A slice of nightlife
| Northampton at night. (Ben Barnhart photo) |
There’s nothing going ooooooon . . . A stroll down Main Street in Amherst or a look through the “Happenings” section of the Valley Advocate suggests that this is not precisely true. In addition to those described in our main story, some popular possibilities include:
In Amherst:
- Amherst Chinese, 62 Main: Has anyone not gone here on a date?
- Antonio’s, 31 North Pleasant: For late-night munchies and attempts to stifle oncoming hang-overs, this seems to be the place to go.
- Bart’s Homemade, 103 North Pleasant: After a meal at Judie’s, people seem come here for ice cream.
- Black Sheep Deli, 79 Main: Sandwiches, cake, coffees of all sorts and, from time to time, folk or other mellow music on the tiny stage.
- Bueno Y Sano, 46 Main: Crammed when we peeked in the door on November 11.
- Judie’s, 51 North Pleasant: See Amherst Chinese.
- Monkey Bar & Grill, 63 North Pleasant: The new-ish place in town, with New York decor and a New Orleans-style menu.
- Pasta E Basta: 26 Main: Italian food, cheap and plentiful – a pre-night-on-the-town stop.
- Rafter’s, 422 Amity: A sports bar; notable for the free popcorn on every table.
- Starbucks Coffee, 71 North Pleasant: Seen one, seen ’em all – reliably cozy hang-out spot for students and townies who need their caffeine.
In Northampton:
- Bay State Hotel: 41 Strong Avenue: Your chance to see one of the area’s scrappy rock or pop bands in a setting visually better suited to blue hair and meatloaf specials.
- City Cafe, 1 Pearl Street: Dancing, pool, smoky room, big bar.
- Claytopia, 157 Main: How men can prove they’re sensitive: go here on a pottery-painting date.
- Club Metro, 492 Pleasant: The club above a car wash. Different nights of the week feature different musical genres. Nov. 11 was teen night.
- East Heaven Hot Tub, 33 West Street: Best enjoyed in winter. Reserve a tub on the roof.
- Fire & Water, 5 Old South: Feels cave-like, but in a good way. For regular spoken-word performance, this is pretty much the only game in town. Or any of the surrounding towns, for that matter. Also, folk, acoustic rock, open-mic nights and very healthy food.
- The Grotto, 35 West Street: Seems to be the only specifically gay bar between here and Brattleboro.
- Haymarket Bookstore Cafe, 15 Amber Lane: Journaling hippies, latte drinkers and smoothie addicts. Also vegetarian and vegan food, cheap.
- Iron Horse/Calvin/Pearl Street; Center, King, and Pearl streets: All owned by the same person now, which means you see mostly adult alternative acts, as they’re calling John Hiatt, Dar Williams, The Nields, etc. – along with, at the Calvin, ballet and theater performances and the occasional dollar movie night.
- Northampton Bowl, 525 Pleasant: Go disco bowling, do a little karoake, or catch a band at Grandstands, the bar on the premises. Nov. 11 featured Gutterboy.
- Northampton Brewery, 11 Brewster Court: No relation to the newer Amherst Brewing Company, but offering a similar service: no bad beer.
- Tunnel Bar, 125 Pearl Street: Wing-backed chairs, wafting cigar smoke, jazz stylings from an unobtrusive live band – take visiting New Yorkers here to show ’em we got class, baby.
- World War II Club, 50 Conz: Legendary for its karaoke nights, featuring a mix of the talented and the tone-deaf from the student population and the community.
Further afield:
- The People’s Pint Brewpub, 24 Federal Street, Greenfield: Offers some of the best brewpub food in the valley, and a selection of home- brewed ales, lagers, and the like.
- If you really want to get the heck out of Dodge: Brattleboro is only 45 minutes away, and its Common Ground eatery offers healthy foods (à la Haymarket or Bela) as well as performances of poetry, music and comedy.
