BAR HOPPING: The Flight Line
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WHAT: The Flight Line (formerly the Closet Lounge)
WHERE: 8800 Broadway (just outside of loop 410), Suite 102 (that this place has a suite seems appropriate)
THE DIGITS: (210) 826-5686
WEB: www.myspace.com/theclosetsa
GET YOUR DRINK ON: Happy hour is from open to 9 p.m. when the well drinks go from $3 to $2. The beer is always fairly inexpensive at $2 for domestics and $3 for imports, which include Guinness, Heineken, Dos Equis and Corona. While we were there, $1 well drinks were announced for the next night, so catch the right night, and you can afford to bathe in them. Friday nights, there are bands; Saturday there's a $5 cover for lesbian night; and Tuesday is Gayoake (their term, not mine).
HOTTIES QUOTIENT: Ultimately, high. This was kind of a tough one, at least at first. When we walked in, there was an odd assortment of guys and older couples. The old folks cleared out not long after we arrived as the younger, hotter crowd arrived. It wasn't gay night (though it's always gay), and the hottie women really started to come out in groups.
But before that, there were a few good-looking guys (according to my female companion) and I had to concede one or two. The bartender and manager, Jojo, is a fox with lots of nice ink, and everyone was very friendly, which always ups the ante. As I ordered my last beer, a group of hotties flaunted themselves at the bar, chatting with each other and some lucky guys. It had been a little while since I'd been somewhere with this type of crowd, and it did give my tired eyes a rest.
WALLET HANGOVER: Not too shabby. As noted above, the drinks aren't badly priced, and if you go on the right night, you might find yourself with some cash left over (depends on how thirsty you get dancing, I suppose).
THE 210 TAKE: When we got out of the car, the black windows of the bar shook with the thumping beat coming from behind them. We readied our eardrums and opened the door. I was expecting a bouncer, but as we hemmed and hawed in the doorway, a young bar worker said brightly, “Come on in!” It was a dark, clean interior with a few pub-height tables and chairs and four areas with leather couches. A few paintings adorned one corner, but mostly the walls and windows were black and bare.
The music, beat-driven stuff such as “Car Wash,” “Brick House” and “Word Up,” was pleasantly loud, but not so much that I couldn't talk to my woman (she even managed to have a conversation on the phone). The dance floor ebbed and flowed with people grooving and then meandering off for libations. I really enjoyed listening to the music and people-watching — it's better than HDTV.
GRADE: (A-; smoking permitted)
Rico Auto | 210SA contributor
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