We’ve made it to break once again. For some among us this is a welcome chance to unwind, catch up with old friends and get away from the bustle of it all. But just because you won’t be in Syracuse doesn’t mean you should stop drinking.  

Based on my assumptions of your drinking acumen, I’m inclined to say that a cessation of drinking activity at this point in the year could easily kill you. 

You need to keep it up, but you need to do it without breaking the bank. I will do my best to advise you, dear reader, as to how best to do this. But I must admit, my knowledge of drinking spots is tremendously limited.  

As a New Yorker who leaves the city only under duress, I’ll admit to a sort of willful ignorance when it comes to the key spots outside the five boroughs. I’ve enlisted the Thirsty Thursday West Coast Bureau for help in this endeavor. 

If you’re going back home to New York: 

The capital of the world has no lack of bars. There’s one on just about every corner in Manhattan. And although they’re slightly more spread out in the boroughs, there are still too many bars for you to hit in a single lifetime in Brooklyn alone. 

Although there are many high-quality spots in the city, the vast majority are prohibitively expensive for college students such as yourself. Assuming your humble intention is total inebriation, here are two spots I can recommend to you: 

Sly Fox 

Located in the East Village, this place is unapologetically what it is: A dive. The reason to come to this literal hole-in-a-wall is for the deal advertised outside the establishment. For the dangerously low price of $4, the bartender will hand to you a plastic cup full of PBR and a shot of whiskey. This is an all-night-every-night sort of deal.  

The 13th Step 

Although some find the joint’s name offensive, you can’t argue with the deals. Although there’s some sort of deal every day of the week, the only real reason to set foot in here is Tuesday night’s dollar beers.  

You’ll run into absolutely every type of person here on a Tuesday, from college students to celebrities. It’s probably the drunkest place in the city, and it’s without a doubt the closest thing to a Syracuse college bar that you’ll find in New York. 

If you’re going back home to Los Angeles:  

The problem with Los Angeles is you need to Uber everywhere if you want to have a good night out. Unlike other major metropolitan centers, pretty much nothing is within walking distance of anything else, and public transit is almost entirely out of the question.  

So, unless you’re going out in Hollywood proper, you should probably pick a spot you can see yourself spending the bulk of your night at. My sources on the West Coast indicate that these are some spots to spend the whole night. 

Cha Cha Lounge 

Everyone I know from LA loves the Cha Cha Lounge. It’s apparently a reasonably priced, young hang with roof access and foosball tables. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. 

Every time I talk to somebody from Los Angeles, the first thing out of their mouth is: “Oh my God, Mikey, you have to go to the Cha Cha Lounge.” But nobody seems to be able to intelligently explain just why it’s so good. It is apparently just one of those places. 

The Lost Knight 

OK, I’ve actually been to this one and it’s pretty cool. It’s three floors — the first has live music, the second is more of a pub and there’s a top floor with roof access. It’s not super cheap, but it’s definitely the sort of place where you could spend a whole night.  

There’s a lot of floorspace in this place, and although when I went it wasn’t incredibly lit, I could see it popping off in a big way on the right night. 

Published on December 10, 2017 at 6:26 pm