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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1983)
cti <U ^ <S-5 ? ■ ~ o < ;£-* E- San Antonio The center offers a variety of musical styles. Men At Work, Diana Ross, Robert Plant and Sheena Easton will perform in September. Rick Springfield recently gave a successful concert at the cen ter. His concert appealed to everyone from teenage groupies to General Hospital fans. Some families attended together. Springfield's acting talent and dramatic entrances created a high-energy atmosphere for most audience members. His sex appeal didn't hurt either. Watch for performers and warm-up groups (such as Quar- terflash at Springfield's concert) with plenty of personality; they will provide the best concert en tertainment for your money. Obstacles such as lack of money, shortages of parking space, and uncomfortable accommodations (or no sleep) might discourage roadtrips, but a chance to "get away" shouldn't be missed. by Patrick Zinn Battalion staff San Antonio has been dub bed one of America's four uni que cities and most recently was named the All-American city. San Antonio's diversity alone makes the 180-mile trip well worth the effort. For history buffs a pleasant afternoon may be spent en joying places such as the Alamo or the Mission Trail which in cludes the historic San Jose mis sion. For those who are culturally inclined, several museums may offer an enjoyable afternoon. Most notable is the San Antonio Art Museum, which has many regular exhibits and usually sponsors avant-garde exhibits for those who wish to have their minds stimulated. The most un ique aspect of the museum is its location — the former Pearl Brewery. Another alternative is to simply go shopping during the day. San Antonio is home of "the mall." No less than five ma jor malls contain from 100 to 200 individual stores. For the discri minating shopper downtown stores should be considered. Many specialty shops as well as El Mercado, the farmer's mar ket, are located downtown. But be careful at the farmers' market; items often are priced for tourists. If none of these choices of acti vities appeals to you, spend the afternoon strolling down the Riverwalk and perhaps eat a lei surely lunch. Or the same may be done while ambling through the marvelous San Antonio Zoo, surrounded by Bracken- ridge Park — a perfect picnic location. After an enthusiastic day in San Antonio you should be sure to taste the Mexican food. Espe cially notable are two re staurants in El Mercado. The first is Mi Tierra, a lovely re staurant with its own bakery. The food is outstanding and the prices range from moderate to expensive. Something is avail able for any budget. The second restaurant is La Margarita. As the name sug gests, it has some' of the best Margaritas to be found. The food is not typical Tex-Mex; the specialty is Fajitas with home made tortillas and fresh beef. The prices are more reasonable for what you receive. With a full stomach, the SA nightlife awaits. For the rock fan there are scores of traditional clubs such as The New West, RockZ and many other rock clubs. Two of the more interest ing clubs are Cooter Brown's and the Bonham Exchange. Cooter Brown's is near the University of Texas at San Anto nio and has a country atmos phere. However this establish ment offers live entertainment on the weekends and the most progressive and best local bands usually are featured. The Bonham Exchange caters to a gay crowd, but because of the big-name acts that perform there, attracts a large straight clientele. The music is new wave, disco and occasionally something old of an unknown genre. Now that the city has been seen, the food eaten and the clubs attended, it's time to head back to College Station — a little bit poorer but much more satis fied. Dallas by Cary Stegall Battalion staff Dallas is unofficially known as "where the East ends," a long standing atmosphere that sepa rates it from other cities in Texas. Although you may often have to wade through the snob bish attitudes of the "Daddy's money" crowd in many Dallas establishments, the city offers anyone with a modicum of cash an exciting and varied weekend. Unfortunately one of your largest expenditures will be gas. At nearly two hundred miles and three and a half hours away, a round trip is going to cost any where from 25 to 35 dollars, de pending on how large your car is and how quickly you make it move. The quickest route is Highway 190 to Madisonville and then Interstate 45 until you reach town. During the day, one of the most fun things to do is shop, but be forewarned, on a sunny Saturday the rest of the town will be out with you (Dallas resi dents pride themselves on what they're wearing). If your tastes are New Wave or eclectic you will want to try the shops on GreenviUe Avenue or in Oak Lawn. Shops like Eclectricity, Manouevers, and Shady Lady provide suburban punks with their best finds while LuLu's on Lemmon and Memorabilia on Cedar Springs deal in vintage clothes at reason able prices. When you step out of Memor abilia, stop in Arresta next door and get a copy of the Dallas Observer. It has listings of live bands and other happenings that are extensive and up-to- date. If you don't want to spend money on clothing, perhaps some time in the sun at either Lee or Riverchon Parks will suit you better. There are also beautiful homes in the Turtle Creek area if you like to dream of after-graduation luxuries. Most of the real excitement in Dallas begins after the sun sets. Restaurants are numerous and affordable. Rafaels, Andrews, or S & D Oyster Co. are all places "to be seen" without paying a high price. Another good place is The Old Spaghetti Warehouse in the recently renovated Market Street area of downtown. On Greenville you will find the Greenville Avenue Bar & Grill or, farther to the north, Cafe Dallas. Probably the hottest nightlife of the summer revolved around Lower Greenville Avenue. The major reason for this was the opening of Tango, a huge dub with some of the most progres sive music in town. For those on a budget, if you arrive before nine there is no cover. After nine it will cost you five dollars to get in. Tango almost always is crowded, and the group it attracts ranges from North Dal las preps to pseudo-punks. There are dance floors for both live and canned music. You can call 214/824-1101 for information about bands. Tango is easy to find; it is the only building in the area with dancing frogs on the roof. Nick's Uptown is directly up the street and it too is a Dallas favorite with live music most nights of the week. The Grana da Theater next door features a wide and unusual variety of movies, with different features nightly. A very fresh improvisational comedy troupe, the Guava Bomblets can be found most weekends at the Greenville Avenue Pocket Sandwich Shop with a show beginning at about eleven. No trip to Dallas would be complete without a quick drive (that's all that's possible) on the infamous Woodall Rogers Free way. After only 26 years of plan ning and construction, it is near ly finished. The section open now extends for 1.1 miles and cost just a little over $5Tmillion. With that cost, it's no wonder that it is the nicest stretch of road in Texas and has a wonderful view of downtown buildings which are lit at night. It also has access to Central Expressway and the long trip back to College Station.