Bombay Bicycle Club, the small, pub-style restaurant close to Pizza Classics by Brackenridge Park, used to be the buzziest way to spend your Thursday night. ThursBays, or Thirsty Thursdays, may no longer be the reigning champ of pre-weekend festivities for Trinity students. While I have fond memories from my first year at Trinity of passing ‘Bays on a Thursday night with a line stretching almost to the St. Mary’s and Mulberry intersection, this is no longer the case. The highlight of Thursdays at ‘Bays may be the trivia night, which usually happens at 8 p.m., but I can’t say since I showed up right after it ended. The waning crowd of people from trivia night slowly subsided into a small group of thirty-somethings, as most of the Trinikids had filtered out by 11 p.m.
Though Bays features some drink specials, none of them were anything to write home about. The Thursday special is $3.50 shots of Jack Daniels, which, while fair enough for a one-drink type of night, is not going to get you through to the week’s finish line. If you really want to celebrate, you’ll find yourself reaching for one of their cocktails, which will probably hike your ticket to well over $10. The drinks were appropriately creative and delicious, but much too expensive to order more than one. On top of that, while their menu boasts late night snacks like Frito pies, I was told their kitchen was closed when I tried to order. Sure, the walk to Pizza Classics might be short, but once your heart is set on Frito Pie, can a normal old pizza pie suffice? I think not.
As ThursBays declines in popularity, ThursGayz at the Brass Monkey on N. St. Mary’s has steadily increased in popularity amongst Trinikids. Last week, the line for entry at around 11 p.m. was already stretched around the small building’s facade to the side street. This is due in no small part to the bar’s impressive Thursday night special of 75¢ well drinks, which gets you almost five shots of bottom-shelf liquor for the cost one Jack Daniel’s shot at ThursBays.
Compared to the cramped, albeit quirky, restaurant-style seating of ‘Bay’s, Brass Monkey contains a surprising amount of variety for such a small space. The outdoor bar provides a good space for general socializing, as long as you are okay with the noise level and picnic bench seating. Inside, the club packs more of a dance party punch. Their Facebook emphasizes that the music for Friday is Indie and Electro, but I heard mainly general pop bangers. Granted, they were all bops, especially when compared to more generic club music fare, and the inside dance space featured a heavy amount of blue fog to make it seem more spacious than it actually was.
It’s important to note that while ThurzGayz touts great drink specials, it is primarily a dance party that celebrates LGBTQ identity, hence the name. It was interesting, then, that the vibe felt more like a Trinity frat party than a gay club. The topic of straight people going to gay clubs and events has been discussed at length before by people more qualified than me, but my take is that those looking for a fun night out should not disregard the theme of the night and should be sure to be respectful.
Maybe your Thursday night starts as a quest for the best drinks and dancing around, but unquestionably it will end with a quest for the best food. While ‘Bays denied me the occasion to ring in the weekend with a Frito Pie, Brass Monkey is conveniently located just down the street from the beloved taco truck, El Regio’s. And as most Trinikids probably already know, there’s no better feeling than that early morning return to campus, stumbling through the residential area between St. Mary’s and Mulberry St. with a styrofoam plate of tacos, kept lukewarm by a thin strip of foil, in your hands.
