The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, October 10, 1995, Food and Entertainment, Page 2, Image 14

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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.