Nightlife fun on the cheap

Let’s face it. It seems everyone is living up to the “Broke College Student” stereotype these days. With textbook prices curiously rising every time we return to the bookstore, the dough in our pockets is just as curiously plummeting.

So what is an adventurous club kid in a town chock-full of outstanding bars to do?
Become a deal seeker, of course. For those 21 and over, check out the deals on the best local watering holes.

A fixture in the Bloomington nightlife scene since 1924, Nick’s English Hut offers much more than a good drink. Pete Mikolaipis, bartender of nine years, said the bar offers food deals such as 40-cent wings on Mondays and the Nick’s Burger for $6.25 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Though nighttime revelers might initially come for the food, they stay until the wee hours playing the bar’s signature game, Sink the Biz, which costs just $10 per bucket on Thursdays.

The Root Cellar exhibits a kind of rustic, country charm plus a groovy, modern atmosphere. Dig out your skinny jeans and Converse and plan to go on a “Soul in the Hole” night, held every other Saturday. For just $3 you can boogie the night away. 

If it’s a bump-and-grind kind of night, head over to Bloomington’s most popular dance club, Kilroy’s Sports Bar, lovingly referred to as Sports. Besides unlimited free popcorn and unshelled peanuts, it features a sprawling second- floor space devoted solely to dancing and a newly-constructed outdoor patio. For a cheaper night, head over on Wednesday, when everything is half-off.