Wednesday Nights @ Bougainvillea's

Last Wednesday, I was invited out by my friend Ale to join her and the girls for a night at Bougainvilleas. I'll be honest - I was a little reluctant at first. For one, I'm fairly broke these days (but they said drinks should be free.) For another, i've been trying to watch my weight, and so alcohol can't be good for it (though I did work out a lot that day.) And then there was the choice of venue... I'd always been under the impression that Bougie's was a big UM hangout. And by that, I mean tall, skinny ditzes getting drunk with their annoying burly, meat-head boyfriends (who are surely there to pick up on other girls), being loud and annoying with crappy music playing while no one let's you get near the bar. Sure, it was a prejudgement. I'm from Miami. We're all quick to judge here. I think it has something to do with the heat.

Instead, however, I had a pretty fab time! When we got there (around 10pm), it was still fairly empty. I was pretty happy to be able to get my first drink without a hitch. I had the house vodka (Aristocrat... something cheap but not quite as paint-thinner-ish as, say, Skoal) with club soda (very good and not too strong but not watered down either.) I had a vodka tonic at one point which was utterly disgusting (way too sweet.) Their screw drivers and cran-vodkas were also good according to my ladyfriends. There were 2 DJs playing and they both played very crowd friendly let's-dance! sets. I know I heard some Talking Heads, Ace of Base, Bon Jovi, Journey, and a whole lot of Prince. They also mixed it in rather strangely with some Bruce Springstein and Metallica? It was a mixed bag, as was the crowd. You had your typical Miami people sporting their skirts short and their attitudes high. There was the "G" crowd (backwards caps and baggy pants and a whole lotta' bling), the hipster kids (skinny pants, mad rad hair, flashy make-up), a few average janes and joes, and what appeared to be the tail end of Girls Night from the Tavern (Sunset Tavern has a lesbian ladies' night on Wednesdays and I'm guessing the gals like to go get their drinking and dancing on afterwards at Bougies.) I was pleased with the outcome overall. We had drinks and dominated the dance floor for a good 2 hours, never missing a beat (even when it go ridiculously hot and even standing under the fans wasn't good enough anymore.)

Overall, if you're looking for a good time with your grrl friends, a night of free well-poured drinks (the house vodka, the house rum, and budweiser beers are complimentary for the ladies of the evening), and plenty of sing-a-long moments, Bougie's is your spot.

PS. I'd recommend parking in the South Miami Parking Garage rather than the Sunset Place Garage. Lots more available parking and it's right across the street from the bar/restaurant.