Best Bar
1. G Street Pub
228 G St.
2. Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
129 E St.
3. Froggy’s
726 Second St.
Home of the “best Jägermeister in town,” G Street Pub provides good dancing and drinks for Davis pub-crawlers.
Robert Meeson, a senior exercise biology major and a frequenter of G Street, feels that the bar offers the best experience for bar hoppers.
“G Street’s the best because of the good combination of dancing, pool tables and good alcohol prices. Also, it’s right by Woodstock’s so after going to the bars, if you need to grab a slice of pizza, [Woodstock’s] is right there,” Meeson said.
G Street offers a variety of discounts for the average 21 and over student. Whether it’s $3 vodka cranberries or $1 pint nights on Wednesdays, students can expect to spend less on their alcohol tab at G Street.
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen was voted the second best bar in Davis. Brad Varnum, the floor manager, feels that it’s Sophia’s unique atmosphere that helped the Thai bar cinch the second place spot.
“There aren’t many bars with a lounge area, we have a very nice lounge area and atmosphere,” Varnum said. “We fill a niche that is lacking in Davis, Sophia’s is a very nice spot for grad students and professors.”
Varnum also thinks that it may be the mojitos that keep bringing people back.
“The most popular drink at the bar is probably a three-way tie between a mojito, our pomegranate lemon drop or a “tie breaker” which is like a stronger version of a Long Island Iced Tea with a pineapple twist, it’s like a Thai Long Island Iced Tea,” Varnum said.
In third place is Froggy’s, which daviswiki.org calls a “staple” of downtown Davis. Bar hoppers can expect a wide variety of music and beverages at this bar located on Second Street. Birthday bar-hoppers beware: Bouncers stamp you on the forehead if it’s your special day.
Megan Ellis
Best place to dance
1. The Davis Graduate
805 Russell Blvd.
2. House Parties
3. KetMoRee
238 G St.
Looking for a good place to shimmy and shake? Then head on over to the Davis Graduate, ranked first as the best place to dance in Davis.
Sports bar and restaurant during the day, dance venue at night, the Grad has been in operation for almost 30 years. Its close proximity to the dorms, as well as its 18 and over college nights, make it an all-inclusive venue for a night of dancing. Cover prices range from $3 to $10 with a student ID, with the doors typically opening as early as 9 p.m.
Catering to a town packed with college students, the planners at the venue always try to keep things fresh and innovative. Danny Cee, head of entertainment at the Grad, said that in 2010 the planning staff will look to put more emphasis on visual portions of the bar and club.
“I believe we won because we offer up a broad range of dancing,” Cee said. “With whatever we do that is dance oriented, we try to bring out the best DJs – not just in Davis but in the Sacramento area.”
Each day of the week has a designated type of music. Mondays, Friday and Saturdays have country line dancing while Wednesdays are popular for hip hop night. Salsa dancing is on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Sunday is karaoke night.
In addition to their weekly themed dance nights, Cee said the Grad holds live monthly salsa performances and sporadic special events such as the upcoming Electronic Dance Party on Feb. 25, put on by the ASUCD Entertainment Council.
If you’re not worn ragged after a shimmy session at the Grad, take a swing by some of the ever-so-popular house parties in Davis. Ranked second as the best place for dancing, house parties offer a good place to mingle with familiar faces while relieving some stress by dancing.
If you’re in the mood for more anonymity and crowd variation, perhaps a better place would be the third-ranked KetMoRee, open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Enjoy a Thai iced tea and then hit the dance floor for a cover charge of $2 with a student ID.
Eleni Stephanides
Best place to take a date
1. UCD Arboretum
2. Davis Farmers Market
Central Park
3. $5 movies – Regal cinema
101 F St. and 420 G St.
While a romantic, sunset-filled walk on the beach is an ideal dream date, you will have to seek out alternatives if you are an Aggie. Thankfully, UC Davis has the Arboretum.
Voted best place to take a date, the Arboretum houses 22,000 trees and plants in 100 acres along the banks of Putah Creek. Full of gazebos, ducks and a fire pit, the Arboretum is a cost-effective place to take a romantic moonlit stroll.
Mia Garcia, sophomore philosophy and international relations major has been on a date in the Arboretum. She feels it is a more intimate setting especially for first dates.
“The Arboretum gives you an opportunity to talk with your date instead of [being in] a loud restaurant or the movies,” she said. “And it’s so romantic.”
Coming in second place, the Davis Farmers Market is world-renown, voted America’s Favorite Farmers Market in August 2009 by American Farmland Trust. It started in 1976 and still has the same traditions – all food sold at the market is either made or grown by the seller.
With its huge crowd and bustling environment, the market can be a place for a couple to sit and relax.
“The farmers market is a great free place to shop for things and people watch,” Garcia said.
Finishing in third for the best places to take a date is Regal Cinema’s $5 movie night. Located on F Street, Regal Cinema sells cheaper tickets on Tuesdays and $1 popcorn for those in their Regal Crown Club.
– Nick Markwith
Best Drink Special
1. Sudwerks
2001 Second St.
2. G St. Pub
228 G St.
3. 3rd and U Café
223 Third St.
What better way to celebrate the middle of the week than with a nice, cold beer for $1?
On Wednesday nights, folks can pay $1 for a pint of beer at Sudwerk’s. Options range from the Helles, Hefeweizen, Märzen, and Pilsner – Jim Pavlichek, bartender and manager on dollar drink nights said that the Märzen is classic. There is a $3 cover charge that starts at 9 p.m.
“We’ve got the best price combo on really good beer,” Pavlichek said. “Other places have better mixed drinks, but the vibe here is great.”
The popular microbrewery has been in Davis since 1989, producing award-winning Lager beers and serving the students and city locals. Their dollar pint nights have been around for about a decade.
“I go once every two weeks on Wednesday nights,” said Kiyan Parsa, junior managerial economics major. “It’s like drinking in my own apartment. It’s homey and I like bars that aren’t too ‘clubby’ where I can talk and hang out with my friends.”
Aside from the cheap beer, Parsa said that the atmosphere of the interior is what draws him in the most.
“Come, relax, talk, and watch the game,” he said. “The atmosphere is nice – it reminds me of the movie Beerfest.”
There’s also much to be said about the history of Sudwerk, and the workers take pride in that.
“We are the only brewery in town, and we were one of the earlier microbrewery businesses here on the West Coast,” Pavlichek said.
“It’s something that people remember when looking back from their college years,” he said. “Without putting too much ego into it, it’s sort of an institution.”
Coming in second place for the second year is G St. Pub, located on 228 G St. They offer $1 pints of Pabst and Miller Light, and $2 well drinks.
Landing in third place is the recently opened 3rd and U Café, located 223 Third St. They offer a two for $5 happy hour special for beer.
– Vanna Le
Best place to see a live show
1. Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts
2. Freeborn Hall
3. Delta of Venus
122 B St.
Location, location, location. Sometimes the venue makes a hell of a difference when it comes to seeing a live performance – from stand-up comedians, a string quartet, to a local indie-rock group trying to make it to Sacramento and beyond, Davis has its’ own niches for all types of performers.
Take the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts for instance. Ranked first this year, it takes a little trekking to get to the outskirts of where this multi-million dollar venue is located, but music never sounded this good until Jackson Hall arrived center-stage. Jackson Hall was built for live performance. Ask Yo-Yo Ma, or Elvis Costello in April.
The acoustics of the hall allow the sound of any instrument or voice to clearly resonate in even the upper third tier; so it’s okay if you’re cheap and could only afford the already discounted tickets offered to poor college students – because the sound is the same from the $2,500 seats in front of the stage to where you happen to be sitting.
Granted, if it is a Friday night and tickets are sold out to a Mondavi performance, there is always Freeborn Hall, known to house sold-out performances including Jason Mraz and Switchfoot.
Usually through the works of the ASUCD Entertainment Council, Freeborn transforms itself from a lecture, blood-drive, conference, reception or banquet hall into a concert atmosphere. Mind you, this multi-functional venue is in the center of campus and is a location that beats going downtown or off-road.
If the hipster ways are your thing, head over to Delta of Venus. The more intimate environment and cheap cover charges offer a more lenient way to enjoy music or live poetry.
“Sometimes you’ll find that the performances are either stand-up monologues or original pieces that the musicians themselves have written to express their personal experiences,” said junior sociology major Andrea Suh.
– Karen Song
Best Open Mic
1. Bistro 33
226 F St.
2. G Street Pub
228 G St.
3. Sickspits Open Mic
Bistro 33 was voted the best place in Davis to bare your heart and soul.
Starting at 9 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month, a featured poet takes the stage for an hour or so. Recent writers include UC Davis professor Bob Ostertag and Boston local Maxwell Kessler.
The event is organized by UCD English Professor Dr. Andy Jones, creating a wide range of both local and celebrity performers alike.
“Andy is able to get poets from throughout the United States,” said Zach Hunter, a floor manager at Bistro 33. “We’ve even had featured poets come from England, which is kind of cool.”
Around 10 p.m. the stage opens up for everyone. From love poems to musical comedy, the people of Davis strut their stuff.
Since crowd size varies, it is recommended that you show up early to guarantee a spot, especially if you’d like to perform at the open mic.
“[The audience size] depends on the feature and depends on what the schedule for school is like,” Hunter said. “Those outside forces definitely come into play.”
The majority of attendees are UCD students, though this event is known for attracting many members of the Davis and Sacramento literary community.
The second best open mic in Davis goes to G Street Pub, which offers karaoke for the 21 and over crowd on Mondays and Tuesdays and live band karaoke the first Thursday of every month. In third is SickSpits, a campus community event held on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. in Griffin Lounge. The Feb. 16 performance however, will be held at Delta of Venus beginning at 7 p.m.
– Becky Peterson
Most Picturesque
1. UC Davis Arboretum
2. Margrit and Robert Mondavi Center
3. The Davis Greenbelt
Spanning close to 100 acres and containing roughly 70,000 diverse plants, it’s no wonder why the UC Davis Arboretum chops the competition as “Most Picturesque.”
The Arboretum was established in 1936 by students who wanted to help clean the then naturally flowing creek.
Today, the Arboretum houses 16 major collections of plants that are grouped by geographic location, taxonomic species or into demonstration gardens.
“Our Redwood Grove is beloved especially in the heat of summer,” said Ellen Zagory, director of horticulture for the Arboretum, in an e-mail interview. “[And the] Peter J. Shields Oak Collection is nationally recognized for its size and diversity.”
Open all day every day, the Arboretum offers something for everyone.
“We have a regular tour schedule, many events, four public plant sales and a large membership in our support group Friends of the Davis Arboretum,” Zagory said.
For those who seek to create their own Arboretum experience, there are various exhibits, plant labels and directional signs that provide information to the casual visitor. Benches are placed throughout for relaxing and observing the plants, flowers and wildlife.
But what can make the Arboretum most picturesque is the complete freedom to walk in, find a spot to sit and watch nature.
“The Arboretum has the best views around of the reflection of the sky, flowers and trees in the water as well as having slopes – a novelty in most of Davis,” Zagory said.
Exhibit, tour and event information can be found at arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
Taking second place is the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
“When you consider all the picturesque locales around Davis, including our close neighbor, the Arboretum, it’s an honor to even be considered as a nominee,” said Rob Tocalino, director of marketing for the Mondavi Center. “We feel very lucky that, in addition to having two incredible performance spaces, we’ve got a beautiful building that reflects the kind of striking, high-quality artists we present.”
Tocalino said night shows are very picturesque.
“On a show night, with the Morris Fountain running on the Vanderhoef Quad, and the lobby lit up, it’s a pretty amazing sight,” he said.
The Davis Greenbelt takes the third and final spot, rounding out the top three for this year’s “Most Picturesque.”
– Mario Lugo
