Alicia Wagner Calzada | 210SA Contributor Kris Stopkey plays pool with friends. In addition to live music, Jack’s Patio Bar offers a couple of pool tables and an electronic dartboard.

WHAT: Jack's Patio Bar & Grill

WHERE: 2950 Thousand Oaks Drive

THE DIGITS: (210) 494-2309

WEB: myspace.com/jackspatiobar

GET YOUR DRINK ON: 3 p.m.-2 a.m. daily

HOTTIES QUOTIENT: Depends. Jack's is primarily a place to see live original music, so the crowd varies based on who's taking the stage — usually a rock band or a Texas Music artist. Bret Michaels (formerly of Poison), Jordan Knight (formerly of New Kids on the Block), Guy Forsyth and Vallejo have played there. There's live music Wednesday-Saturday and sometimes Sunday; Monday is open mic night. You have to be at least 21 to get in on Monday and Tuesday, but on band nights, the club is usually all ages.

WALLET HANGOVER: That also depends. The drinks are definitely a bargain: Well drinks are $3, and Lone Star tallboys and Lone Star Light cans are always $2. On Mondays, you can get a domestic longneck or Tecate for $1.50, and on Tuesdays, domestic pints are $1. There's no cover on Monday or Tuesday. There's usually a cover to see the bands, which can be as high as $15 for national acts.

THE 210 TAKE: Jack's wouldn't be much more than a grungy dive bar if it weren't for the bands it brings in. Although the place is called a bar and grill, there's no food here; however, Pizza Italia next door will deliver. The small bar room does offer a jukebox, two video games, three flat-panel televisions and free WiFi. The larger room where the bands play also has a couple of pool tables and an electronic dartboard. The front patio faces an H-E-B. You might drive by it the first time you go — it's squeezed into an unlikely strip mall in the middle of the suburbs — but make a U-turn. Jack's is worth finding.