Santa Clara is located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, which became a household name after the dot-com boom around the turn of the century. While several major companies who broke ground in Santa Clara during those years still remain, the city has a history and an identity dating back to the late 1700s. Sitting less than 20 miles from the edge of Western civilization, the city has a vibrant and progressive vibe that comes out once the sun has gone down. The following is a short list of Santa Clara's nighttime hot spots.
Woodham's Sports Lounge is located on Stevens Creek Boulevard, just east of Woodhams Road. The place is Santa Clara's quintessential sports bar, featuring karaoke, a full bar and more flat screen televisions than you can count. Cocktails are large and reasonably priced. You can shoot pool for free as long as you're ordering food or drinks and live music is often scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights. Unassuming and affordable, the place sets the tone for nightlife in a town that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Over the past decade, hookah lounges have become hot-spots for folks to congregate and relax, regardless of whether or not they engage in smoking tobacco. Smoke This Hookah Lounge has become a favorite of locals and a popular destination for tourists. In the evenings, DJs regularly pound beats through the cavernous locale. Although the sound levels can get a bit high and yelling into the ear of a person sitting next to you is not uncommon, the peaceful vibe and the calming effects of the tobaccos are sure to put you at ease. Be forewarned that this isn't your father's tobacco, as a bevy of colorful and flavorful blends are readily packed and smoked using ornate and artistic hookahs. The staff is attentive and prepared to help you through any part of the hookah smoking process that you may not be familiar with, such as the changing of the coals.
Located on Homestead Road just steps east of the Lawrence Expressway, Homestead Cocktail Lounge is endearingly known as the city's best dive bar. Positioned within a small strip-mall and a giant parking lot, the bar offers strong and cheap drinks in a no-frills environment. Get there early on a Friday or Saturday night, because room at the bar is limited and folks from all over the Santa Clara area flock to this place. The bartenders are known for being friendly and very generous with their pours. Looking around the interior, it seems that not one single change has been made to the place since the 1980s. Darts, pool and pinball machines are available to all patrons.
VIP Oriental is an Asian restaurant tucked into the middle of a strip mall on the corner of El Camino Real and Bowers Avenue. It is difficult if not impossible to tell of the goings-on or the atmosphere of VIP when viewing it from the outside, as the generic sign and cookie-cutter building design do not convey the uniqueness and kitschy nature of the place. Patrons are encouraged to create or add to the art on the walls using sharpies, which mostly makes for hilarity but can sometimes cross the line into displays of sexual deviance. Anything too over the top or offensive will quickly be wallpapered over. VIP Oriental's claim to fame is sojo, a chilled alcoholic drink that is very close to vodka in composition and consistency. Their yogurt sojo is delicious and highly potent.
KOR Karaoke DJ Bruce Rogers provides a mobile karaoke setup that has planted its roots deep into the bay area. If you happen to see his name on a lineup at a local bar, pay it a visit. The man is regarded as one of the best karaoke DJs in the country and is equipped with a song list that is allegedly thicker than a phone book.
At the end of the day, Santa Clara is a city that is long on fun and short on superficiality. Down-to-Earth people and locales cover the landscape, creating a small-town, relaxed and welcoming atmosphere in a region surrounded on all sides by densely populated areas. |
