The (missing) bar scene
By Jeff Renfro
As of late, the Santa Clara night scene has been invaded. From house parties to The Hut, it is impossible to find a location that has not been taken over by townies or all-pro football players. In order to defend our territory, our only recourse is to go on the offensive, which is why on a cool Wednesday night, I went exploring in San Jose with eight of my closest friends.
Our findings were surprising. It turns out that Santa Clara bars pale in comparison to their San Jose counterparts. This raises the obvious question: Why is a bar as awful as The Hut so packed every weekend?
The most enticing aspect of the San Jose scene is location. The heart of downtown San Jose is a short car/bike ride from campus. We gladly took advantage of the free parking garage located on Second and San Fernando streets. From there, it was a short walk to our first destination: Gordon Biersch Brewery (33 E. San Fernando St.).
Being from Portland, I know my microbrews and have always considered Gordon Biersch to be the worst of the quality beers. But we wanted to get the night off to a classy start. I realized that this was not a bar for college students. It is the type of bar that spends a lot of money to make itself seem like a dive. The music playing was laughably awful. It sounded as if they let my grandmother pick her favorite pop songs for the last 15 years. To put a finer point on it, Enrique Iglesias' "Hero" was probably the best song played there. On the positive side, the bartenders were very willing to give out samples and were extremely knowledgeable. There is a full food menu, but it is on the expensive side. Save Gordon Biersch for when your parents visit or that special date you are trying to impress.
Our next location was the cream of the crop: The Mission Ale House (Santa Clara and Third streets). I had heard nothing but good about "MAH," so my expectations were high. As soon as we walked in the door, we knew that we were in the right place. Just to the left of the door, there was a DJ playing A Tribe Called Quest. A definite strong point of the MAH is the music. There is usually a DJ in the front area that plays music to hang out to. It seemed that the DJ and I had a mental connection. He was playing all of my favorite hip-hop tracks from high school. Everything from J5 to Del to The Pharcyde. Despite the fact that it was a Wednesday, the MAH was fairly crowded.
I was already impressed by the layout, but was pushed over the edge when I got to the bar. The MAH features a large selection of West Coast microbrews on tap. The $4.50 pints were expensive, but the ambience and selection make it worth it. When the boys had their beers and the ladies had their ciders, we retired to the lounge area which was full of cushy booths and promoted a social atmosphere.
After the MAH, everything else came up short. While walking to our next location, we were accosted by a barker for Toon's. I did not actually enter Toon's, so take this opinion for what it is worth, but it definitely appears to be a place to skip. Once we escaped the Toon's crowd, we headed to O'Flaherty's. The place had some charm, but it also had the most expensive beer ($5 pints) and the worst location (next door to the Spaghetti Factory). There was no music, and the space itself was cramped. O'Flaherty's is strictly for those looking for an intermediate bar.
Next, we decided on the Brittania Arms. We took one step into the bar and immediately left. First off, it is carpeted which is a rarity in bars for good reasons. It was completely dead except for a few sallow looking gentlemen. The place just gave me the creeps.
For every place we went to, we passed three.
San Jose has a great night life, well worth exploring.