Review: Best bar for students? The White Owl

By Greg Boyles

October 31, 2008 | I recently underwent a bar-hopping escapade around Logan to discover what each establishment has to offer the overwhelming student population here in the Valley.

My journey began last Tuesday around 8 p.m. when my fiancé, Val, and I visited Oasis. This bar located at 205 S. Main Street was what I imagined my parents going to in their early 20s from the wood paneled walls to the elusive entrance in the back of the building. The bar itself is equipped with plenty of red and blue booths and tables. The seating area surrounds multiple pool tables with clean green felt and a large dance floor. Opposite the dance floor was a wide stage, which the bartender informed us held live music every Friday and Saturday night.

After entering the bar Val and I got our drinks and immediately occupied one of the pool tables furthest from the door. I noticed that, although smoking is permitted in this establishment, the smell was not overwhelming and went unnoticed after only a few minutes.

As the tunes of ACDC and other rock legends from the past 30 years pumped out of the jukebox in the corner closest to the door, I noticed a sign that read "Every Tuesday, buy the brew, play pool free." This along with the aid of my freshly popped Amber Bach raised my spirits greatly.

So for the first 30 minutes I sat, tickled with excitement and anxiously waiting the inevitable rush of college students seeking a good time at a real bar. However, it became evidently clear around 9 that we may not see anyone from campus. In fact, Val and I were arguably the youngest people in the bar by roughly 20 years.

So after about an hour of playing pool with people our parent's age we ventured forward to The White Owl, which sits perfectly on 36 W. Center Street.

The White Owl is notorious for its fun atmosphere, great food and even better prices, and the night we went was no different. Tuesdays are starving college student nights at which you can get a burger and a big dog for roughly $7. The big dog is a 33 ounce mug filled to the brim with one of the many available draft beers ­ I'd suggest the Uinta Hefe, smooth and filling with a great finish. Of course if beer is not your bag you can substitute it for a soft drink. This fact probably contributed greatly to the mass amounts of people ­ much closer in age that at the previous bar ­ huddled around round wooden tables amidst a light haze of smoke and modern rock music.

After seating ourselves at one of the few tables left available, I quickly ordered my food, and within minutes was scarfing down what I can now say is my second favorite burger ­ the first being a burger from Cheers in Boston, damn that's a good burger. But a White Owl burger is served with BBQ sauce, jalapeños, various forms of vegetation and chips.

The wait staff is also something to brag about. They are polite but quick, and you don't get the feeling that you're an annoyance because you're with a rowdy group of college kids.

The Owl also offers a pool hall in the back room that contains 10 tables, roughly a million pool sticks and an arcade. This room also harbors its own fully equipped bar.

After this we headed to my favorite feature of The White Owl, an outdoor seating area placed perfectly on top of the Owl and beneath a cluster of stars. The deck area is complete with its own bar, grill, seating area and collection of large metallic heaters.

We left The White Owl later that night, too influenced to move onto another bar. However, we picked up our tour the next day and pressed onward, this time hitting Mulligans, a little bar tucked on a one way street next to Café Ibis at 33 Federal Ave.

The major difference between Mulligans and any other place in Logan is that you have to purchase a membership when you go. The fee is $5 but this gets you a membership that lasts three weeks. The reason you have to purchase a membership here is that, unlike The White Owl and Oasis, they offer an alcoholic assortment that stretches beyond beer. You want a Grateful Dead, they can whip it up. Pining for a Sex on the Beach, they've got the stuff for that too.

However, for what you get in alcoholic variety you give up in ambiance and overall enjoyment experienced at the other bars. Mulligans is a quiet place with two levels of seating. Most people congregate around the bar area, but like Oasis, the crowd is mostly middle-aged people until around 10 p.m. when a few students wander in.

Now I don't know if it was because we were young or if the bartenders were both having an off night, but they seemed annoyed by our presence in the bar, as if our young blood was interrupting some important adult activity.

While the bar area itself was somewhat entertaining, there wasn't much else to do apart from sit, drink and talk. There were none of the typical bar games like billiards or darts, and the scent of cigarettes was unwavering. However, if you're into a quieter environment, Mulligans will be much more conducive to your needs than Oasis and The White Owl.

NW
MS