Acting Like an Undergrad

So it was my friend's final birthday in her 20's so we thought we would revisit her 21st! A group of us met up at Aloft to pregame and get some liquid courage before we headed off the to the main event. I had requested a party bus, yes I did say a party bus, to pick us up from Aloft and take the birthday girl and company off to the secret venue. The party bus ended up being over an hour late, but we still hopped on when the blacked out school bus arrived. The interior was gutted and replaced with white cushion backing and pleather couch seating topped with a stripper pole and a flat screen TV. We arrived at the Coliseum, what used to be a Winn Dixie in a strip center on the college side of town, and were escorted through the crowd to our elevated table. My friend purchased bottles to drink from and champagne to toast with. We danced the night away and forgot about us being the oldest group in the club. If you're able to leave your inhibitions at the door and dance like it's 1999, then you'd have a great time at the Coliseum.

Brew Fan

I mentioned earlier that the Tallahassee Brewfest was coming up and I recommend getting your tickets soon. But I want to tell you a little about a new brewery in town that will be there.

Last night I attended a Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce ACCESS and Networking Young Professionals happy hour that was awesome. It was held at Proof Brewing Co. where they recently expanded and opened their downstairs bar and back deck. It is a great bar with quality beers that unfortunately is on the college side of town. But it is 21+ so you'll mainly find the more sophisticated student, maybe a grad student if they can afford it, and young professionals. There is parking behind Proof which I just found out about and there is a brand new Chic-Fil-A next door incase you need to go for a food run. It is the perfect spot to sit outside and enjoy a beer. They just started brewing their own stout, pale ale, gameday (lighter), and rye beers and you can view the brewing machines behind glass from the bar. They allowed us to walk through the space and gave us details on how they got started brewing and their vision. Their beer is selling like hot cakes and they are finding it difficult to keep up with the demand. They are also playing around with their recipes so you can expect something different every time.


http://www.ll100proof.com/proof-a-modern-american-pub/index.asp

Gameday in Tallahassee

This weekend I was fortunate enough to have a friend who got us into Old School for their BBQ on game day. Old School (OS) was a fraternity house that Seminole Boosters got a hold of and turned inside out. It is divided into four luxury and spacious master suites. There is a large kitchen and living room, but that's not where the excitement ensues. Outside there is an infinity pool surrounded by a patio that reaches into two property lines. The patio is filled with a large bar, tents, grills, fire pits, just to name a few. On gameday Seminole Boosters flock to OS to tailgate with their fellow elites. A buffet lunch is provided along side with two fully stocked top shelf bars and hotties ready to whip up rounds of shots or pour you a beer. You have to be a member or a friend of a member to enjoy the scene on gameday. Tickets are $75 for guests of members. They have golf carts that shuttle members to the game when kick off is close. So I headed to the game with a few friends who were kind enough to offer me a ticket to sit with them. Little did I know it was on the 45 yard line 6 rows up from the field. Florida State blew away Boston College's team and added a W to their record.

After the game we headed back to the truck to finish off a couple of beers and watch the rest of the UF vs Vanderbilt game. As the Florida State game ended a few other friends came to hang out with us before we went to the bars. Only four of us were up for getting drinks so we checked out the crowd at Proof and got a couple specialty beers. Proof just began brewing their own beer so I had to try it out. I ordered a stout and it wasn't bad, my friend ordered their IPA and seemed to enjoy it too, meanwhile our other two friends swear by Crown Royal Black and stuck to their guns. After having a beer we scurried across the street to dine on some delicious fried chicken from guthries. We got a few "gut boxes" and headed home.

But the night didn't end there. It was my young friend's 21st birthday and she had asked that I joined her and a handful of her friends out in midtown. I regrouped and met up with them at Tap Room and then onto Filling Station (MTFS). They were a group of pretty, young, sorority girls in the midtown bars so they got a lot of attention. I rallied my friends together to buy them rounds of shots and get them out on the dance floor. I'm not sure how much she remembers of her birthday, but you only turn 21 once!

It was an extremely busy but fun filled day to say the least!

Thursday Nights at MTFS

This Thursday my friend asked that I join him and a few others at Midtown Filling Station for his birthday. I wanted to post and let people know that Thursdays are now cool. As I was walking down Thomasville I heard a crowded Wine Loft overhead that was very enticing, but I continued on and went to MTFS to have a few drinks on their 90's night. Although I really enjoy a good 80's night, the 90's night was a little less intense. The music was all familiar since I grew up to the beats of N'Sync and Mariah Carey and the bar was pretty busy. So cheers to Thursdays!

Review - Joe Mama's

My sweet boyfriend took me to Joe Mama's the other night for dinner. He knows I get really excited about going somewhere new. Here's the deal with Joe Mama's, their sign does not reflect the character of the restaurant. It isn't fine dining but it's not casual either. They did a great job with the interior design. It has a full length bar which serves premier seasonal brews, a pizza countertop with a wood burning stove behind it, and a dining room full of black and white Floridian photography prints.

Now onto the food, the pizzas are around $12 a piece and serve two (8 pieces). They are attempting to be an authentic italian pizzeria so no pineapple and ham, but they do have proscuitto and deliciously spiced pepperoni. The pizza is fresh, crisp on the bottom, light on the sauce, and all around damn good. I wouldn't recommend the proscuitto though, it did nothing for me. We had fresh green peppers atop the pepperoni which were thinly sliced and done right. They offer fresh bread for $3 which was good, but not worth ordering.

The service was good although since they are so new I could feel the manager watching our reactions, which could be a good thing if they would be willing to accept criticisms and make alterations. Adapting in the restaurant business is essential. They serve the tap water in bottles they leave with you at the table with small water glasses; and when I say small I mean small. Like 4 oz glasses or something. I had to request a larger one after I refilled it the 5th time. I'm sure I wasn't the first person to do this when the waitress told me she understood, but had to bring out the small ones first until a request was made for the larger ones.

Take away, I would definitely eat here again. I could see it being a hit for the midtowners for dinner before heading to the bars with friends. Their competition is fierce, cheaper but not as nice. Decent pizza is pretty good and not as fancy, but will make the pizza you want with what you want on it. I'll be interested to see what kind of crowd Joe Mama's draws.

Shopping in Tallahassee

The most difficult task in Tallahassee is finding something to wear for a special occasion especially if it has to be a specific color (i.e. gameday). I am a very petite person and have always found shopping to be a daunting experience. If there is a wedding or gala I get to go to then I will class it up and have the girls at Cole Couture dress me. There are great local boutiques around town such as Narcissus, Kenzie Girl (more for college crowd), and Divas and Devils for the vintage style. My first choice is always Marshalls because it's cheap and unique. They also have shoes on clearance for a steal. A new DSW just opened and I have learn to appreciate their clearance sales, but that's about it. The good thing about DSW is you can buy the shoes online and return them in the store if they don't work out. Plus they have a great customer rewards program so shipping is free.

The mall has a few good stores if you can catch their sales such as White House Black Market and Ann Taylor. There also is a Banana Republic, Limited, and Express. Dillards is the best department store we have. It has decent young lady designer labels, juniors casual dresses, and shoe sales. I have become addicted to shopping at Nordstrom online because shipping is always free even if you return it. So you can buy it, try it on, and return it at no cost.If you are looking for something for a easy one time wear, I would suggest Forever 21. They also have great cheap jewelry. I am about to tell you a huge secret about a store called the Country Dollar. It's next to Pier 1 off the parkway and north of I-10 by Starbucks. They have crazy crap jewelry all for $1. You need to really judge the jewelry you are buying there or else when you wear it it will break or you will look cheap. The best part is you can buy jewelry already made and just deconstruct it and use the beads. They use a ton of seed beads.

Local Boutiques
http://www.colecouture.com/
http://www.narcissustallahassee.com/

Online Shopping
http://www.laversei.com/
http://www.tobi.com/

Gameday
http://judithmarch.com/
http://www.twelvesaturdays.com/

More Online
http://shop.nordstrom.com/
http://piperlime.gap.com/

Gator Gameday

This blog doesn't necessarily pertain to Tallahassee, but I know there are a lot of gators out there that live in Tallahassee. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some amazing tickets for the UF vs LSU game so my boyfriend and I along with another couple drove down for the day. No need to get an overpriced hotel room, just leave early in the morning, tailgate, scream your lungs out at the game, and head home. Luckily I didn't have to drive, but the trip wasn't bad at all!



I want to suggest a couple of shops to purchase game day dresses (FSU too). Laversei.com has adorable chic trendy dresses that come in colors that can be worn to seminole and gator games. I tried a few other places, my go to shop Marshalls, which didn't have much and Forever 21. If I had the money to burn I would suggest Cole Couture and Narcissus and their dresses probably could have been worn again for other purposes. The end result was a Angie dress from Dillard's (http://www.dillards.com/product/Angie-Lattice-RuffleTop-Dress_301_-1_301_503226014?df=03758553_zi) in orange. I will address shopping in Tallahassee in another post...Back to Gator Gameday! So we left around 9am and picked up some Publix subs when we got there and started tailgating around 11:30am. It was my boyfriend's first time in Gainesville but we didn't have much time to show him around to the hot spots. If I had a weekend there, here's where I would go:

Guide to Gainesville:
Swamp Restaurant - get here early and get a table sit on the porch with a pitcher for a taste of tradition

The Garden Restaurant - Right behind Swamp with better food - great balsamic vinaigrette

101 Cantina - A little wild on game day weekends, but fun for a margarita

Balls & Salty Dog - Grungy typical college bars

Rue Bar - What used to be my favorite club downtown

Lillians - Fund bands to dance to classic rock


Looseys - Used to be Market Street, not sure if it is still fun but it used to be!

Food:
Paramount Grille - Upscale dinner best food in all of Gainesville


Dragonfly - Delicious sushi you MUST get their crab rangoon, best in the world!!!


Emiliano's Cafe - Cuban Fusion - delicious Tres Leches and maduros

Ivey's - Yummy breakfast when you're heading out of town

Harvest Thyme -  Yummy deli sandwiches

Leonardo's - 706 or By the Slice - Great pizza and tuna club

Manuel's Vintage Room - Upscale italian in an intimate setting

The Top - for the hipsters, buffalo tofu! good vegan brunch

Where to Stay:
Hilton - If you can get a room, usually booked or pricey

University Center Holiday Inn - Best location not the nicest

Magnolia B&B - adorable secluded B&B downtown with cabins off the main house for privacy

Paramount Hotel - A little south of campus, average hotel

 

Network of Young Professionals

The 1st wednesday of every month the Network of Young Professionals hosts a happy hour. I have been involved with NYP for a few years now and have seen it shrink and grow. Right now, it's growing. I have found myself actually wanting to go to their events and the quality of professionals who attend has become quite promising. Last night I went to the happy hour at the Filling Station and met up with a large group of friends there. The bar was pretty packed and there was a good crowd there for the happy hour. We gathered our friends and headed over to Alchemy next door to continue the fun!

Beer Tasting

Network of Young Professionals and ACCESS Tallahassee are hosting a beer tasting at Proof at October 23, 6pm for $10. RSVP, email Dmc06n@gmail.com

Event: See and Be Scene

FSU Theatre School is hosting a "See and Be Scene" series for young professionals with a happy hour at Andrews at 5pm and a play at 8pm. Here's the line up if anyone wants to go!

Crimes of the Heart – Lab Theatre - October 11
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Fallon Theatre - October 25
Spring Awakening – Fallon Theatre - February 28

http://theatre.fsu.edu/Special-Events/Young-Professionals

Event: Power of the Purse - United Way

Event: Gaines Street Fest

Firstly, this is not my scene but I am open to pretty much anything. This crowd is described as "hipsters" who are counterculture hippies in a sense. They tend to come across as rugged, needing a bath, vintage styled, carefree kind of people. The festival was supposed to be a huge music festival with over 80 bands. I'm not sure if it was just because it was the only place we felt most comfortable, but we hung around Side Bar and Crepe Vine enjoying the band they had out on their deck. The fact that it started raining didn't help much, but we had a decent time with some different people. We figured we would make the most of it and get to drinking. Two shots of Patron later we headed back to our comfort zone, the Midtown Filling Station. The bar was relatively empty, which I prefer. The DJ was playing older music (within the past 5 years) rather than  only what is on the radio today. Drunkards were playing Jenga on the stage as we jumped around the dance floor all night. It was a very randomly awesome night.

Review: Market Square Lounge - A Quiet Night Out

I took advantage of the fact that everyone was out of town for the FSU vs USF football game and went downtown for dinner on Friday night with a handful of great friends. The seven of us ate at 101, I had the eggplant stack of course, along with a couple of cocktails. This place has the best happy hour in town twice a day! After dinner we drove north to Market Square Lounge. If you have never ventured out to this place it's worth a visit if you're in the mood to have a low key off the beaten path night. The bartenders are extremely knowledgeable and fully stocked since it is partnered with the liquor store next door. If you want to try something new perhaps a specialty whiskey or new vodka, this is the place to go.