I love Williams. Ok. No, wait. Hear me out on this before you disagree and lose respect for my taste in peanut bars. I have been a religious fan of Williams for 4 years now. It started with my obsession for going there on Thursday nights for 2 for 1's (or if you're lucky and have a great friend who works there... 3 for 1's). I'm not going to lie. I also went there to see and be seen. What can I say? I was a single girl at the U. That's where you go when you out-grow Sally's. When I moved to Uptown, there was rarely a Thursday night that I couldn't be found in Williams. Either on the first floor, talking with A, my friend/former roommate who works there, taking shots and drinking double sized raspberry Stoli lemonades. Mmmm... Or I would be in the basement eating peanuts, talking to bartender Steve, making up dances with C-Style and L-do at the bar and drinking a larger-than-life mug of whatever cider I was in the mood for. Ace Pear, Hardcore, or Woodchuck. Those were the days. I haven't been to Williams on a Thursday in a long time. I don't have the energy for it anymore. I feel so old amongst the just turned 21 yr olds and the kiddies with the good fakes brave enough to try and pass the strict bouncers there. I stopped by a few Thursdays last summer to say hello to A and maybe have a drink before going to the Independent or any place less... meat-marketish.

Even though I don't frequent the Thursday scene at Williams, my monthly average is still once a week... for the last 3 years. During the NBA playoffs 2 years ago, I was at Williams 5 nights in a row to watch the Timberwolves play. (KG 4 MVP!)

So why do I still go? I'll give you 3 reasons.

I've mentioned it multiple times in my blog so far and will probably mention it many times to come. $1 burgers. $1 burgers! Every Saturday from open to 7pm you can get a burger for $1. Add cheese for $0.25 and add fries for $0.50. Sunday from open to close it's the same deal. I don't know why more people don't know about this. I'm always expecting it to be packed all weekend long. During the summer there is NOTHING better than sitting outside on their newly designated outside seating, having a burger and getting a summer afternoon buzz while basking in the sun. Ok, so maybe there are a few things better, like doing the same thing except at the beach... but we'll get to that once the snow melts for good. Williams has specials every day of the week! Monday is wing night, which would be good except I'm not a fan of wings. Ew. Tuesday is another 2 for 1 night that no body knows about and I think they have tacos or something. Wednesday is spaghetti float night. Ew again. They serve it in a liter mug and they refer to it as "zesty spaghetti". Ew. But I have seen people eat this before. Guys seem to LOVE it. Or maybe it's because they're eating something out of a beer mug? Not sure. Thursday is 2 for 1/meat market night. Friday is steak night. Ew again. Even if I liked steak, I would still never eat one at Williams. I'll stick to the weekend burgers.

They have an enormous selection of beer. Like 300+ varieties or something. Upstairs they only have about 6 taps with your typical Honeyweis, MGD, lite beer, etc, but a huge selection of bottles, including about 12 ciders that I love. Downstairs they have about 25 taps, including 3 ciders. I don't drink beer. Not since my days in Territorial Hall when I didn't have the luxury of being a picky drinker have I had more than a can. I can tell you which bars in uptown have cider and which don't. Downtown too. I know whenever I walk into Williams they will have something for me to drink. Not just one choice, about 15 different ciders for me to choose from. It's my own personal alcohol heaven.

Ok. So I can't think of a specific #3 so I'll just go with atmosphere. On non-meat market days the atmosphere is quite nice. It's especially a great place to drink in the afternoon/early evening. There are TV's to watch sporting events on. There's a pretty decent jukebox and there is a lot of room to spread out if you're with a big group friends. I do like it there on Fridays and Saturday nights... occasionally. It's the right amount of crowded-ness and space. Also, I think it's a wonderful place to start the night out. I can walk there in 10 minutes from my place. Once you're at Williams, and have a couple drinks in you, no place in Uptown seems too far to walk to. Rudolph's. The Bulldog. Liquor Lyle's. Ok, so maybe some of those are still a hike. A little night time exercise is always good. Williams is one of those weird places where girls actually dress up to go to, even though it's totally a casual place. So that's good too I guess. You can get dolled up and totally look awesome, or you can show up in your sweatpants and a baseball cap as I have done many, many times.

A word of advice for newcomers to the Williams scene. If you go there for food, don't show up too hungry. I don't think I've ever had good service there (from the servers, the bartenders are all pretty great). Even when it's 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and there's only 1 other table that's already been served. You'll still have to wait a good 15 minutes before they notice you've sat down. Even if they watch you walk in the door. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe no one tips well when all they're buying is a $1.75 meal. Or maybe they purposely hire surly waitresses for added amusement? My point is, if you can be patient and put up with possibly being ignored, then you will have a wonderful experience. Also, if you're planning on ordering a bloody mary, order the vodka on the side. I learned this after my last experience there. They are the worst BM's in uptown. (sorry... I won't use that abbreviation for bloody mary's again.) The waitress gave me a funny look on Saturday when DC and I were having a late lunch. But it was SO good after I mixed it to the strength I wanted. I crave bloody marys on the weekends now. If only the Uptown bar made their drinks to go. I could have brought my own delicious bloody mary to Williams to drink with my burger. If only...

Who knew I had so much to say about Williams?