At Drink In Tempe, we’ve outlined some ways for you to have a safe, fun, and legal weekend. We’ve also gone ahead and made you a small check list of things you can do if you find yourself in trouble.

1) Take cabs! We really like Discount Cab and Clean Air Cab

2) If you have to take an offbrand cab, or a “livery” cab, make sure you negotiate your price before getting in the car. Also, if possible try to pay in cash.

3) Remember that drinking in the heat means you’re going to get dehydrated faster, and it’s absolutely critical to drink water, especially since the temperature at night can be in the triple digits.

4) If you find yourself behind the wheel, and you get pulled over at a checkpoint, or involved in a traffic stop and you’re under suspicion of DUI Phoenix DUI Lawyer David Cantor says make sure you do the following:

• Make sure you ask to speak to a lawyer IMMEDIATELY.
• Show your drivers license and proof of insurance.
• Ask to be released so you can immediately get an independent blood test from a hospital.
• Be courteous.
• NEVER, no matter what the officer says, agree to subjective field sobriety tests. They are tests of coordination and dexterity, not sobriety.

5) Make sure you have a great time this weekend!

Believe it or not, due to the changing political climate it’s much easier to find out what the presidents of old liked to drink than it is to find out what our more recent presidents drank. Don’t be fooled tho ugh, some of our earlier presidents were very straight laced — or their wives kept them that way. James K Polk’s wife did not allow any dancing, drinking, or card playing in the White House during his tenure.

While Polk’s wife kept him order, George W. credits Jesus with keeping him away from the sauce, "As you might remember, I drank too much at one time in my life," Bush said. "I understand faith-based programs. I understand that sometimes you can find the inspiration from a higher power to solve an addiction problem."

So we know which Presidents were prudes. But which Commander and Chiefs knew how to party like rock stars? Here is a list of Presidents and their favorite drinks (A new one added weekly). Next time you find yourself at the bar, maybe kick one of these back with a toast to your favorite executive.

Bill Clinton (Our 42nd President) has something of a "party guy" reputation because of his saxophone and illicit affairs with interns. His drinking selections are about as subtle. His favorite drink is reportedly a "SnakeBite".

Believe it or not, the SnakeBite comes in two varieties. One is a shot of Tequila (and I’m sure Bill wouldn’t settle for anything but top shelf) and a shot of tabasco sauce. The other variety is equal parts Stout (A dark ale) and Hard Apple or Pear Cider. This latter drink is popular in the United Kingdom, where Bill spent some of his younger days studying.

It’ll probably be a few years before we’re able to have our phones determine our blood alcohol levels. It’ll probably be a few more years that your phone can smell how much alcohol is on your breath and as you’re attempting to call that horrible whore of an ex informs you, "I’m sorry Josh, I can’t let you do that".

In the mean time, did you know that there are programs out there for your phone to help you calculate just how sloppy you really are?

The apps store yields no less than 6 results for BAC Calculator. Some of them are free, all are under $5.

Some are very rudimentary where you just fill in some fields, others have a lot more pizzazz. You can specify what kind of drinks, how much alcohol/volume they have, and you can keep track of not only your drinking but your friends too.

DrinkBuddy ($4 from the app store) is one of these programs. It’s gotten great reviews, and is very entertaining after a night of drinking. Obviously, the biggest challenge is making sure to count every drink, because as the number grows, so does the likelihood of forgetting to add it!

Top 5 Tempe Drink Specials

5. The Tavern On Mill On Wednesday Nights. The Tavern is a happening weekend hot spot, but they have a great thing going on weekdays as well. Instead of the dance floor, the have comfortable seating on high tables. Wednesday Nights they have "Beer and a Shot" for $5. The deal includes cocktails as well in case you’re not into beer. Included in this special are specialty liqueurs like Agwa De Bolivia as well as your run of the Mill (No Pun intended) shots like Soco Lime. No Cover

4. Sneakers on Wednesday nights. Sneakers has a great atmosphere. It’s your quintessential sports bar with big TV’s, comfy seats, and sports themed decoration. Wednesday night features .50c Bud Lights for Students. Just show your Student ID, Your Regular ID, and you’re all setup for half dollar BL’s all night long.

3. The Big Bang – Money Shot Mondays – Money Shot monday’s is simple: Write a song request and a drink special on the napking. Throw it on the Piano (A tip helps greatly here) and the piano players put it on special. Generally, people have pretty good taste in specials, so if you can put up with there music, you can get in on there specials.

2. The Cue Club on Thursday Nights. The Cue Club on Mill is known for it’s Long Island Ice Teas, and their fruitier Long Beach Ice Teas. On Thursday nights they have $3 Miller Lite Draughts as well as $3 dollar teas.

1. Dos Gringos on Thursday Nights. If you like a big college crowd ready to party, and there to drink, Dos Gringos Trailer Park in Tempe is your place on Thursday nights. The feature of the night is .50c Corona’s or .50c You-Call-It’s. Get there early because it can get very crowded even with 3 bars. $5 Cover for guys before 10, $10 after 10. Girls are $2 all night long.

Join Anheuser-Busch’s Stella Artois for it’s Draught Master Masquerade Ball . The party will take place at the Bentley Projects in Downtown Phoenix and will feature the Stella Artois Draught Master competition. Visit Hensley.com for information and to register for an invitation.

When I walked into the Bentley Projects for the Stella Artois Draught Master competition, I was unsure of what to expect. However, the event exceeded whatever expectations I didn’t have.

The Bentley projects is an art gallery set in the downtown phoenix arts district. It’s a big building with a domed wood supported roof, and concrete floors. The highlight of the night was the "Draught Master Contest" in which several local bartenders squared off to see who could most accurately reenact the "Belgium Beer Pouring Ritual" as demonstrated by someone who knew what they were doing, and may or may not have been from Belgium. If you’re curious as to the process, you can check out the OFFICIAL Stella Artois Beer Pouring Ritual.

As for company, it was good. Tim Virgin 103.9 DJ and general wise guy was there, along with an electic crowd of artists, industry people, and some bubbly beer vixens.

Update:

Fall Crawl ’08 was last Thursday night on Mill Ave. If you didn’t make it, you missed a great time. There were drink specials all night long, TONS of people everywhere, and great weather to top it all off.

Luckily, if you didn’t make it, the debauchery was well documented. Check out our “Event Pictures” section or just click here to go to our albums.

Join us starting at 9:00PM Wednesday October 29th at Fat Tuesday’s for a Costume Crawl. Be prepared to get up close and personal with some of Mill ave’s best spirits; There will be awesome drink specials all night long.

In addition to the ‘intoxicating’ conversation of friends, we’ll be having a costume contest. At our last stop, The Tavern we’ll be announcing the winner. We’ve got some really nice prizes up for grabs, so keep checking back to see when we announce them. Besides, the real prize is the bragging rights of being able to say, "I won a pub crawl."

Everyone should meet at Fat Tuesdays at 9:00PM when the crawl starts, we will stay at each location for a half hour then move to the next. This is the list of locations in order:

-Fat Tuesdays………9:00-9:30
-Cue Club…………..9:30-10:00
-Zuma Grill………….10:00-10:30
-Chronic Taco………10:30-11:00
-Big Bang…………..11:00-11:30
-Whip Lounge………11:30-12:00
-Rula Bula…………..12:00-12:30
-Tavern…………….12:30-2:00

Important Information

• YOU MUST BE OVER 21. Everywhere is checking ID’s. Don’t go to jail over a pub crawl.
• You’re not eligible for any prizes unless you’re DRESSED UP! Pedestrian and "Doosh" don’t count as costumes. (Unless you do a really nice job)
• We’ll be hitting lots of places in a relatively short period of time, bring cash to avoid starting a tab that you may forget.
• You can usually park your car overnight in the lots north of 5th St. (Always observe posted signs though…)
• If you can RSVP, please do. The better idea we have of how many people are coming, the better it will be for everyone! =)
• Bring your game face, and get ready to have some fun!

Questions? Wanna RSVP?

The FaceBook Invitation

Leave a comment OR Call Josh @ 973-715-4298 or Jon @ 860-212-6325

La Bocca is an avant garde restaurant amongst the classic fare of Mill Ave. Finding a great pint of beer has never been a problem at one of the 13 bars on Mill, however, finding a glass of wine has proven something of a challenge.

In addition to their healthy wine selection, they offer an italian styled menu. The food is about as hip as the establishment serving it. The quaint patio outside makes a great side dish to some stellar italian food and a bottle of red.

La Bocca has an awesome happy hour and daily specials.

Half off all Wine by the Glass
Draft Beer, and Mixed Drinks
(except Housemade Cocktails & Martinis) Selected Areas Only
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Everyday
10:00 pm to Close on Fri & Sat

In addition, they feature daily specials in case you’re looking to try something different.

Our biggest gripe, is that there website makes noises as if you’re in a restaurant. However, La Bocca conveniently has their food and wine menus available on the web @ http://www.LaBoccaPizzeria.com