The Penguin

College bars tend to be pretty rowdy for my liking, but for my sister's birthday I decided I could manage it for a night. Our group got there pretty early and had our choice of seats (oh, to be twenty-two and have nothing better to do than arrive at the bar before sunset) so we chose a booth in the corner away from the stage. Later I would regret that decision, since I had to fight my way through crowds of drunk bachelorettes and frat boys in order to reach the bar or the restroom, but the noise was impossibly loud so I couldn't have sat anywhere closer without being miserable. But the drinks are pretty inexpensive -- four dollars for a pitcher of Boulevard and two for a shot of tequila -- and I was feeling pretty awesome by the end of the night. The songs were not as diverse as I would have hoped. According to my sister and her friends, the pianists only play the requests that come with hefty tips, which I think is pretty crappy, and of course my sister's request wasn't played, even though we wrote on the slip that it was her birthday. Also I ordered a round of drinks which never came. But if a college kid thinks the cheap alcohol can make up for everything else, this isn't a bad place to try.

only entertaining if there is a large crowd and multiple bachelorette parties. this place has a healthy mix of senior citizens, drunk sorority girls, and 30-50 year old crowd. the last time i was there was mayhem. girls drunkenly trying to dance by the pianos on stage and more girls falling down outside and puking on the curb waiting for taxis while bon jovi's IT'S MY LIFE is being belted from the crowd inside.
if you like to watch a trainwreck then this is the place for you.

Nicer than some spots downtown. Also a bunch of trainwrecky women hang here.  The kind that get so drunk, they look like a baby deer on ice.

The piano hits are pretty standard fare like "Sweet Caroline".  Whether that is good or bad is up to you.