The Daily Reveille's Dining and Entertainment Guide 2009

lsu livingdining and entertainment guide

The Daily Reveille’s Guide for College Students

PAGE 2 freshman guide

CONTENTS

THE DAILY REVEILLE B-16 Hodges Hall • Baton Rouge, La. 70803

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EditorManaging Editor, ContentManaging Editor, External MediaProduction EditorDeputy Production EditorNews EditorDeputy News EditorSports EditorDeputy Sports EditorOpinion EditorPhoto EditorOnline Media EditorReveille Radio DirectorAdvertising Sales Manager

NICHOLAS PERSACJERIT ROSER

GERRI SAXELLEN ZIELINSKIJ.J. ALCANTARAKATIE KENNEDYLESLIE PRESNALL

ROBERT STEWARTCASEY GISCLAIR

MATTHEW ALBRIGHTMEGAN J. WILLIAMS

ZAC LEMOINEJAMES HARALSONLAUREN ROBERTS

lsu livingLSU Living is a special section of The Daily Reveille

CHOOSING CHEAPStudents do their best to make economic choices by picking off-campus options instead of meal plans, page 5.

CUPCAKE CREATIONSLocal bakery brings petite treats to Baton Rouge with different flavors for every palate and lifestyle, page 4.

COVER PHOTOPHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN J. WILLIAMS

FARMER’S MARKETLocal vendors offer seasonal produce and premade cuisine downtown every Saturday, page 6.

NEW NIGHTLIFEThe Cove, Lucy’s hope to bring a fresh feel to the Baton Rouge bar scene with new venues, page 8.

EVENING EVENTSLive After Five provides free entertainment with regional sounds as part of an effort to revitalize downtown, page 9.

WINE WALK WEDNESDAYSLocal businessmen show off the upscale side of bar crawls with downtown strolls, page 10.

REASONABLE RENDEZVOUSStudents search for low-cost, original options for college couples on a budget, page 11.

LOTS OF LAUGHSHumor, comedy provide a relaxing release for many stressed students, page 13.

LEGENDARY LOCALESNorthgate has rich history with venues such as The Chimes and The Varsity Theatre, page 14.

dining & entertainment

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY PROVIDED BY HELLO SUSHI

A television show based on sex, scandal and friendship created a petite dessert obses-sion, resulting in specialty

cupcake bakeries popping up across the country.

In a 2000 episode of “Sex and the City,” Sarah Jessica Parker’s character bit into a New York City’s Magnolia Bakery pastel cupcake, and the shop’s sales skyrocketed.

Nine years later, hordes of sweet-toothed New York-ers and tourists still line the

sidewalks to taste the delec-table treats.

Baton Rouge coworkers and friends Rhonda Weeks and Sheetal Verma-Bueche searched for a unique and trendy project that incorpo-rated Weeks’ cooking fl are and Verma-Bueche’s business savvy. While watching a spe-cial about a cupcake bakery in Washington D.C. called “Cake Love” on the Food Network, Verma-Bueche was instantly inspired.

“We just thought Baton Rouge needed one,” Weeks said.

Today, Baton Rouge has its very own cupcake confec-tionery — Sweet Wishes — on Perkins Road.

The shop features gour-met cupcakes ranging in fl a-vors from the Plain Jane to the Banana Split to the Toffee Temptation. Sweet Wishes also

offers a variety of breakfast cupcakes made with sausage and cheese.

Not only does Sweet Wishes have more than 40 gourmet cupcake fl avors avail-able, it also has an assortment of decorations. Custom white chocolate candies with com-pany logos and photographs can be added to the top of any cupcake for added fl air.

Weeks and Verma-Bueche see their creations as a new, fun twist on a classic dessert. They were able to revamp the mini cakes with distinctive fl avors and decorations without losing the practicality and youthful vibe.

“They remind me of my childhood,” Weeks said. “But cupcakes aren’t just for little kids. We have a lot of profes-sional clientele and many adult

PAGE 4 dining & entertainment guide

Cupcakes emerging as dessert stapleLocal bakery spins classic cakeBy Lindsay NunezEntertainment Writer

MAGGIE BOWLES / The Daily Reveille

Cupcakes line a tray in a display case at Sweet Wishes cupcake bakery on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge. CUPCAKES, see page 16

Saving money is at the front of most students’ minds this year, and smart shopping could be a good choice for off-campus stu-dents.

First-year, on-campus students are the only stu-dents required to purchase a meal plan for the year. And with meal plan price tags ranging from $635 to about $1,700 per semester, some students are leery about springing for a semester’s worth of meals on campus.

David Heidke, director of LSU Dining and Conces-sions, said eating on cam-pus is worth the price. He

acknowledged that students and parents are daunted by the seemingly up-front price tag of meal plans, but said students’ main concern is time. He said the conve-nience of the on-campus stops is what matters most.

“I just don’t think

there’s a comparison in terms of what we offer the students,” Heidke said.

But some students don’t agree. Elizabeth Took, biol-ogy sophomore, said her first week of groceries at her off-campus home will cost about $40. She said bring-

ing food to campus is more convenient for students who live off campus.

David Fabian, petro-leum engineering junior, buys groceries at Winn-Di-xie on Burbank Drive.

“It’s more convenient when I’m off campus,” he said. “I try to live cheap. I don’t spend much money.”

In a 17-week semes-ter, meal plans will cost students from $37 to $100 each week and about $160 to $425 a month, depending on the plan they choose.

Kim Roberts, Uni-versity Auxiliary Services marketing coordinator, said TigerCASH users spend an average of $35 to $50 a month at off-campus locations. She said 1,500 to 2,000 individual users

dining & entertainment guide PAGE 5

Off-campus dining offers optionsStudents look for cheaper choicesBy Sarah LawsonContributing Writer

SHAINA HUNTSBERRY / The Daily Reveille

David Fabian, petroleum engineering junior, shops for groceries, Aug. 16, at Winn-Dixie on Burbank Drive.

DINING, see page 18


Students trying to buy local cuisine and produce can find it every Saturday morn-ing at the Red Stick Farmers Market in downtown Baton Rouge.

The farmers market av-erages 40 vendors who sell seasonal produce and pre-made cuisine every Satur-day on Fifth Street at Main Street from 8 a.m. to noon and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Perkins Road, said Big River Economic & Agricultural Development Alliance Executive Director Copper Alvarez.

BREADA started the Red Stick Farmers Market

in 1996 to create a venue for local farmers to sell their sea-sonal produce and create a community, Alvarez said.

BREADA’s mission is to create a gathering place for vendors and patrons to get to know each other and enjoy

local produce and cuisine, Alvarez said.

“You go to Walmart, and you want to get in and out as quick as possible, but here it seems like a nice Saturday experience,” said mechanical engineering junior Christine

Woodfield.Although not all produce

at the market is organic, all produce is evaluated to en-sure it is farmed responsibly and meets BREADA’s stan-dards.

Regardless of the inspec-tion, the sense of community is incentive for farmers to bring the best crops to the market.

“Everything at this mar-ket that’s edible, I eat it, and I bring it to my children and grandchildren ... I don’t bring second-class stuff,” said Bud Benton, professional farmer and vendor.

Frank Fekete also keeps his produce up to standards for patrons he has come to know through the market.

“You don’t want to spray and give [produce] to people

Farmers market offers local produceVendors create community feelBy Kristen M’lissa RowlettContributing Writer

KRISTEN M’LISSA ROWLETT / The Daily Reveille

Customers buy produce Aug. 15 at the Red Stick Farmers Market in downtown Baton Rouge. Forty vendors set up weekly at the market.

MARKET, see page 15

freshman guide PAGE 7

Pirates and surfers are spicing up Baton Rouge nightlife.

Located in the Citiplace Shopping Center between Albasha and Ruffles N’ Britches, The Cove is hid-den to those not looking for it. The bar opened in June and boasts the largest import beer selection in the city, with about 70 countries represented on its menu.

Pirate flags hang above a 65-foot bar, and small cocktail tables provide ad-ditional seating for Cove patrons. Owner Thomas Ange said the theme started as a joke among friends.

“There are no gimmicks except our inventory,” Ange said.

The bar began with $250,000 worth of inven-tory, including $50 beers and $1,000 shots of Ab-sinthe. Although he rarely sells them, Ange said he en-joys having them on hand to educate customers.

Ange said he hopes to offer Baton Rouge bar-go-ers an upscale place to re-lax. A stepped up dress code means no muscle shirts or white T-shirts for men, al-though he’s more lenient with his female customers. The Cove has a 21-year-old age requirement.

“We’re kind of snobby, but I don’t like that word,” Ange said.

The Citiplace location had to be rezoned in order to allow a bar to operate on

the premises.Ange also owns Port

Royal Lounge, which will continue to stay open until the building is torn down in summer 2010. Both bars subscribe to the pirate theme.

On the other side of town, Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar will open in late Sep-

tember or early October on Third Street in downtown Baton Rouge.

Owner Bruce Rampick said he was initially attract-ed to the downtown area because of its potential and diverse crowds.

“It’s really growing,


New bars open in Baton RougeThe Cove, Lucy’s nightlife hotspotsBy Olga KourilovaContributing Writer


Patrons order drinks Aug. 13 at The Cove. The Cove is one of several bars that has opened recently in the Baton Rouge area.

BARS, see page 16

Concerts, museum attracts visitors

With the ongoing ef-forts to revitalize the down-town area, students can take advantage of the many free weekend events offered in Baton Rouge and explore what the downtown area has to offer.

Students looking for something to do on Friday evenings can attend Live Af-ter Five, a weekly outdoor concert series showcasing local and regional bands held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Galvez Plaza .

Live After Five will kick off its eight-week fall concert series Sept. 11 with Neighborhood Stars and will team up with the University’s Athletic Department for the event, said Kerry Ruiz, Live After Five’s marketing and event coordinator .

“We’re going to have


Downtown area hosts free events

By Brianna PaciorkaContributing Writer

DOWNTOWN, see page 19

‘‘‘The goal is to provide free

entertainment for the city.’

Kerry RuizLive After Five marketing and

event coordinator

Students may be wary of visiting downtown Baton Rouge late on Wednesday nights, generating a picture of deserted streets, construc-tion, homeless wanderers and empty restaurants.

But Baton Rouge na-tive and local businessman Chris Laureles and his busi-ness partner Wardell Junius plan to change this image through their project, Wine Walk Wednesdays.

“Our goal is really to bring more vibrancy into the downtown area,” Laure-les said.

The walk is a different version of a pub crawl that

takes place each Wednes-day beginning at 5:30 p.m. at a previously announced starting place. Each location hosts walkers for an hour

before the groups move on to the next location.

A $10 wristband guar-antees three or four wine tastings and discounted

glasses of wine or menu items at each location.

Laureles and Junius kicked off their first wine walk May 13 with a group of five.

By mid-August, the walk stampeded with almost 200 “walkers,” seven ven-ues and 28 tastes of wine.

The current list of par-ticipating venues for the downtown walk includes The Wine Loft, Stroubes Chophouse, Capital City Grill, Tsunami, The Roux House, Boudreaux and Thi-bodeaux and Avoyelles Cafe, though the rotation changes weekly. Walkers can pick up an itinerary from Laureles upon arrival.

Ben LeBlanc, sports administration junior and Stroubes server, sees a


Wine Walk serves drinks downtown Local ‘bar crawl’ winds around cityBy Sheena ManninaEntertainment Writer


A group enjoys glasses of wine Aug. 12 at Tsunami during Wine Walk Wednesday. Many downtown restaurants participate in the weekly event.

WINE, see page 22


Students enjoy fun, cheap date options

The average college stu-dent isn’t rolling in money. With fee bills, textbooks and apartment rent, students’ bank accounts are slowly draining away.

As academic and liv-ing expenses continue to increase, cuts to a student’s budget are bound to occur, oftentimes in areas associ-ated with social activities.

Dwindling fund may make having fun seem dif-ficult, especially for those on the dating scene, but some originality and thought can

make dates exciting and fun without breaking the wallet.

Baton Rouge can offer many date choices beyond the worn out dinner and a movie idea.

Alex Sedevie, physics junior, and her boyfriend, Randall Hopson, physics se-nior, said going out on a date doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

“We took a date out to Highland Park and flew kites once and just went walking around downtown and on the levee another day,” Sedevie said. “It was simple but re-ally fun being outside to-gether.”

Baton Rouge houses a wide array of parks and ar-

By Jake ClappEntertainment Writer

Locales include parks, breweries

DATES, see page 22


Comedic stage hypnotist Tony Lucero counted for 10 seconds as his 15 volunteers on stage imagined stepping down a fl ight of stairs at the Funny Bone Comedy Club.

“Breathe in. Breathe out,” Lucero said. “It is now 200 de-grees. You are in Jamaica, and you are so hot your clothes are sticking to your skin.”

The participants all be-gan fanning themselves and tearing at their clothes despite sitting in an air conditioned room.

Lucero later had his hyp-notized volunteers believe their chairs were burning ev-ery time the song “Ring of

Fire” played. The participants leapt from their seats while the audience roared with laughter.

The Funny Bone hosts comedy shows like Lucero’s every Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The club has been in Baton Rouge for 22 years and has featured comics including Dave Coulier, Jeff Foxworthy and Pauly Shore .

U n i v e r -sity students make up a substantial part of the club’s demographic, said Tommy Pancoast, the club’s general manager .

Brittany Bourg , agricul-tural business senior, has been to the Funny Bone multiple times.

“It’s a cool place to sit

down with some friends and see a good show,” she said.

Pancoast attributes the club’s popularity to its unique-ness.

“It’s a change of pace from your typical college bars,” he said.

Clay Lan-dry , electrical eng inee r ing s o p h o m o r e , said the Funny Bone is more relaxed and less aggressive than going to a

bar. “This is defi nitely not a

normal Thursday night,” he said. “I can’t see a fi ght break-ing out in here.”

Activities like going to a comedy club are important for a student’s mentality, said Russell Matthews , assistant

professor of psychology. “It is important for stu-

dents to disengage from the craziness that is their lives,” Matthews said. “Life isn’t just about work and school.”

The Funny Bone offers something fun and enjoyable, and comedy is something ev-eryone can enjoy, Pancoast said.

“It transcends all bound-aries of age, race and ethnic-ity,” he said. “Everyone can relate to it.”

Matthews said laughter creates endorphins which make people resilient to stress.

“Humor is a recovery mechanism,” Matthews said. “Stress gets higher if you don’t think about other things every once in a while.”


Comedy club offers bar alternativeHumor can relax studentsBy Sarah EddingtonContributing Writer

Contact Sarah Eddington at [email protected]

‘‘‘Stress gets higher if you don’t think

about other things every once in a

while.’Russell Matthews

assistant professor, psychology

Musician Leroy White has been playing the guitar and harmonica in front of the Var-sity Theatre for more than 11 years .

White’s choice of ven-ue, the sidewalk outside of The Varsity Theatre and The Chimes, is as much a landmark as he is, opening its doors 72 years ago.

“For some reason some force attracts the greatest peo-ple in the world here,” White said. “Lots of kids have grown up with me, and a lot of stu-dents have graduated and come back to visit me.”

White grew up in


Varsity and Chimes offer rich historyNorthgate block holds legacies

JENNIFER MATLOCK / The Daily Reveille

The Chimes restaurant and The Varsity Theatre have been part of The University’s culture for 72 years.CHIMES, see page 20

By Emily SlackEntertainment Writer


that you like. I don’t spray it because I eat it,” Fekete said.

The market also offers scheduled events such as live music and local cuisine cook-ing demonstrations.

Students may be intimi-dated by the idea of cooking, but vendors are always will-ing to talk about their produce and give cooking tips, said Rebecca Hadley, nutritional science senior and BREADA volunteer.

“We find that a lot of stu-dents are cooking now that the economy is going crazy and restaurants are kind of expensive,” Alvarez said.

Prices are competitive with the produce found at grocery stores, but the qual-ity and the freshness is worth the price, she said.

Produce sold at the mar-ket is usually picked within the past 24 hours of the mar-ket for optimal freshness.

“If you go to any of the

stores in Baton Rouge, [the produce] might be seven days old with no flavor,” Fekete said.

Along with quality of the produce, shopping at the farmer’s market also supports local farmers. Dollars spent at the market stay local and create activity for downtown Baton Rouge, Alvarez said.

“The whole idea of buy-ing from a local producer, keeping them in business, is really important to students,” she said.

With a decline in farm-ing, farmers like Benton hope the farmer’s market will help save local farms.

“Small farms are disap-pearing now at an alarming rate,” he said. “Years ago small farms were the back-bone of the nation. We’re los-ing that connection.”

MARKET, from page 6

Contact Kristen M’lissa Rowlett at [email protected]

cupcake addicts.”Weeks said cupcakes are

ideal for large events. Unlike regular cakes that must be cut, cupcakes are hassle-free and less messy.

Portion control also ap-peals to the adult clientele, she said. The cupcake’s versatility allows customers to accom-modate multiple flavors to suit everyone’s sweet tooth.

“The best part is coming up with new flavors,” Weeks said. “We just start with bat-ter and throw in new ingredi-ents.”

Some trials were flops, but others resulted in a deli-cious success, she said. The duo began with recipes used during their youths and later incorporated their own unique ideas and suggestions from friends, family and clients.

Sweet Wishes even of-fers cupcakes for gluten-free, sugar-free or vegan diets.

After being diagnosed

with celiac disease — a re-action to the gluten protein in wheat — Verma-Bueche couldn’t eat her own cupcakes, so the duo concocted the glu-ten-free cupcakes, which they said are not differentiable from the originals.

But humans aren’t the only ones that get specialty diet cupcakes. Their line of “pup cakes” is specially made for dogs. They are sugar-free and contain cheese, oatmeal and honey.

“Our golden retriever, Zach, used to eat all of our tester cupcakes right off the kitchen counter,” Weeks said. “We just had to make him his own cupcake topped with a dog treat.”

Sweet Wishes also offers LSU Dairy ice cream, Com-munity Coffee and wireless Internet access.

PAGE 16 dining & entertainment guideCUPCAKES, from page 4

Contact Lindsay Nunez at [email protected]

and we wanted to be a part of that,” he said.

Rampick became in-terested in the area while visiting his daughters, who attend LSU and Our Lady of the Lake College.

Even with the current economy, Rampick said he thinks Lucy’s will be a suc-cess because of its moderate prices.

“We just had our busi-est year in New Orleans,” he said.

The Baton Rouge lo-cation will follow in the steps of the Lucy’s in New Orleans as a hybrid bar and restaurant. Kids, students, and professionals are wel-come to experience the Cal-ifornia-Mexican cuisine for which Lucy’s is famous.

The original New York City location opened in 1985 and was a huge success, Rampick said. The theme came together because three

surfers in Manhattan missed the food and energy of their home in Southern Califor-nia, he said.

“I didn’t go to New York to get into the restau-rant business,” he said, “It was kind of an accident.”

The same is true for Lucy’s relocation to New Orleans. Rampick said his wife, Susan, attended LSU.

“We fell in love and ended up in New Orleans,” he said.

Twenty-four years and several locations later, Rampick is excited about reaching Baton Rouge.

Other new Baton Rouge venues include The Box, opened in the old Tiger Bar location in TigerLand, and Coyote Blues, set to open on Acadian Thruway.

BARS, from page 8

Contact Olga Kourilova at [email protected]



pay with TigerCASH each month, including students, faculty and staff. The aver-age sale is between $15 and $20, she said.

Roberts said Winn-Dixie tops the list of Ti-gerCASH vendors in sales each year. Other top loca-tions include Pluckers Wing Bar, Izzo’s Illegal Burrito and CVS Pharmacy.

But Heidke said he is pleased with the interest of students in meal plans who aren’t required to purchase them.

He said the number of voluntary meal plans pur-chased has increased every semester by about 7 percent for the last fi ve years . Of the 4,167 meal plans purchased in fall 2008, 964 were volun-tarily chosen, and in spring 2009, 1,058 were chosen — nearly a 10 percent increase. Annual transactions at all

on-campus dining venues reach nearly 2 million.

Heidke said virtually all of the roughly 110 days of a semester can be covered by meal plans. At the door, Heidke said breakfast costs $5.95, lunch $9.15 and din-ner $9.95 in dining halls.

L S U Dining rev-enues were $ 6 8 7 , 0 3 8 for this past fi scal year, according to Jason Toll-iver, Univer-sity Auxilia-ry Services director. He said the University hired Chartwells, an external company, which purchases food from purveyors across the state.

While Heidke said he is sensitive to students when pricing on-campus mer-chandise, the lack of vol-

ume allowed in purchasing for the Mini-Mart accounts for higher prices than off-campus stores.

He said the freedom of the University to name prices at restaurants var-ies from franchise to fran-chise — Chick-fi l-A sets its

own prices, while Pizza Hut allows the Uni-versity to choose from a range. He said his depart-ment looks around Ba-ton Rouge

for competitive prices at other franchises of the same chains.

The new McDonald’s in the Student Union features less items on its menu than its West Lee Drive counter-part with no Dollar Menu and a price increase of $.10

or more on popular items . The Union’s Chick-fi l-A and Pizza Hut feature only a fraction of their other Ba-ton Rouge locations’ menu items but with comparable or favorable pricing.

In an effort to increase convenience and reduce the monotony of eating on campus everyday, Heidke said his department is al-ways expanding students’ options. New developments include an Einstein Bros. Bagels in the Union for the fall, the reopening of the Pentagon Dining Hall with a new Quiznos in the spring and an overhaul of Tiger Lair in the Union for the spring.

“You’re ready to eat. We’re open,” Heidke said.

DINING, from page 5

‘‘‘I just don’t think

there’s a comparison in terms of what we offer the students.’

David HeidkeDining and Concessions director

Contact Sarah Lawson [email protected]


a great band. Players and coaches, the LSU cheerlead-ers and Mike the Tiger come out and have a great time to promote all of what’s going on downtown for college stu-dents,” Ruiz said.

Musical acts range from swamp pop to rock ‘n’ roll, Ruiz said.

“We try to get bands that appeal to all ages that repre-sent the eclectic music that Louisiana has to offer: mu-sic that is indigenous to this part of the country that really creates a good party atmo-sphere,” Ruiz said.

Live After Five is pro-duced by the Downtown Business Association, a non-profi t group of businesses promoting the growth of downtown Baton Rouge, and will run until Oct. 30 .

“The goal is to provide free entertainment for the city of Baton Rouge, so they can come downtown ... and have the opportunity to see the downtown area, eat at the restaurants and bars and may-be go to the museums down there,” Ruiz said. “It’s just something to really promote downtown Baton Rouge so people know what’s going on.”

The fi rst Sunday of ev-ery month is Free First Sun-day, which offers students the opportunity to visit the LSU Museum of Art, Louisiana Arts & Sciences Museum, the Old State Capitol, Loui-siana State Museum and the USS Kidd for free from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Free First Sunday can be both fun and benefi cial for students, said Renee’ Bour-geois Payton, marketing di-rector for the LSU Museum of Art .

“Sometimes art profes-sors might have projects for their art classes where stu-dents might need to come over to see an exhibition, so it can be used for research

purposes,” Bourgeois Payton said.

Also on Sundays is Sunday in the Park, another weekly concert series intro-ducing regional and national musicians of various genres to the Baton Rouge com-munity . The event is held in Lafayette Park from noon to 3 p.m .

The fall concert series will begin Oct. 4 with Fete Louisiana, featur-ing Feufollet and Cedric Watson, and end Nov. 8 with Trombone Shorty and Or-leans Avenue .

Derek Gordon, CEO of the Arts Council of Baton Rouge, said they try to pro-vide a variety of music to the public . The musical acts range from zydeco to contemporary singer-songwriters .

“If there’s a particular

genre that you’re interested in, then you might just want to mark your calendar for that particular show,” Gor-don said.

The Arts Council of Ba-ton Rouge cre-ated Sunday in the Park as a project free to the public to bring people out to enjoy music and downtown Ba-ton Rouge .

“It has, over the years,

become a great gathering place for people on Sunday mornings,” Gordon said. “People will come and bring a picnic, or they’ll go to brunch and come back to lis-ten to the music. It’s a place to meet and for people to be together in Baton Rouge.”

DOWNTOWN, from page 9

Contact Brianna Paciorka at [email protected]

‘‘‘[Sunday in the

Park is] for people to be

together.’Derek Gordon

CEO of the Arts Council of Baton Rouge


Baton Rouge near the North-gate area, and after an honor-able discharge from the Navy, he returned and later began en-tertaining University students.

Brunch at The Chimes on Sundays and many concerts at the Varsity, including per-formances by Grammy-win-ning artists, are long-standing

traditions for University stu-dents.

“This area was the sole focus of the LSU campus,” said Clark Cadzow, owner of Highland Coffees. “Anything that was important to LSU in those early decades had to hap-pen here.”

Cadzow has researched the Northgate area extensively and hosted a show featuring

the historic photographs of the area in his coffee shop about a year ago.

“What’s interesting about this neighborhood are all of the individual stories and connec-tions it has with other people in the city,” Cadzow said.

When the University moved to its current location in 1925, businesses opened around the campus — par-ticularly in the Northgate area. Students referred to Northgate as Tiger Town from the 1920s to 1980s.

Before The Chimes oc-cupied the corner of Highland Road and Chimes Street, a bar called Tiger Tavern occupied the site in 1927. It became a restaurant called Campus Lunch Room in 1936, but was torn down a year later.

The Cangelosi family built The Chimes in 1937, but it began as a pharmacy called Sitman’s Drugs. Sitman’s later closed and became Maxwell’s Drugs in 1950. Maxwell’s then became Tiger Town Pharmacy

in 1966, which was turned into The Chimes restaurant in 1983.

The Varsity opened along-side Sitman’s in 1937 as a movie theater until 1983 when it became a dinner theater, al-lowing customers to bring their dinner into the movie theater.

Mike Ryan and Tim Hood purchased The Chimes in 1986. At the time, it mainly served as a bar and live music venue.

The Varsity became the live music venue it is today in 1991.

In addition to pharmacies and a restaurant, the building the Varsity and The Chimes share has been home to a cloth-ing store, book store, record store, hair salon and survey equipment shop.

“[The Varsity and The Chimes] are the backbone of LSU,” said Trey McLean, nu-tritional sciences senior.

CHIMES, from page 14

Contact Emily Slack at [email protected]

Daily Reveille file photo

The Chimes, previously Tiger Tavern, stands on Highland Road in 1955.


eas that are great for outdoor activities.

A full list of city parks can be found on the Recreation and Park Com-mission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge Web site.

On a sunny day, students can take a date out to the Pa-rade Ground and throw around a baseball or bring a blanket and sand-wiches to the Indian mounds to enjoy a small picnic.

The University lakes also offer a great opportu-nity for couples to take long walks or bike together.

The University Student Recreational Complex even offers free two-hour bike rentals to LSU students to experience any of the many bike paths in the area.

“Just take me fi shing,” Hannah Dickinson, biology junior, said. “It’s easy, and the lakes are a great place. Sometimes if the date is dif-

ferent, it could be better, more special.”

For people over 21 years old, many beer breweries of-fer free tours and sometimes free beer sam-ples.

The Abita Brewery in Abita Springs is a great place to take a tour and see how beer is made and enjoy samples of almost every Abita Beer.

Information and direc-tions can be found online about the tours, which run Wednesday through Satur-day.

For an artsy date, the Baton Rouge Gallery offers a


behind-the-scenes version of the walk each week and notices a uniqueness in the environment and people in-volved.

“It’s not a Tiger Land kind of crew,” Leblanc said. “It would be a great starter for going out ... and a cool deal for a date.”

The atmosphere of the wine walk is on the op-posite end of the spectrum as a night in Tiger Land. Stroubes Chophouse, for example, serves drinks in glasses, showcases modern art and offers its guests cozy seating and open-window views of downtown.

The wine walk provides students an affordable ticket into some of downtown’s high-end hangouts and a chance to socialize and net-work with a diverse, profes-sional crowd.

Scott LeJeune, Wine Loft general manager, said

students should look be-yond the bars surrounding campus and drive the extra fi ve minutes to downtown for a more sophisticated night out.

“There are so many peo-ple who forget about down-town,” LeJeune said. “But the options you have when you come down here ... an upscale wine bar, now you have a sports bar, you have places where you can dance, places with live music, you have the pub atmosphere — you can make several people in a group happy.”

Laureles and Junius hope to expand the walk to other hotspots of the city. The two took on Corporate Boulevard on August 17 and hope to reach Perkins Rowe and Towne Center in the near future.

Contact Sheena Mannina at [email protected]

WINE, from page 10 DATES, from page 11

CHEAP, see page 23

‘‘‘A simple date can be great.

Your heart has to be in it.’

Barrett Allenmass communication junior

place for a sophisticated date that won’t break the bank.

“All of the gallery’s ex-hibits are free and open to the public,” John Michael Byrd, special events c o o r d i n a t o r for the gallery said. “People are free to walk in anytime.”

The Baton Rouge Gallery also offers programs fre-quently throughout the year, like the “Movies and Music on the Lawn” program that runs on the last Saturday of each month until October.

The exhibits and pro-grams change often, but cur-rent information, times and future events are offered on the gallery’s Web site.

Expensive dates do not always mean better dates, and sometimes original dates

with a little more creative thought can be more person-al and unique.

So the next time a date is not going well or the budget

just won’t allow for a big, expen-sive date, get to know LSU by hunting for the hidden apple tree on campus or by looking at a great view of the area from Howe-Russell’s roof. It may be

a great way to save money and to kick start something special.

“As long as it’s well thought out and planned, a simple date can be great,” Barrett Allen, mass commu-nication junior, said. “Your heart has to be in it.”


Contact Jake Clapp at [email protected]

CHEAP, from page 22

‘‘‘Just take me

fi shing. It’s easy and the lakes are

a great place.’Hannah Dickinson

biology junior


Documents

The Daily Reveille's Dining and Entertainment Guide 2009