Caribbean Breeze, Arlington VA

By default, when people think of this place, the first thing that comes to mind is Spanish stuff such as salsa, marengue, mojitos etc.  This isn’t what I usually go for, but hey variety is good right?  I would have preferred to go to Mister Days or Carpool, but my homie was already there.  As I met my boy up in Caribbean Breeze (the CB), I realized that they were having their annual end of summer party thingy (I went to the one last year).  Additionally, to my surprise, they were holding a bikini contest.  Whoa!!! To top things off, they were having 3 dollar 16 ounce Tecates (yuck) and 4 dollar 24 ounce Modelo’s (FUCK YEAH), beer pong and a slam dunk contest that I didn’t make.   It wasn’t long until I met up with my boy to check out the lovelies showin’ off the goodies.  Most of the chicks were bad-ass smokin’ hot, but I had my eye on the girl with the legs and ass =)   Anyways, a hot Asian girl won the competition and the massive beer consumption continued.  On my second 24 ounce, my boy was talking to some chick, which end up being the coolest lesbian we ever meet!!  She was checking out girls with us and didn’t think twice to holla at them.  She was the wingman we never had.  Unfortunately, she had do drive her drunk mom home, but we managed to exchange details.  No problem, there was lots of hot girls to holla at; other friends eventually showed up.  After 4 Modelos and 2 captain cokes, I was pretty much DONE!!!  I couldn’t tell you personally how much their drinks cost but I’m assuming that they’re moderately price.  The last time I was there, it was for some chicks birthday back in January of this year, and honestly, it was pretty fun.  Maybe cuz that night I downed 4 Johnny and Cokes back to back.  The fun would’ve continued all night, but SOMEONE wanted to leave early.  Talk about being a ‘wet towel!’  So being drunk and in Arlington, I took my homie to feast on some late night munchies!!!  I was in the mood for something with lots of protein, cheese and starch.  This can only mean…..MARIO’S!!!!!!!!  The best steak and cheese in all of the land…..well, as far as I know.  My boy’s large appetite enticed him to order a foot long but if you’re familiar with their mouth-watering menu, a six inch sub will suffice the hardiest appetite.  In moments, we were feasting like kings!!!  My homie became a Mario’s believer overnight =P

This restaurant/bar is nice, but it’s not the first place I would choose to hang out.  It’s strategically located in Ballston, not too far from the Clizzle Dizzle, Rosslyn and Court House, so if this is not your cup of tea, you have a plethora of other watering holes to choose from.  I love Arlington; saying that, you really can’t go wrong with most of the places here.  This place has some really hot-ass girls.  Fridays and Saturdays is full of hot-ass Latin mamasitas.  If you’re that dude that can salsa the shit out of the dance floor, then your game.  If not, you still got a bunch of hot drunk Marymount chicks who can’t dance at your disposal.  Believe me I won’t be here for a while, but it’s an alright place to chill.  It has a little something for errbody!!  Till’ next time ya!!!

Mango Mike’s, Alexandria VA

What can I say about Mango’s that half of all my Facebook buddies don’t already know?  I can’t really describe one real experience I’ve had there and if I had to describe every single detail, it would probably cover a 30 volume encyclopedia set.  Who wants to read all that junk anyways???  Shit, I wouldn’t!!!  Additionally, it would not be fair for me to blog about this place in the future since it’s definitely one of my most beloved watering holes.

This place is where I first learned to drink.  Don’t get me wrong.  I started drinking before I was 21, but it was here that I learned to socialize at a bar instead of a house party where things were very delinquent and crazy.  Not only did I learn to drink here, but many of my close friends (ya know who you are) and many other Alexandrians, Alexandria-agoen’s?? ??? (fuck it, you know what I mean) learned to drink.  I can honestly say that I’ve had some of my funniest memories during my twenties here; I’ve also had some really shitty times here too.  When you become a regular at a bar, you become friends or least for the most part, close to the staff.  Relationships develop and eventually, the staff knows exactly what you like and a little something in your life.  I find if pretty cool that these people take interest in their customers.   This was ‘my version’ of Cheers.

I remember the days when I first started hittin’ this joint.  It would always be the same group of us going on Thursdays.  Back in 2002 or 2003 (I forget), Thursdays nights was just another night at the bar, but to the select group I chilled with, it was our night; the night in which we started off the weekend.  Thursdays soon started to pick up with more and more Latinos showing up.  I’m not sure how Latin Thursday nights came about, but it just happened.  We also attended Friday and Saturday nights, but it was something about Thursday nights that drove me there.  Lines would eventually form on this particular day with waits that could as long as 45 minutes (common seriously, lines???  This ain’t DC!!!).  Yeah, you had to pay after 10 in get in, but to me, it was cool.  It was actually one of the few exceptions I made.  Why you ask?  Well, first it was to be with my boyz/the Guy/the Rat and a few others.  Second, there was a bunch of BAD-ASS HOT girls wearing close to nothing (in the summer and sometimes in the winter) and I always had to holla!!  I had to get my game one!!  Third, our group or whatever you call it, developed a pretty cool relationship with the staff.  We felt welcomed!  They saw us and they new it was over!!  Shit, good luck getting that same feeling in some lame-ass DC Club.  Anyways, that’s how we started our weekend and the way we partied that night, it’s like we partied an entire 3-day weekend in one night.   Arrive at 10ish or so, then stay till close.  Another great thing is you also get to know some of regulars and eventually develop relationships with them.  Sometimes they would last, sometimes it would not.  As the crowd changed over the years, so did our group.  I remember it was usually 5 to 6 us.  But because of domestic disputes, people getting married and blah blah blah some lame shit, the number shrunk.  We also included one or two new faces, who have also come and gone.  I think outta the original OG’s (hehehe…gansta) only 3 stallions remain.

Over the years, our presence slowly diminished.  There’s been instances where the group would attend 4 times a week (Wednesday thru Saturday), and sometimes just once a week.  On other occasions, we would drop by obliterated after attending a DC United match just sneak a in few more drinks before last call.   Now, we’re lucky if we come by once a month.  The group was growing up.  We all got serious jobs and reality slowly sneaked up on us (Fuckin’sucks!).  There was a point where I didn’t attend for almost a year, cuz of an educational obligation.  But what can I say??  When any of us need a place to drink locally, it’s usually the Mangs (as we called it).   It is what I refer to as “our bar by default.”

Alright, this bar has a little something for errbody!!   Not long ago,I think on a Thursday, I attended a happy hour with a Uber-cool chica friend and to my liking, 2 dollar Coronas till 7pm (Fuck yeah)!!!   Additionally, we had their kick-ass wings with two dollars off.  So what do we do???  We start pounding them Coronas and fill our bellies till 7.  Some other nights they have 2 dollar Millers and Coronas till 9 on Tuesdays.  FUCK!!! How’d I miss that?? Shit!!!   Anyways, if I could hit up more happy hours, it would definitely be at da Mangs.  Unfortunately, I work to far to make it on time.  The staff is cool as hell, the drinks are moderately priced (I mean, when you go late at night or when happy hour is not taking place) and they actually have kick =).  When serving beers, they actually serve them in actual 16 pint glasses!!  So more booze for the buck!!!  The food is great; can’t go wrong with anything.  Jerk and Miami wings are my usual and during the summer you can chill out on the deck with real sand and palm trees!!!  But like I said earlier, half of my Facebook buddies and Alexandria know what I’m talking about.  If you live outta the area, try it out.  Oh, yeah during party nights, the bouncers are actually pretty cool guys. They actually know who I am!!!  Also, they do a pretty good job of keeping all the assholes outside.

I will do my best to keep this blog update every couple or so days with more of my previous and current happy hour/night life experiences.  Stay tuned till’ next time!!!

Velocity5, Falls Church VA

I’ve always wanted to blog about what most young professionals in the Washington D.C. Metro area enjoy doing when the times get tough: happy hours and night life.  The economy still kinda sucks, so what we try to do here in the area is maximize our spending power in the coolest and trendiest of places.  This area has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, however we all know someone who is struggling to get by due to a layoff or something of the sort.  What I want to do is blog about my experiences at some cool local places (Northern VA and DC, sorry MD your too far out of the way) where the cost of fun will not impact your wallet.

Let me start by talking a little about myself.  I’m just like may twenty somethings in the area: a young professional who enjoys going out with good friends and havin’ a blast.  Being in my late 20’s, I moved away from the young clubbin’ scene in DC and migrated to lounges with an older and mature crowd.  I like it better and many people can agree.  You can actually meet and talk to interesting people without being pushed or shoved around.  What I don’t like doing or believe in is paying outrageous cover fees in addition to 7 dollars beers or 10 dollar mixed drinks that have NO kick to them; it can’t be justified.  If your into going out and havin’ good times with friends, I think my blog with help out.  I will update this blog with my favorite watering holes form time to time with details about their specials, their menu, staff and whatever else will benefit the Washingtonian socialite.  Hehehe enjoy.

So, before I entered this place, a friend of mine said, “this was the old Shark Club and during that time it was Hooooooooood.”  He hasn’t been in since they remodeled, so it was a new experience for the both of us.  Let me start off by saying their happy hour specials “KICK ASS!!!”  That first Friday we both entered Velocity 5 (V5 for short, what we call it), we both were “shocked and awed.”  The place is covered in hardwood floors, loads of LCD/Plasma TVs, pretty much the whole place looked brand new.  Additionally, they had a pretty decent sized crowd in attendance with an age group ranging from 21 – 35, give or take a few old heads.  Anyways, the both of us took a seat at the bar and the first thing I ask the bartender is “what’s your happy hour specials?”  The response I got was “3 dollars drafts till 9 pm (we got there at 6pm) which includes Blue Moons.  Those who know me pretty well know that Blue Moon is my jam, so what do we do?  We start ordering Blue Moons all night. Five minutes to 9 approaches and I’m like, “Dude, happy hour is almost over” so we do what anyone in their right mind would do: “Six Blue Moons Please!”  Anyways, 3 dollars of any type of drink is OK in my book!  In addition to the tasty beverages, the crowd is pretty cool and the bar staff is pretty dam friendly!!!  They have some pretty hot girls working the bars and they will actually put a moment aside to talk and socialize with their customers.

One more blurp about their happy hour.  So we kept going back to V5 because, it’s a cool place.  Even on late Friday and Saturday nights they have a pretty attractive crowd with a DJ.  Anyways, one Thursday I wanted to watch a soccer match at a bar and I invited a VERY cool friend of mine to join me for drinks.  I get the bar first and noticed that they have 1.50 Coronas till 9pm.  To make a long story short, the both of us capitalized on that special and in addition, ordered 12 piece sushi dish (Cali and Philly rolls) and an order of 12 wings.  By the way, their wings are pretty dam good!!!  The best part was the tab: 45 dollars.  We’ve must have easily pounded like at least 6 to 7 Coronas each.

Ok, so this is the part that readers care about the most: my overall assessment of V5 is you “Gotta Go!!!  It’s has a DC lounge feeling but in VA and the best part is that you don’t have to drive too far.  The happy hours are a must with great specials every day and if you decided to go out on a Friday or Saturday night, the cover charge is far lower than what you would pay to get in a DC club.  The bar staff is cool and the bouncers are actually pretty cool, unless you start acting like a total ass.  Please feel free to comment or provide any input.