Charlotte Bar Crawl

on July 16, 2010
in All Posts

The Husband and I are intent on showing my brother-in-law, Nick, a good time this weekend.  We REALLY want him to move to Charlotte when he graduates from UCF.  Since he is younger and (obviously) way cooler than us, we’re doing a bar crawl tonight to show him that Charlotte can – in fact – party!

 

The Husband was working this afternoon, so I took Nick and my mother-in-law to Cantina 1511.  Everyone has told me to go to Cantina, and I can tell it’s a good place!

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I convinced my MIL to drink two double margaritas with me.  It was probably the best idea I’ve had in a long time.  😉 One was orange-juice based and the second was blood-orange.  They were both so good, but the blood orange one was sweeter (and lined with sugar).

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We ordered a plate of veggie nachos to share!  I ate this at about 4 PM, which totally ruined my dinner.  Well, I guess the nachos WERE my dinner!

 

But it was so worth it because the nachos were diiiiivine.

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And oh-so-photogenic.

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Healthy eating tip:  When eating apps like this, I usually take a portion off of the main plate and put it on a smaller plate so I can see what I’m really eating as I go.  Otherwise, I end up stuffed.  I forgot to do this and guess what?  STUFFED! 🙂

 

After the bar, we took my MIL home for a nappie, and Nick and I (clearly, I was not the designated driver!) drove around the city so Nick could see some potential areas he’d like to live if he did move here.

 

Then, we had the bright idea to go get serve-serve frozen yogurt (this was probably the margarita talking):

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In my mix was peanut butter yogurt, PB cups, and Oreos. 

 

I posted these lovely Operation Beautiful notes in the bathroom!  I love them, especially the “Be Fearless” one. 

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And then, I came home and (predictably) took a two-hour nap!  That’s what an early happy hour will do to this girl.

 

However, now I’m rested and ready to go again!  We’re going to check out some local bars that I’ve heard good things about. 

 

Are you a bar or club kind of girl? Or do you prefer quieter weekend evening activities?  You guys know I love a good dive bar!

{ 59 comments }

 

  • Gavi @ GaviGetsGoing! July 16, 2010, 8:50 pm

    You go, girl! 🙂 I am definitely a dive bar girl as well, although I don’t have quite the tolerance and stamina for going out that I once did! I still enjoy going out to bars, but clubs are a twice-a-year sort of thing for me. I hope you have a great time tonight!

  • Camille July 16, 2010, 8:59 pm

    I like the occasional bar and sometimes I get in a dancing sort of mood, but generally I’m a stay at home and watch movies kind of girl. The sheer volume of people in bars and clubs gets me in a panic.

  • jenny in new york July 16, 2010, 9:03 pm

    i’m a bar kind of girl! I guess i prefer the buzzed low key type to the creepy man who comes up behind and tries to dance with me at a club. Oof. What’s not to like about that? 😉

  • Exercise and Eat July 16, 2010, 9:06 pm

    I’m all about bars with live music!

  • Cynthia (It All Changes) July 16, 2010, 9:07 pm

    I don’t drink but I love music in bars if I go out with friends.

  • Jessica @ Rawtumn July 16, 2010, 9:09 pm

    I’m definitely the quiet type and don’t actually drink but I’d make my way to that bar just for those nachos please! =P Have fun tonight!

  • Megan @ Healthy Hoggin July 16, 2010, 9:10 pm

    I definitely prefer a bar setting over a busy club! But more often than not, I like more laid-back weekends– either going out to a movie, or staying in with a rental.

    I sound like such an old lady! Ha ha. 😉

  • eri July 16, 2010, 9:11 pm

    i think 2 years ago i’d say i was a club-girl…but now i’m all for the quieter weekend activities! something in me just snapped one night and i no longer crave/enjoy late night activities. haahahahaha.

  • Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) July 16, 2010, 9:12 pm

    I am such a home body. I do have two kids though, so going out is a little more difficult! Have a great night!

  • Liz @ Tip Top Shape July 16, 2010, 9:13 pm

    There is no better way to show someone a good time than with a bar crawl 😀

  • shelby @ eatdrinkrun July 16, 2010, 9:16 pm

    Club, schmub. I am a dive bar girl through and through! With the occasional swanky rooftop bar thrown in for good measure.

    Although most of my happy-houring is in the form of Trader Joe’s wine, consumed on my couch, these days!

  • Katie July 16, 2010, 9:17 pm

    I’m totally a bar kind of girl! Its so much more relaxed and you have a better chance of being around bar regulars…however I really enjoy my inner soul train dancer and love hitting up a club every now and then!

  • Heather (Heather's Dish) July 16, 2010, 9:17 pm

    how fun! i can go either way…i love going out and having a great time, but i really relish my nights at home. looks like charlotte DOES know how to have a good time 🙂

  • Michelle @ Give Me the Almond Butter July 16, 2010, 9:25 pm

    I usually prefer to have a quiet evening in, but sometimes I just have to get out. This usually is around finals time.

  • Sarah for Real July 16, 2010, 9:27 pm

    Totally a bar girl. I realized that this last weekend. Yep totally.

  • Kris July 16, 2010, 9:30 pm

    It’s absolutely hysterical that you are talking as if you are so old. Um, do you think we die when we turn thirty? Yeah, let me sit and mold since I am not in my twenties. There is a balance in life and you will find it. Perhaps not now, but it will come. P.S. I just came from drinks, dinner and lots of good conversation and fun. I am over 50 — perhaps I should die? My first date w/ DH was at a dive bar; 26 years later we still find them and have a great time. I wish you the same 🙂

    • Molly @fuelherup July 16, 2010, 10:22 pm

      I didn’t get that impression at all. The only point she mentions age is when she jokes that her brother in law is younger and cooler, and that she wants to show him that Charlotte is fun! I don’t see how you could construe what she said to mean that she thinks anyone over 30 should “sit and mold”, never-the-less “die.”

      And I personally think Caitlin has found a balanced way of living that works well for her at the point she’s at in life.

    • Caitlin July 16, 2010, 10:24 pm

      Haha I will continue my dive bar reign for many years. :). Nick just has the energy to go to crazy clubs. I’m glad you and I both still rock it in our way way. 🙂

  • Kristina July 16, 2010, 9:30 pm

    I like *some* bars… ones that are not too busy or loud (whats the point – UNLESS I’M DANCING!!)… I have a favorite bar that we go to here, and we know all the bartenders and the servers in the resto downstairs, so it’s fun.

    It’s fun, but I would much rather stay at home, make our own cocktail party, and nights like tonight, fire up the BBQ, have a bunch of friends over and jump in the pool!! 🙂

    I take your keys and you sleep in the guest room if I deem appropriate – then I make you an awesome breakfast in the morning! 🙂

  • Jill@MySoCalledHealthLife July 16, 2010, 9:33 pm

    I am all about the dive bars. I think I did too many trendy bars in college (i.e. drank way too much) and now I am very over them. But I obviously still like drinking, just changed scenery now (I’m such a grownup).

  • Krystina July 16, 2010, 9:33 pm

    I really dig local craft beer bars or wine bars!

  • Cyclist Kate July 16, 2010, 9:34 pm

    I’m a pretty hardcore home-body; I love hanging out with the boyfriend watching movies! I also really like having girlfriends over to sit on my patio under the lights to drink wine. Buuuut, sometimes it is fun to bar crawl :), especially with the right friend.

    The “serve-serve” frozen yogurt cracked me up!! Yep, pretty sure that IS the margarita talking! Haha.

  • chrissy July 16, 2010, 9:35 pm

    I moved just outside Charlotte 17 days ago and I’ve heard WONDERFUL things about Cantina 1511. Also, Customshop and Crepe Cellar are supposed to be good. Those nachos look unbelievable!

  • chrissy July 16, 2010, 9:36 pm

    for cool “late night” bars, check out: Dixie’s and Thirsty Beaver. For a *REALLY* country bar, check out Puckett’s (a little outside Charlotte proper).

  • Jessica @ Jessica Balances July 16, 2010, 9:49 pm

    I love that you went out for a bit, came home and napped, and are back at it again! So funny 🙂 I hope you have a great time!

  • Kris July 16, 2010, 9:50 pm

    I forgot to mention that by the time you wake up tomorrow, I’ll probably have gotten in my wts. and run five miles. Then I’ll get in the rest of my day. Suffering from my night out …

  • Carolina John July 16, 2010, 9:51 pm

    Glad to see you’re getting used to charlotte! Welcome to NC girl.

  • Jessica @ How Sweet It Is July 16, 2010, 10:25 pm

    I love margaritas! They are my favorite drink.

  • Anna July 16, 2010, 10:28 pm

    Ok, where is the self-serve yogurt place? Ever since I’ve seen self-serve yogurt on different blogs, I’ve been looking for one. I know Pinkberry is about to open in Charlotte, but that’s not self serve, is it?

    • caitlin July 17, 2010, 10:35 am

      Yoforia!

  • Tara July 16, 2010, 10:28 pm

    I like a mix – sometimes I want a girls’ night out dancing, sometimes an evening of chats and apperitivi in a wine bar, and other times, a proper Irish pub! I love entertaining at home too. I do love weekends at home though, and try to get one every few weeks. I’m renowned amongst my friends for my love of “pottering” weekends!
    I love the look of your nachos! Great accompaniment to cocktails. Can I ask what the toppings were, please? I’d like to recreate them for a dinner party. 😀

    PS. I afore the comment: “Everything will be ok in the end, and if it’s not, it’s not the end!” I’m going to quote that at brunch tomorrow!!

    • Tara July 16, 2010, 10:30 pm

      That should read adore, oops 😳

  • AngelaOSG July 16, 2010, 10:44 pm

    hahaha this post cracked me up. You are hilarious. Margaritas, fro yo, nap, then back in action! lmao!! Wish I was there!

  • Wei-Wei July 16, 2010, 10:46 pm

    I went to a bar for the first time last night and had a mango mojito. Shh, don’t tell my mother! It was fun and I got Asian glow but surprisingly when I got home my parents didn’t suspect anything! I think my drunkenness is weird like that. I get very red after a bit but after a while it dies down and no lasting effect. 😀 I think I’d like bars over clubs actually. Quieter… 🙂

    Wei-Wei

  • Amanda (modernation) July 16, 2010, 10:47 pm

    I love dive bars, too. I am not a club girl unless I am in Vegas or something and it is a real occasion! At our age, it seems like bachelorette parties are the main reason I make it to a club these days.

  • Heather July 16, 2010, 11:01 pm

    you eat a lot of frozen yogurt. so jealous!

  • Katie @ Healthy Heddleston July 16, 2010, 11:27 pm

    I am a quieter evening kind of girl. I like to have fun, don’t get me wrong, I have just never liked alcohol and therefore felt uncomfortable in the bar seen all along.

  • Rosey Rebecca July 16, 2010, 11:58 pm

    Def. the bar type. Clubs are usually too hectic for me. The only thing I will ever go to at a club is 80s night.

    There’s a beer bar near me with a full two-sided menu packed with different beers from around the world.

  • Katherine @ Left Coast Contessa July 17, 2010, 12:17 am

    Love bars and love happy hour! Went today at 3pm with my co workers and had a delish blackberry mojito…

  • Annie@stronghealthyfit July 17, 2010, 12:28 am

    You are so funny! Have fun tonight. I like going to bars with live music, good beer and a few good friends 🙂

  • KMattrn July 17, 2010, 12:38 am

    For me it totally depends on my mood and planning. 15 yrs ago, I’d be ready to go to a bar (or, less often, a club) at the drop of a hat! Now as 40 approaches, I like to make w/e plans ahead of time so I can prepare. LOL But of course I do so love a quiet house after my boys go to bed and hubby and I can sink into a cup of tea and a good book.

  • Janna @ Janna's Keeping it Real July 17, 2010, 1:02 am

    what is with everyone having such stellar margaritas these days!? i’m totally jealous!

    I’m totally a quiet evening in kind of girl (i swear, my body thinks I’m 80, not 26). If I had to choose between bar and club, I for sure would chose bar though. I do not have sweet dance moves, so the whole ‘clubbin scene usually makes me pretty uncomfortable!

  • Little Bookworm July 17, 2010, 3:42 am

    Looks like you had a fun night, love the sound of the frozen yoghurt. Love the Operational Beautiful note: “Everything will be ok in the end, and if it’s not, then it’s not the end!” Fantastic phrase!

  • Freya @ Brit Chick Runs July 17, 2010, 3:52 am

    Those Operation Beautiful notes are gorgeous 🙂

  • Sarah (Running to Slow Things Down) July 17, 2010, 7:27 am

    Fun night, good food, great friends & family, awesome operation beautiful notes!

    A whole lot of greatness all in one post. 😀

  • Diana (Mymarblerye) July 17, 2010, 8:29 am

    i use to dance and shizzle at clubs…now I perfer low key bars that offer you the atmosphere to TALK.

  • Anne @ the doctor takes a wife July 17, 2010, 8:32 am

    I love a good bar that either (1) brews their own beer–beer pubs in Portland ROCK; and/or (2) have their own patio or outside eating area.

  • Kelly July 17, 2010, 8:54 am

    I prefer bars, but I’m getting to the point where I’d rather go to them on a saturday/sunday afternoon or weeknight because I don’t want to be around all the loud drunk people on friday and saturday nights! I am getting old 🙂

  • Stacey @ Tipping the (Kitchen!) Scales July 17, 2010, 9:06 am

    What a fun day and such a good tip for eating huge appetisers! Hope you have a fab evening doing the bar crawl!!

  • Ash Bear July 17, 2010, 10:09 am

    That sounds like a great afternoon! I love this place and used to go here everytime i’d visit Charlotte. My best friend lived there for 5 years and just moved. Hope you all had a great night in uptown/downtown 🙂

  • Faith @ LovelyAsCharged July 17, 2010, 10:10 am

    I love dive bars and also sports bars – especially during football season when I can show off a little bit of my obsession for the fellas 😉 I have to be in the right mood for clubbing, and that’s fine, because my little town doesn’t really have that many clubs! I think we have exactly one dance bar and even that is fairly low-key.

  • Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) July 17, 2010, 3:42 pm

    I am a bar kind of girl – if there is dancing involved!!!!

  • Brynne July 17, 2010, 7:14 pm

    Love love this post! Hilarious! Bars (and margs) are best.

  • Ilana July 17, 2010, 11:03 pm

    i love it all! dive bars, nightclubs, quiet nights in…they all appeal to me in different ways. sometimes there’s nothing better than loud music and tons of people and dressing up, sometimes you want a serious relaxed and fun night out at a dive bar, and sometimes you really just need a night on the couch with Law and Order and a pint of ice cream.

  • Kristin July 18, 2010, 2:28 am

    And this is where I’m the odd one out xD Being a college student, most people assume clubs would be go, but frankly, the majority of the people I know that keep wanting to go to clubs just want to get smashed. Not really my thing. I would much rather keep it low key at a bar with a few friends and a good beer. And maybe a hockey game on the television. Won’t get that at a club.

  • Ali July 18, 2010, 10:09 am

    What is that Fro-yo place called?

    • caitlin July 18, 2010, 10:33 am

      Its called Yoforia!

  • Beth @ DiningAndDishing July 19, 2010, 12:52 pm

    I like a mix of rowdier bars and quieter ones. Depends on who I’m with and the mood we’re in that night. Although, now that I’m getting older, I’m in a quieter bar mood more and more often :).

  • Amber K @ sparkpeople July 19, 2010, 1:51 pm

    I’m not big on going to bars. To me, there just isn’t much to do! I don’t really drink as it just makes me nauseous without getting to feel any of the “fun” effects. I guess if I went with a huge group of people it’d be fun, but usually it’s just me and my husband and we’d rather chill at the house and play cards or Scene It?

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