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Bars & Clubs '99

Loungin' Lady: Deborah at Tampico greets Tampico Lounge patrons with her industrial-strength drinks and great laugh. George Sakkestad DESPITE ALL THE TALK about virtual communities and the cyber-commons, we know of at least one institution that won't be digitized in the coming millennium: the corner watering hole. There's no computerized substitute for the socializing, the slamming of liar's dice, the shaking of martinis that goes on at breweries, cocktail lounges, juke joints and roadhouses. This year's Bars & Clubs Guide takes readers on a pub crawl through the county's best nightclubs, live-music spots and mixed-drink emporiums. In addition, we have provided a handy cheat sheet for keeping track of the area's many coffeehouses (knowing that caffeine is just as stimulating as Stoli) and juice bars. (Do we need to remind anybody at this late date that drinking and driving should be considered mutually exclusive?) Live rock venues Neighborhood bars Pubs and microbreweries Latin music venues Coffeehouses Cocktail lounges Sports bars Billiards halls Jazz and blues bars Dance clubs Bars and clubs listed alphabetically Bars and clubs listed by city Grub Crawl: The quest for happy-hour deals and treats. Night-life Nostalgia: Remembering the best little bar in Santa Cruz. Some may envy them their labors, but labors they were nonetheless. Our Bars & Clubs reviews represent the long hours put in by Michael S. Gant, Matt Koumaras, Morgan Pershing, Sarah Phelan, Sarah Quelland, Karen Reardanz, George Sakkestad, Mary Spicuzza, Sharan Street, Marty Stevens, Christina Waters and John Yewell. Photos by Skye Dunlap, George Sakkestad and Dai Sugano Proofreading by Carol Bee [ Santa Cruz | MetroActive Central | Archives ]