Saturday night in Iowa City

I had a test on Friday and so this weekend was free to go to a party Friday night in South Elgin, then drive with my friend Eileen to Iowa City. Last weekend while in IA City, I found a few new boutiques I thought she’d like and convinced her to drive up with me. I was pretty excited to show her around to all the places I’ve talked about and take her to all the bars I used to frequent.

We started off our Saturday by walking around the ped mall and trying on clothes. Eileen never really got into buying cute clothes and so has been borrowing mine a lot.. which is OK to a point! So I’ve been pushing her to buy stuff for herself, which she definitely did at Revival. After shopping all over downtown and stopping at the Java House plus getting her to design a necklace at Dawn’s Hide and Bead Away (which she wore out and got a few compliments on) we went out to dinner at Takanami, where I used to waitress. A few people I used to work with are still there, and our waiter was familiar too as he used to work at Terrapin. It’s so great to eat at places where the servers know you and sit down to talk with you! Plus the sushi was amazing, as always.

After dinner we ended up making the most of the Iowa City scene. We started at the Piano Lounge, went to Dublin Underground, Brother’s, The Union (only because there was no line, no cover, and notable for its size) Quentin’s, then Studio 13. Oh, and we had already had lunch at the Airliner earlier in the day. I would have liked to go to other places, but our tour was guided by how long lines were and if they were charging cover. At Quentin’s we met some law students and took them to Studio 13 where I managed to get in free and get their cover half off Crazy dancing ensued, followed by going to some house for after hours. Eileen and I left to get Panchero’s, which had just closed at 3 AM. Somehow we managed to get them to reopen for us and get some burritos!!

Today I gave Eileen the full Iowa City tour which included Kinnick Stadium and most of the hospital. She’s probably going to apply to Iowa for a pediatric residency so I showed her the new pediatrics floors and the peds clinic I used to work in. A few things have changed since I left, like the new main entrance, but overall it was yet another trip down memory lane.

 

Friday night on Iowa Avenue

When my brother’s group of friends wanted to leave the perfectly chill beer garden of Joe’s Place and go to Gabes, of all places, I questioned their sanity. Apparently the back door to the bar I remember as an armpit of a venue (though had good shows upstairs) has been renovated and is now known as the “Picador.”

We walked in via the back alley and where piles of dumpsters reeking of puke and urine used to be have now been replaced by roughly constructed tables with a few christmas tree lights strung up for added effect. I have to say, I was speechless. The inside is much improved also… people actually have teeth and possibly showered in the last 72 hours. The drinks were strong and the music wasn’t too loud. They served Boulevard, which is my favorite beer and I can’t get in Chicago. A large mural has been painted over the entire back wall of the building and looks pretty cool actually!

And in true Big 10 college fashion, we finished up the night by getting Pokey Sticks. But not before the girls wandered off to pee behind some random building and passing many stumbling college students as the bars closed.

All in all, a good night.