Although Champagne's Café on South Maryland Parkway is one of the most unique watering holes in town, and I always have fun there, I don't go nearly often enough. So, a couple of Saturdays ago, I grabbed my friend Chris (who, in my opinion, desperately needed a break from studying for finals) and we headed to the bar for some cheap beer and good atmosphere.
Somehow, Chris had never been inside Champagne's before, though he'd driven past plenty of times, so he was a little surprised by the interior. The place screams old Vegas swank, from the red and gold, textured-felt wallpaper to the jukebox stocked with Sinatra, Crosby and almost nothing from the past two decades. It's never a surprise to walk into Champagne's and find patrons dancing in a clear area near the jukebox, and usually the moves are a lot more ballroom than booty-shaker.
When we arrived at around 10 p.m., there was only a handful of people seated at the long bar and in the deep, red booths scattered around the place. Despite the décor, Champagne's is a laid-back place that gets much of its personality from its patrons, who, as usual, were casual and doing their own thing. It's not that the people who hang out at Champagne's aren't friendly—I've never met anyone there who wasn't nice and polite—but it's definitely not a meat market. People playing video poker or in cliques more or less keeping to themselves are a lot more common than singles or groups prowling for action.
After ordering a round of beers, and getting a scary eyeful of a middle-aged couple having a make-out session just down the bar from us, we ended up talking sports for a while since the TVs around the bar were showing highlights of the day's NFL and college football games. Champagne's only keeps Bud, Bud Light and Miller Light on tap at $1.75 a pop, but they have a decent variety of bottled domestic beers for $2.50, imports including New Castle, Corona and Amstel for $3, and cocktails generally top out at about $5, perfect for when you just want to kick back with a drink without going broke. And if you happen to be a Bears or Raiders (boo!) fan, Champagne's has drink specials during their games.
By the time we finished our second round (Chris had Bud, and while I usually prefer whatever's on tap, Amstel Light just sounded good), the place had started to get busy, and to my relief, the make-out couple decided to take their activities elsewhere. Champagne's took on a bit of a buzz as a younger crowd filtered in, and by midnight, the bar area was full of people laughing and talking, and a few of the booths had been taken over. The mood was still casual, but definitely more energetic, and even the bartenders, who generally seem polite but unfazed by their customers, seemed to perk up a little.
The thing I like most about Champagne's is that it makes no apologies for being just a bar. The menu is minimal, though most of what's there is pretty good for pub grub, and it leaves huge beer selections and oddball creative cocktails to other places. It is a great place to go for drinks and conversation with friends, and while there aren't a lot of entertainment choices (no pool tables, dart boards, DJs, etc.), there is a never-ending supply of great music that you won't hear anywhere else. And there's character, which try as you might, is pretty hard to come across at most Vegas bars. It's a great place to go when you need a break from the casinos and franchise watering holes starting to pop up around the Valley like so many Starbucks with liquor licenses. By the time Chris and I left, he'd added Champagne's to his places-I-have-to-come-back-to list, and I was wondering why I hadn't been back sooner.
Maria Phelan sets a new bar for drinking. E-mail her your favorite watering hole at [email protected]