene has perennially been the producer of most students’ weekend activities, that philosophy isn’t quite as easy as it may sound. For those students who are under the age of 21, bars are strictly off limits. Consequently, those students have to be a bit more imaginative in order to find diversions. One of the mainstays of American entertainment, the movie, was listed by several students as a popular option for entertainment. “There’re new ones every week end, and when you compare it to a lot of other places, they aren’t all that expensive,” John Sorensen, a fresh man biology major, said. But feature films, even the longest ones, rarely last more than two hours; hardly enough time to fill an entire evening. And, although they are few in number, some students don’t think of movies as the ideal entertainment option. For students looking to the more active types of entertainment, dance clubs have proven popular. Although most clubs are housed in bars, a select few open their doors to underage college students on certain days of the week. The Hurricane, 11180 St., is one of those bars. But recent legal troubles there have caused management to can cel such events. A number of incidents, including several minor-in- possession viola tions, may result in a revocation of the bar’s liquor license by the Lincoln City Council. Sophomore English major Katie Horn, a fan of the Hurricane’s “Col lege Nights,” said ending under-21 activities there would leave an enter tainment gap for several students. “It’s always been something that I looked forward to,” Horn said. “I ap preciate that they don’t want to lose their license, but I’d still like to see them keep their doors open to us.” One new business may help to fill the dance club void left if the Hurri cane does end its under-21 nights. Q, 226 S. Ninth St., offers “College Nights” every Tuesday. For a $5 cover charge, the club features progressive dance music, along with free non alcoholic drinks. Sunday night shows also allow ad mission for all ages, although the man agement suggests that underage pa trons bring an adult. These shows dif fer, but often feature drag contests and revues. The cover charge for these events varies from $3 to $5. For music fans, finding concerts open to audiences under the age of 21 has been an increasingly difficult chal lenge. Le Cafe Shakes, 1418 O St., was formerly Lincoln’s only all-ages ven ue. But owner Reg McMeen, who also owns the neighboring Duffy’s Tavern, said that policy came to an end earlier this year. In addition to troubles with loiter ing, vandalism, and harassment, McMeen said, catering to underage Aaron Steckeiberg/DN customers didn’t prove to be a very profitable business venture. Le Cafe Shakes will reopen with a liquor license, McMeen said, and all ages shows will no longer be present there. “With all of the problems the Hur ricane has been having, we just don’t want to have to put up with it,” he said. But, for many students, simply hanging out with friends is entertain ment all on its own. For those students, coffee shops and 24-hour restaurants are often the venue of choice for entertainment on weekend nights. Some of the more popular hangout spots listed by students were Perkins Restaurant, 121 N. 48th St., The Cof fee House, 1324 P St., and the Mill, 800 P St. Sophomore chemical engineering major Anthony Mathison said he pre ferred talking to friends over attending a concert, seeing a movie, or going to a dance club any day. “I think my friends are more inter esting than any movie character. Be sides, I don’t have to pay to find out about their adventures.” Students developing taste for microbrews By Sarah Scalet Senior Editor People who work in bars frequent ed by college students disagree on which drinks are most popular, but one thing’s clear. Microbrews are taking over. “Within the last six months, microbrews, especially medium priced microbrews, are really starting to catch on,” said Reg McMeen, owner of Duffy’s Tavern at 1412 O St. “Regular” beers, such as Budweiser, Coors and Miller Genuine Draft, are still more popular, bottle for bottle, he said. But distributors are concerned about their decreasing sales of those beers, as drinkers diversify their tastes. Many college students are upgrad ing their beer to Rolling Rock, Leinenkugel’s or Boulevard, McMeen said. Some are even going up another price bracket to Watney’s Cream Stout or Newcastle. Although Rolling Rock, for in stance, is not a microbrew, it still falls into the same genre as microbrews because it is available in a limited area, he said. Instead of five or six Budweisers, people might have two or three Sierra Nevadas, McMeen said — spending about the same amount of money but getting a better beer.' Danny Parrott, an associate manag er at Lazio’s Brewery and Grill, 710 P St., also said beers like Budweiser and Busch Light were losing ground to a “microbrew craze.” “It’s the new phenomenon right now,” he said, and the microbrews sprouting up across the country are doing good business. Parrott said he wasn’t sure what prompted the trend, but he guessed that people were getting tired of do mestic American beer and were look ing for more quality. The most popular beer at Lazio’s is Lougale’s Gold, the lightest beer. Lougale’s is similar to a domestic beer but not as carbonated or “wimpy,” Parrott said. However, as people drink more light-colored beers, their tastes change, and they tend to start ordering ambers and stouts, in search of more flavor. McMeen said popular drinks usual ly changed every one and a half to two years, as people got tired of what they had been drinking. A few people in a group will change drinks, prompting others to follow. For instance, he said, the drink Sex on the Beach has been popular for about two years, and he suspects that something else may be right around the comer. Citrus-flavored drinks made with liquors such as Absolut Citron and Bacardi Limon are starting to catch on. However, McMeen suspects that ci ders may be the next drink waiting around the comer, especially for wom en. “Ciders are very palatable,” he said, adding that they have a higher percent age of alcohol than beer but not as strong of an alcohol taste. Angela Larson, a bartender at O’Rourke’s Tavern, 1329 O St., also said draft ciders and raspberry beers were popular. In general, she said, people are drinking more beer and experimenting with different microbrews. “People are less inhibited to try new things, and they (microbrewed beers) are pretty reasonably priced,” she said. “People can play around with new things.” Bob Holbert, assistant manager at Barrymore’s, 124 N. 13th St., said he thought microbrewed beers were be coming more popular because they had more substance and flavor than other beers. People were probably getting sick of light beers, which had been popular until a few years ago, Holbert said, because they didn’t have as much body or flavor. However, he said popular drinks depended more on the season than anything else. Holbert said in the summer, fruity drinks like daiquiris and margaritas were popular; in the winter, hot choc olate drinks and ciders start to take over. Drinking trends also run by the school calendar. When students come back to school in the fall, they drink hard liquor, Holbert said. Later, when their money starts to run out, they go back to beer. Larson said drinking trends also changed with age. Among students who have recently turned 21, fruitier drinks — like a popular standby, the margarita — are more popular because they are easier to order and drink.