Drink 'Til You Drop

One special feature of Whitney's, a small bar on Kennedy St. that serves more of a local crowd than students, is a pinball machine called "High Speed." The theme of this game is danger; the rules are to run red lights and hide out from the police as many times as possible.

But if you are playing this game don't look at the bottom right corner of the board. There lies a morbid reminder of one of the most severe cancers eating at the heart of this great nation of ours.

Don't drink and drive warns the machine.

The contradictions of a bar with a pinball machine which warns against drunk driving will no doubt spin quite a few heads. But don't worry, you will be only a few minutes walk away from the Yard and the Houses.

In Cambridge there's no reason to drink and drive. A world of drinking places lies just outside your door step. So close that a quick stumble fom any drinking establishment will land you in the privacy of your own bedroom. So sit back, strap yourself in (it's Massachusetts law now), and enjoy a whirlwind tour of Harvard's favorite drinking spots.

There's one hitch. The drinking age in Massachusetts is 21, and it's widely enforced, both in Cambridge and on the Harvard campus. But if you've got a picture I.D. that indicates the proper age, you shouldn't have a problem taking advantage of Cambridge night life.

Probably one of the most popular spots in the area lies just off the Square. The Picadilly Filly (123 Mt. Auburn St.) is your basic, unpretentious bar--rare for Harvard. This is the place for college kids to drink cheap beer, play quarters, and ogle the opposite sex. The Filly starts getting crowded around 10:30 p.m.; the bouncer goes on duty at 10. Weekends this is a hot spot and the temperature cools down only slightly during the week.

But the three-year-old Filly is merely an upstart compared to the pink Hong Kong Restaurant (1236 Mass. Ave.) which packs them in for miles. Drink the Scorpion Bowl, a tropical concoction of supposed fruit juices and phantom alcohol. It will take a couple of these to get buzzed but by that time you'll be broke.

The main reason to go to the Kong is to eat greasy Chinese food. The chicken fingers are extraordinary when washed down with alcohol. A summer stint in Cambridge is probably not enough time to try all 69 types of beer they serve here, but it still may be worth the effort.

Another drinking place for foreign beer lovers is the Wursthaus (4 JFK St.). Here you can choose from an assortment of up to 200 beers. This was one of the first places to introduce the now famous--at least around here--Samuel Adams lager, named after the great brewer/patriot. The Wursthaus also serves food and if you're lucky you'll catch a rare sighting of President Derek C. Bok drinking coffee early in the morning.

A place where you'll never catch Bok is the Bow and Arrow Pub, (Bow Street next to Baskins Robbins) a rough and tumble bar where you can get drunk on very little money. Watered down beer when bought in bulk is not very expensive. There are a long list of rules outside the door, which you shouldn't break because if you do it is likely a very large man will break your nose.

But why slum when you can travel to exotic places like Casablanca (40 Brattle St.). While this doesn't have the savoir-faire of a Rick's or the earthy feel of a Blue Parrot it does have a nice patio where cool drinks feel very good on a hot summer night.

If the foreign or the tough are not your cup of tea, the Square does have the expensive and well-groomed. The block right across the street from the Kennedy School of Government will convince you that the yuppie gene is dominant. The Shays Wine Bar--the newest shi-shi place to toss down at Lafite Rothschild or two--and the Boathouse Bar--a tradition-laden drinking place--attract the upwardly mobile like an American Express gold card. If you want to drink here make sure you're well dressed or they will laugh at your I.D. even if it is the real thing.

Nearby in the Charles Hotel complex is another upscale place of imbibement, the Regatta Bar. They have good music on the weekends, but the drinks are expensive so look for their advertised specials.

Another place after the yuppie look is One Potato, Two Potato (1280 Mass Ave.), which recently reopened after a more than year-long absence. Drinks are moderately expensive here but there is good finger food. The atmosphere leaves something to be desired. Long time patrons of this bar point out that this one time cozy and homey place now looks like a gym for square dancing.

If you're in the mood to walk a little further, head down Massachusetts Avenue toward Central Square. Remember the best way to get rid of a hangover is a brisk walk. First you'll come to Chi-Chi's, which is closed for repairs until July. The only drink worth getting here is a Marguarita, but don't forget to ask for your Nachos.

A really fun place is Jack's just a few blocks further along, which has music nightly, usually a pretty minimal cover. On the weekends the place really hops to the sounds of reggae, funk or even some rock. It's not that far and well worth the trip.

If you like music and also like to dance, hire a cab or walk to Central Square, home of Man Ray/Campus. The better dance floor is in Campus, which is a gay club. Sunday night is lesbian night. Saturday night is guys only and they are usually pretty strict about not letting in women. But this is definitely a place to rock. Man Ray has great music and even go-go dancers but the dance floor istoo crowded. Or if you want to rock closer tohome, try Jonathan Swift's (JFK street) fora melange of live bands. It's crowded, hot andvery loud, but there's a sect of Harvard studentswho swear by it.

As the song goes some of us like to drinkalone. If you want to stock up on alcohol in yourroom there are a couple of places to go. Thefavorite is Harvard Provision on Mt.Auburn, affectionately known as the "Pro." Anotherchoice in the square is Varsity Liquor,where the price knows no bounds.

A walk down to Mather House will bring you toLouie's Superette which has a smallselection of beers and kegs or you can walk pastthe Union to Broadway and visit the BroadwaySupermarket. Youngsters should find this placemost convenient to the Yard