LAU R IE PEAR M AN
STAF F P I C KS/BAR S & N I G HTLI F E
BW’S BAR GUIDE: Dave Stanciu at Pengilly’s Saloon created the Aldous Huxley using homemade rhubarb syrup for Boise Weekly’s latest Bar Guide.
B E ST E XC U S E TO H AVE S O M E O F B O I S E’ S B E ST BART E N D E R S MA K E YO U C U STO M D R I N KS BW’S BAR GUIDE OK, we’ll admit it, we’re a little bit spoiled, but when you have the opportunity to ask some of the best bartenders in Boise to make you drinks, you take it. That’s how BW ended up with the likes of Guy Midnight of Parrilla Grill, David Stanciu of Pengilly’s Saloon, Michael Bowers of The Modern Hotel and Bar, Mark Allen of Red Feather Lounge, Cera Grindstaff of Front Door and Jacob Detweiler, formerly of Happy Fish, creating thirst-quenching custom concoctions. You can still try most of them at their home bars, and we recommend that you do, if we do say so ourselves.
B E ST P L A C E TO WATC H B O I S E P O LI C E D O N T H E I R R I OT G E AR REEF PATIO It’s a great place to people watch on a normal weekend night, but when hot summer nights turn into crazy Sixth and Main fights, it’s really the place to be. 105 S. Sixth St., Boise, 208-287-9200, reefboise.com, @reefboise
B E ST TOTA L LY WO RTH-TH E- WA I T C O C K TA I L TEN MINUTE MARTINI AT CHANDLERS Sit your thirsty self down, get comfy, and don’t blame the server for the wait—go in knowing that it takes time for the gin and vermouth molecules to displace each other in the shaker as they chill and slowly stir themselves. Served in a cool blue glass, this ice-cold concoction is a little bit science, a little bit romance and an old-fashioned nod to what a cocktail should be. 981 W. Grove St., Boise, 208-383-4300, chandlersboise.com, @chandlersboise
B E ST BA R EA S I LY C O N F U S E D F O R S O M E O N E’S G A R A G E LITTLE DUTCH GARDEN Walking into Bench bar Little Dutch Garden for the first time is a nerve-wracking experience. Judging from its exterior and location, it seems likely you’ll be greeted by a confused-looking man, who may be packing heat, changing the oil in his ’98 Taurus. But the moment you get inside, that all changes and you find yourself in a neighborhood dive with cheap drinks and cheaper laughs at how wrong you were. 1910 S. Owyhee St., 208-342-9034, Boise
34 | BEST OF BOISE: STAFF PICKS | SEPTEMBER 21–27, 2011 | BOISEweekly
B E ST B O OZ E C R U I S E ICE GLACIERS IN SPECIALTY COCKTAILS
B E ST P E R S O N TO B E N I C E TO D U R I N G A N I G H T O F D E B A U C H E RY THE DESIGNATED DRIVER
The Titanic didn’t see it coming but you will. High-end specialty cocktail spots like Red Feather Lounge and The Modern Hotel and Bar have started plopping glacier-sized hunks of ice into their high-hooch drinks. The large ice melts more slowly than the pedestrian cubed variety, leading to less water in your cocktail. Though these drinks won’t sink a barge, they’re guaranteed to get you wrecked.
Seriously. If there is anyone who you should suck up to, it’s the person who’s willing to drink nothing but sodas and water and put up with your sorry attempts at humor and drunken antics just to make sure you get your drunk butt home safe and sound. Respect the designated driver.
B E ST WAY TO D R I N K F O R F R E E
B E ST N I N J A T U R T L E S R E B O OT
ROCKEROKE AT RED ROOM Thursdays at The Red Room are Rockeroke nights when patrons can hop on stage with a printed lyric sheet and sing karaoke with a live band. Anyone who does is given a free drink ticket, while everyone who doesn’t sing is left paying for their drinks like suckers. Croon and be slizzered or stay silent and pay out of pocket. Seems like an easy choice to us. And special props to Red Room for removing the curse from its new home. Suddenly the spot that people “just won’t go to” is hopping. Take note downtown businesses: people clearly like the color red. 1519 Main St., Boise, redroomboise.com, @red_room_boise
THE SHREDDER Anyone who saw the original live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie left with one clear desire: to join the Foot Clan so you could hang out at its warehouse full of video games, skateboard ramps and stolen smokes while listening to music guaranteed to damage your hearing. While the smokes aren’t stolen, video games, a skate ramp and loads of metalicious noise make Boise’s newest music venue, The Shredder, is about as close to the Foot Clan Warehouse as may ever exist in the real world. 430 S. 10th St., Boise, toomuchdistortion.com
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