A New Take on an Old Crawl: Ybor/ Channelside
If you've lived in Tampa for any length of time, you've done some version of the Ybor City bar crawl at least once. And many drinkers, bored of Seventh Avenue's string of clubs, have turned to Channelside as a swankier option.
But have you done them together?
Ybor City's historic trolley line makes hitting both party districts an easy and more comfortable option on a sultry summer night than walking for blocks. Of course, with over 70 restaurants, bars and nightclubs between these two nightspots, you can't hit every establishment. So, for the purposes of this bar crawl, we'll focus on watering holes off of congested Seventh Avenue with no clubs and no cover.
Begin at Channelside (615 Channelside Drive) with Margarita Mama's. Wait for the rest of your party on the outdoor deck overlooking the courtyard, and sip on the bar's signature drink — the Patron Silver-based Mamarita. The combination of sugar and alcohol should pump you up for a few hours of bowling and billiards at Splitsville. Pool your money for the Super Bowl, a grape vodka and grain alcohol drink that is Splitsville's strongest.
When you're ready to tackle Ybor City, catch the trolley by Hooters ($2 one way, $4 unlimited rides) to the stop in front of Centro Ybor. A few steps away is the Tampa Bay Brewing Company (1600 E. Eighth Ave.), which recently moved to Ybor from its previous 15th Street location. Whether you like ales, porters or I.P.A.s, one of the homebrewed selections is bound to quench your thirst (personal favorite: the Moosekiller, a hopped-out ale with 9.8 percent alcohol content). Once you've quaffed a few brews, head to the intimate Fuma Bella (1318 E. Eighth Ave.) for a cigar and double-malt scotch. End your night at every hipster's favorite Ybor spot — New World Brewery (1313 E. Eighth Ave.). Built around a lush courtyard, New World offers several different imports and brews on tap, including the hard-to-find Delirium Tremens. Before 2 a.m., take the 13th Street trolley back to Channelside and make plans for a safe taxi ride home. —Alex Pickett
Night Into Day: Downtown Dunedin
Downtown Dunedin's quaint charm and variety of alcohol-serving establishments — all located within a few blocks of each other — make it the ideal setting for a Saturday evening crawl (followed by a crawl into bed). Park on Main Street for free and begin at Flanagan's Irish Pub (465 Main St.), where you'll find beers like Guinness and Killian's on tap, with a 2-for-1 happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. daily.
A few steps takes you to the next stop, Stirling Winery (461 Main St.), which offers free tastes of its array of tropical fruit wines. Try a sample (or two) and pick up a bottle of Strawberry Blush or Blueberry Blue to enjoy later. Continue heading east to Casa Tina's (369 Main St.), a quality Mexican restaurant that serves delicious frozen mango and lime margaritas.
Take a three-block detour to Dunedin Brewery (937 Douglas Ave.) and knock back a few of its homemade brews: Razzbeery Wheat Ale, the award-winning Pipers Pale Ale, or the seasonal Summer Buzz. Swing back to Main Street and continue east toward the Gulf and Kelly's Chic-a-Boom Room (319 Main St.), where you should drop in for a "Martooni"; we suggest the Slippery Finger or the Caramel Apple.
When you're good and toasty, make your way down Main Street until it dead-ends at the Dunedin Marina and the Gulfside Best Western Yacht Harbor Inn (150 Marina Plaza). Grab a room, crack open that bottle of fruit wine and polish it off while watching reruns of Magnum P.I. Nurse your hangover the following morning at the hotel's Bon Appetit & Marina Café, where you can enjoy a mimosa or Bloody Mary with your Sunday brunch. Your car will be waiting for you on Main Street. —Leilani Polk
Choose Your Path: St. Pete Pub Crawls
The beauty of the St. Pete pub crawl is that it offers the crawler options. Depending upon where you align yourself on the hipster index (complete indie freak, young urbanite condo dweller, student) St. Pete offers an inebriated stroll that's suited to your style.
But no matter who you are, Mastry's (233 Central Ave.) offers the ideal starting point to a night on the town. This Central Avenue institution is just divey enough for the most grizzled boozehound, but with a great location that appeals to Urbos and USF kids as well. Get there around 9:30 p.m., before all the breathable air is gone, order a few cheapo Vodka and Red Bulls ($3.75 … really!) and get energized for the long night ahead.
The pub-crawl road forks after Mastry's. Hardcore hipsters should march straight up Central to The Uptown Bar (658 Central Ave.), where the music is as deafening as the Pabst Blue Ribbon is cold. Hold out until your eardrums threaten to explode, crush a few empties on your forehead and head to either the relatively new concert venue The Garage (662 Central Ave.) or the relatively new pool hall Central Billiards (670 Central Ave.), both of which are right next door. The Garage only serves beer and wine, but that sad-sack drink selection is often made up for by a good slate of live acts playing the roomy stage. If you'd prefer a rest from the high-volume guitar assault, stop in at Central Billiards instead, rack 'em and shoot a few games. No matter which of the neighboring bars you choose, the night must close at St. Pete's legendary The Emerald Bar (550 Central Ave. N.). Its hipster clientele can be spotted downing whiskey shots with Bud Light chasers until close (cash only, please), all the while bitching about how bad the band currently banging away onstage is.
Once the beer is gone and the conversation wanes, continue around the block to The Bishop Tavern (260 First Ave. N.), which has a full-liquor bar, a tiny second-floor concert stage overlooking the main room and a side room with a giant front-projection TV. On a recent evening, a rockabilly act thrilled the crowd in the main room (with the guitar player soloing from atop the bar), while others chilled in the anti-chamber sipping rum-and-cokes and watching Terminator 2 on the big screen.
The Bishop will eventually get too crowded (it's very narrow), and when it does, you can wander next door to The Tamiami Bar (242 First Ave. N.). This place has a pool table and darts room that is usually fairly empty. You might even find some space on a couch to snuggle with that heavily buzzed hottie you picked up two bars back.
Around 1 a.m., hustle back around the block to The Garden/The Lobby. Two bars in one, The Garden is a bar/restaurant that offers low-light atmosphere, single-occupancy restrooms (a precious and oft-overlooked amenity) and plenty of seating both inside and in an adjacent, lush courtyard. The Lobby portion is a martini bar located on the second floor overlooking the courtyard. On weekends, veteran trombonist Buster Cooper and friends play bop and standards outside until right before closing.
Bonus: The Garden is next door to Mastry's, meaning the designated driver won't have to herd his or her wasted companions very far before getting the hell out of Dodge. —Joe Bardi
The Soho Stumble: Hyde Park
Start at Hyde Park Café (1806 W. Platt St.) early in the evening before the hordes of bubbly, barely-clothed HCC girls push the line all the way back to Tijuana Flats — or you get too disheveled to be allowed in by the Nazis at the door. Order a Ketel One 'n' tonic from one of the myriad bars and try not to gasp when you get the tab. Don't stare when Derek Jeter walks by.
Be sure to peer over your left shoulder before crossing the busy street to kill a bottle of Miller Lite with the rest of the former frat brahs at The Rack (1809 W. Platt St.), the only sports bar this side of Tokyo that specializes in sushi. Cross the street again, make a right and proceed down Platt until bumping into The Deck (2202 W. Platt St.). Quaff a draft beer and gobble a slice of their greasy-but-not-bad pizza. Drop into the Red House Lounge (302 S. Howard Ave.), located next door to The Deck, for a shot of something silly like a raspberry kamikaze. Make a pass at the bartender, just for kicks.
Turn left on Howard Avenue and enjoy homemade sangria at Sangria's Tapas Bar & Restaurant (315 S. Howard Ave.). Lie to the attractive person sitting next to you about your trip to Madrid and the real sangria you drank there while dancing the fandango.
You should have a decent buzz by now. Smile. Stand up and stroll out the door like the sexy mofo that you are. Go around the corner to The Dubliner (2307 W. Azeele St.) and settle your stomach with a thick, creamy pint of Guinness. Belch.
Get back on Howard. Hit up MacDinton's (405 S. Howard Ave.) for a Jameson 'n' soda. Feel that Irish whiskey tingle as it works its way through your body. Deal with the fact that you are on the verge of being shit-faced. It's OK. Stumble south on Howard, past the drugstore, past the fancy food market, past the light at Swann Avenue, past all those beautiful, young, drunken souls and make a left.
Wait in line to enter Whiskey Park SoHo (720 S. Howard Ave.) — unless you know Carl at the door. Bump 'n' grind your way to the back bar and order a Jager-bomb. What the hell, right? Get out of there before the steroid case in the ribbed tee notices you gawking at his hot-ass girlfriend with the perky store-boughts.
Crawl down Howard until you pass Xtreme Fitness. Go across the street to The Lime (915 S. Howard Ave.) and order a shot of one of their many top-shelf tequilas. If, like me, tequila makes you want to vomit and commit a felony — at the same time — stick with cerveza.
Your speech is slurred at this point, the world's a blissful blur, and you may or may not have just told the cute bartender that you want to have hot, sweaty gorilla sex with her. Leave The Lime before security is called.
Take a left on Morrison and plop your tired, intoxicated ass down at "The World Famous" Tiny Tap Tavern (2105 W. Morrison Ave.), which has been around since your granddad chased skirt. Spend those last three crinkly dollar bills on a 16-oz. bottle of Bud. Hustle a UT kid at the pool table. Play Tom Waits on the jukebox. Mutter something to a stranger about the meaning of life and then drag yourself back up Howard, make a right on DeLeon, turn right down the alley and then — oh, wait, that's me on a Friday night. —Wade Tatangelo
Click here for more Summer Guide
This article appears in May 9-15, 2007.
