Louie's & Louie's Too by Alex Bacon

I’ve been handing my hard earned American dollars to bartenders at Louie’s for years. It’s a very nice business relationship we’ve had. Of course, by business, I mean business drinking. Okay, fine, just the drinking part. It’s great.

It hasn’t always been this way though. In the infancy of Louie’s (it doesn’t seem like it’s been what, eight years?) my visits were of a much tamer sort. Back in my churchgoing days, my college pastor and I would meet there once a week over pizzas and rivers of Diet Coke to discuss the topics of the day, whatever mundane things I was dealing with that week (in retrospect some far more mundane than others, but alas, the struggles of youth, how I occasionally miss them), and, of course, Jesus. Most of the time we ended up talking about basketball. And yes, Mark, I still believe Larry Johnson was going to be the next Charles Barkley had he not blown his back out. To quote our current crop of GOP candidates, just sayin’. 

Unfortunately for my liver, in the years since, I’ve had a lot to drink, so this portion of the timeline gets a little hazy. Around the time Louie’s Too (L-squared, The Duece, Louie’s As Well, we were so creative back then weren’t we!) came about,  drinking was becoming less of something that I just did on the weekends and becoming something I just, I don’t know, did. 

Louie’s Too, (along with The Deli but that’s a story for another time) was the first bars I ever considered my home base, so to speak. For years, on any given night I could be found with a Myer’s and diet, chain-smoking my ass off at Louie’s Too. Sidebar: If you’re a rum drinker, give the Myer’s a whirl, it’s delicious. Clearly, I kind of like the place, but enough about me.

Smoking is obviously a terrible idea, but if you’re like me and just can’t get enough of the stuff, it might be nice to hit a bar that lets you smoke inside from time to time. It sure as hell isn’t getting any warmer out there. Plus, there’s quite a collection of booze on the back bar to warm our cold hearts. After all, the semester is just starting, you have plenty of time to  drink now and worry about your grades later. 

For the daytime or “let’s watch the game” crowds, there’s quite the menu of bar food to choose from. Everything is under $10 so if you’re like me and want to spend your money on the hard stuff, a meal won’t break your piggy bank. They have a good assortment of food, some of which is more adventurous than you would expect (I’m looking at you Okie Pasta/Monster). Actually, my favorite sneaky menu item they have is the fried green beans. Despite being fried, they’re an excellent foodstuff to have while you’re drinking. They’re pretty light on the stomach so you don’t fall into the food coma trap, which is obviously a disaster when you’re trying to drink. If you don’t care about that, or you’re just there for a meal, I’m quite fond of the avocado burger. Let’s be honest, you should probably just put avocados on everything. 

On the drinks side, you’ve got plenty to choose from. There’s generally a new beer on tap from month to month for you hop heads out there. Last year’s string of IPA’s was a treat. If you’re going in for a late afternoon drink after class/work, they make an excellent club special. (It’s a drink I order often, but I really like them if the sun is out. Sorry, I’m weird about certain cocktails.)

For you late night folks, there’s a buffet of drinks to choose from. You can go with one of their beer specials, cocktail of your choice, shots galore (for the Louie’s veterans it’s heresy for me to say, but I’m leaving the Rumple behind. Patron XO chilled dammit!), or if you’re feeling crazy, try one of their specialty cocktails. 

Speaking of which, if it’s a night where you want to make a few drunken stories, drink the Electric Limeade. It’s blue, there’s no way around it, so get over that right now. It’s pretty much all booze and way to easy to drink. I’m not saying a few of them have lead to some bad decisions, but yeah, they have. It’s awesome. By all means, have some fun, but do exercise some self control with those. No one likes to be dragged out of the bar. That’s not a fun bar story. 

So, I’ve been on both ends of the Louie’s patron experience. They have a bit of something for everyone, and the late night crowd is ever-changing. It’s pretty difficult to go in there and not see someone you know. Even on nights that it’s packed, everyone always seems to be in a good mood and I will never know how the bartenders are able to keep up. I think they’re robots. Either way, they’ve made me more enjoyable drinks than I dare count. 

Alright kids, I’ve been inspired to have a drink so I’m gone. Pop on in sometime for a drink. And of course, remember to tip your wait staff and bartenders without which your drunken enjoyment would not be possible. See you at the bar. 

It’s cold outside this time of year.  So here’s our Campus Corner list of bars that keep you warm and let you smoke.

Joes Taverna

Louies Too

Seven47 heated patio