Looking for something to do this week? "Night Owl" is a quick guide to special nights at bars and clubs around town. We'll give you a few hints re: cover, dress code, music and atmosphere. Sunday nights mark "Hot Fudge Sundaze" at Bar Smith in Phoenix.
This Sunday was the third time we've tried to venture out for Sean Watson and William Reed's "Hot Fudge Sundaze." The event, once hosted at the Clarendon Hotel, moved to Bar Smith this Fall.
We headed to the popular rooftop bar a few weeks after its venue change to check it out, but the bar was virtually empty. So we let the fliers circulate and the Facebook invites to settle and decided to give it a final chance over the weekend ...
The Time: 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., every Sunday.
The Place: 130 E. Washington St., Phoenix.
The Cover: Free.
The Parking: Street.
The Bar: The split-level bar usually has roof access, but due to the chilly winter weather, the "party" was moved to the lower level of the bar. The place is really spacious, but downstairs just doesn't have the same cool city vibe as the rooftop scene. There is way too much space and there aren't enough people or anyone dancing to occupy it.
The Music: DJs Sean Watson and William Reed take turns mixing music, which one guest described as "hip" indie electro. Mixes of Kid Cudi and Temper Trap wasn't the worst we've heard, but not enough to fill the floor.
The Drinks: The bar has Pinnacle Vodka specials from 9 to 10 p.m., otherwise drinks can be a little pricey -- we paid $6 for a vodka cranberry, a $9 glass of Maker's Mark and a $7 well whiskey and coke. We didn't order another round.
The People: The vibe inside the bar was that most people didn't show up to dance and see the popular Valley DJs, but instead to grab a drink on a cold night. The group of about 10 downtown dwellers in casual attire surrounded the bar and stayed there most of the time, occasionally wiggling to the beat -- on chairs.What we loved: We've been to Bar Smith many times and had a great time on the rooftop bar. This is one of the biggest draws the bar has but wasn't utilizing it on this particular night.
What we didn't love: The expensive drinks.
Would we go back? Meh. We still like to hope that we are catching this night on an off-night (or in our case, several off-nights), but it could be that it has lost any glory it once maintained at the beginning of the year.
