Faneuil Hall Nightlife

Oh the nightlife. Carousing the Faneuil Hall neighborhood drinking establishments, while I only live 3 blocks away, is not my average Friday night out. This doesn't mean I won't rise to the occasion and have a night every once in awhile. This past Friday was my first time since the blog commenced of partaking in the madness associated. As a result, I thought I would dedicate a post. My words of wisdom are as follows:
1) Be in the right mindset. Understand there is a high percent chance of the following:
a) You are going to wait in a line. If not to get into the bar, once inside you will have to wait in another line to go upstairs/downstairs/into another room/to the bathroom.
b) You will pee in a bathroom stall with no toilet paper. You will see piles of paper on the floor and wonder why there is none left to wipe with. Curses.
c) You will walk/dance over broken glass. Be careful. Feet can and will get cut.
d) Your shoes will stick to the floor. ick.
2) Cover charges apply. $10 covers always at The Bell in Hand Tavern and Ned Devines. I cringe thinking about the nights I've handed over a Hamilton at the bars expense. What do you think is so special about yourselves that you have to charge me $10 when everyone else is charging $5!?

(ok so the $10 Bell in Hand cover was worth it this night. We had a blast.)

3) Be prepared to take lots of shots. You will NEED them immediately upon entering, and every so often through out the night. 4) Have fun flagging down a cabbie! (Unless you, like me, get to walk home.) The rest of you might be out an extra hour trying to catch a cab. When the bars let out at 2am, it's luck of the draw.
Bottoms up! Here we are at Sanctuary prepparing for the long night ahead. (I think technically this bar is in the Financial District but it's soclose that I felt like including it in my Faneuil recap.) The dark club atmosphere is separated into three floors. The red brick basement resembles "Hell", the middle (street) level bar with high leather booths and large Buddha statues might represent "Purgatory", and the upstairs bar and lounge with its twinkling starlite ceilings is definitley "Heaven".
The below list is complied over the years through personal experience.
Live band/dancing: Hennesseys, The Purple Shamrock, The Green Dragon.
DJ dance party: McFaddens, Trinity, Sissy K's, The Place, Sanctuary, Bell in Hand
Good martinis: Red Sky
Bars I am especially fond of just because: The Black Rose, The Tap
Upscale/Club: Sanctuary, Parris (upstairs at Ned Devines.)
Irish Pubs: Patty O's, Hennesseys, Green Dragon, Black Rose, Purple Shamrock, Kitty O'Sheas. (I probably missed some, it's an Irish Pub mecca)
Play Keno at: The Bar Room
Sing Karaoke at: Hong Kong
Tourists-go-here: Cheers, Dicks Last Resort
Outside Patio: Ames Plow Tavern
Often times I believe "It's not where but who you're with that really matters." Meaning, pick any one of the places I listed above, and as long as you understand that paying covers, buying rounds of shots, and mosh pit dance parties are inevitable, you'll be fine. You might even have a blast drinking and dancing like there is no tomorrow.
The above pictures compliments of Tricia taken in October and Laura taken last summer. They capture the last few times I was in the midst of a Faneuil dance party. Our matching sparkly tops...just go with it. We rocked those matching sparkles. Before our most recent Friday night out Adam and I dropped my computer off at Best Buy on Newbury and Mass Ave and enjoyed a long walk home. Stopping for a bite at Boloco our favorite chain burrito joint, we took it to-go and ate on a bench in the common.
These chips were really good. They have great smoothies. Above is the Cape Codder: cranberries, blueberries, apple juice, raspberry sorbet, non-fat frozen yogurt. Below would be my favorite Boloco burrito: The Summer: mango salsa, melted cheese, black beans, boloco rice. You have a choice of chicken, steak, or fajita veggies in your burrito. I usually get mine with fajita veggies.
We rested back at the apt. Eventually I got myself moving with a Red Bull and Vodka.
We originally planned on starting our evening with the Marines at Ned Devines. Once out and about, we remembered the dreaded cover. We chose the less assuming neighbor, Ames Plow Tavern. Our large group was greeted at the entrance and seated outside. We soaked in the warm night air and enjoyed rounds of drinks delivered promptly by our waiter. My margarita was just ok, but the weather and vibe made up for it. I had a well poured Guinness after that.
The next destination was a bar I had never set foot in: Sissy K's. They had a $7 cover. Why the extra $3? Why? Shots of Jager were consumed immediately. I met more Marines, had more cousin bonding time, stuck to the floor, got head butted on the dance floor - (not on purpose) drunk girl thrusting her head backwards was a serious uncoordinated dance move if i ever saw one. (That was the end of that...)
Yet somehow we stayed out drinking Bud Light after Bud Light until last call. I came home fully capable of whipping up these treats.
That is Trader Joe's Naan with a heavy coat of butter and Mozzarella cheese drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with pepper and fresh basil leaves. A welcome comfort to the end of a Friday evening out on the town.