OT: Old Bars & Restaurants In Tucson

[b_dog]

Not sure why this popped into my head, but I was thinking about some of the places where I used to hang out in college. If this list sparks any memories, or if anybody wants to add their lists, please do so.

The Point After. Speedway and Country Club. They'd pack 'em in on Saturday nights. Never a problem finding a girl to dance with on the crowded little dance floor.
The Blue Note. Right across the street. Old-school strip joint. Older gals in corny costumes, but good for some laughs.
Gentle Ben's. The original, in the house on Tyndall. Pitchers of sangria in the afternoon, and a tiny dance floor up the stairs.
Some Place Else. Interesting goings-on there. Nice big fire pit outside to sit around for a drink and conversation.
Dooley's. In a converted church on Speedway west of Euclid. Really nice place, with fairly major acts like Todd Rundgren having concerts there. (It was a chain in college towns.)
Stumble Inn. On Park north of Broadway. Country swing with the Dusty Chaps.
The Green Dolphin. Right across the street. Had to go there on St. Patrick's Day for green beer.
The Pirate's Den. On Golf Links and Wilmot. Shaped like a pirate's ship. They had fairly major acts play there, kind of like Dooley's. Last I heard, it was a strip joint.
The Pawnbroker. On Tanque Verde, across from the original swap meet. They had a big polished Packard in the middle of the floor and showed movies Sunday nights.
Can't remember the name, but there was a place at Park Mall that had pretty good live music. They also had the Tombstone, a big frozen rum drink. After a couple of those, you would feel no pain.
A few of the old ones are still around, like Cushing Street, The Shanty, and Kon Tiki.
On the restaurant side, there was The Big A on Speedway and Campbell. Great burgers and pennants from lots of colleges on the walls. I also liked the Spaghetti Company, Lunt Avenue Marble Club, and Bobby McGee's.
Others?

[FlagCat]

I wasn't into the bar scene as much as many of my friends--but some restaurants that were regular stops in my time were Mama's Pizza, Mandarin Grill on Grant, Two Pesos, but only if you were desperate and almost broke...the food sucked! Los Betos on Grant like at 1:30 AM, not to mention the burrito truck "La Raza" in the parking lot of the 'Cat House. Let's see...a place called Rosies I think? It turned into Cluck-U-Chicken on Speedway. Z's pizza, sandwiches from Lavicio's at 7-11 on Park and Speedway. Cheap breakfast at Mother Hubbard's. There's more, but that's off the top of my head.

[Stu Gotz]

Greasy Tony's -- Sub shop near PV HS (Jones and Native know this place . Lived there my junior and senior year.

Gordo's - Mexican buffet on Kolb.

Cowboys - Got shitfaced there more often (and harder) than anyplace during my early alcohol experimentation phase. The barber chair and Wild Turkey don't mix well (so to speak)

Whistle Stop - The first such place (but not the last, unfortunately) where I knew, without a doubt, that a topless dancer liked me for more than my stack of $1 bills. Sadly, I was mistaken. [Blue Note, Cabaret, and one other I can't recall the name were regular places I'd go with buddies to deposit my modest paychecks]

Palomino -- The "fancy" restaurant I went to for my Junior Prom.

Solarium (sp) -- the "fancy" restaurant for the Senior Prom

Jarome's for the Lamb Bandit. Enough said.

Wildcat House - Duh.

A sushi restaurant on the NW corner of Speedway and Wilmot that I can't remember the name of. Loved it.

El Torrito. Champagne brunch with my girlfriend (and subsequent wife) often. Had a friend who was a waiter who kept our glasses topped at all times. Still can't believe I managed to drive home after a couple of those visits.


Kinda related .... did anyone ever go to Sweetwater Fun Tubs on the far west side. It was place with a bunch of hot tubs in a wild desert setting, Would go there (early 80s) with a date for general relaxation and if I was super lucky, fornication. They used LOTS of chlorine.

[Wildcat Jones]

A bunch of classics listed.

I will add:

Saddlehorn Saloon (on the Wilmot/Tanque Verde curve/east side). Great juke box and cheap drinks. Drunk girls!

Chances - This place, Wildcat House and Stumble Inn was where I tried to woo the girls with my noticeable dance skills! lol

Sundance Saloon on 22nd Street (I believe between Craycroft and Swan) - cool country bar with some nice talent back in the day

Maverick - (the original on 22nd Street before it burned down) - home of Chuck Wagon and The Wheels!

[Black Oaks]

Don't think I heard a few:
Bay Horse
Grant Road Tavern
The Buffet
The Embers
The Poco Loco
Oleary's Cow

Not to mention the drive through houses in south Tucson were you could get beer or have them hang a tray on your car door with cold beers in them.

Footnote, I had a friend that used to rent a room in Gentle Ben's before it became Gentle Ben's. When I got my masters degree, the tradition was the person that passed their orals had to buy beer for the fellow grad students and the facility that cared to show up. at Gentle Bens the bar.

Bearing Down on did all that really happen?

[Stu Gotz]

...Chances ...

Oh, yes. I got sucker-punched in that place. Odd mix of rowdies and preppies, at least when I went there.

[gouacats]

I was poor, poor, poor in college. I don't think anyone has mentioned Mike's Place. If I remember correctly, $1 hot dogs and $1 beers...

[Maui]

When I was at the UofA, all three of my roomies were bartenders at The East Inn on Grant Road right across the street from the Bay Horse Tavern. After visiting an old friend, Rob Sherman, who manages The Curtain Bluff Hotel in Antigua, he gave me a bag with a "gift" inside, which turned out to be an old (but never worn) tshirt from The East Inn, which promoted the bar's slogan, "Drag Your Ass to The East Inn." Lots and lots of stories about that place, especially the ones from Thursday nights, aka "Ladies' Night."

Other memorable dives included Sugar Mountain Lodge, where you could buy seven (small) beers for a dollar and Bob Dobs, a popular place to gather before and after a game.

[szabo2]

Black Oaks took all of mine. I'm wondering if you ever kicked my ass, especially at the Poco Loco . They had an appropriately stereotyped logo and sponsored our coed softball team. I still have hats and t-shirts. But, I'll add another fun place, great hot dogs and pictures on the wall..... Ted's College Bar on 22nd. between Alvernon and Dodge.
p.s. The most famous signature on the Poco Loco wall---Mel Tillis.

[NogalesJerry]

A noted omission is The Bum Steer.

There was another place at Santa Rita and Broadway behind the apartment building that I lived at for some time. There was a minor firestorm on The Daily Wildcat once about their advertising there. Their ad in the newspaper was a picture of a spooked looking mutt with its ears pulled back staring at the camera with someone off picture holding a revolver at the dog's head. The caption read, "If you don't come to our happy hour, we will shoot this dog!"

The Granfaloon Saloon.

BTW, who could forget The Night Train/Choo Choos with their live Rock, crazy drink specials, wet t-shirt contests and mud wrestling.
http://choo-choostucson.blogspot.com/20 ... choos.html
http://vimeo.com/72381602