While not as on top of campus as the stately College Inn or as Husky-centric as the sporty Duchess, Dante’s remains the most collegiate of UW bars, because it’s the only bar that will remind you of what bars are like in tiny college towns. It’s dark, cavernous, and can be anything to anyone. It has a piano, games galore, a DJ booth, dance floor, and even a Star Wars-centric trivia night. It acts as though it’s the only bar in a town where there are hundreds of bars. And that’s precisely the charm of Dante’s, made all the more alluring by its Thursday night happy hours, where pitchers of Miller High Life dip to $2 from 8-9 p.m. before ascending to $4 at 9 and $6 from 10 until last call. You’d expect more “Hey, I ordered at 8:59/No, it was 9:01” back-and-forths between cash-strapped students and tip-hungry bartenders. Yet strangely, that rarely seems to happen; instead, everyone orders enough pitchers at 8 to render the turn of the hour inconsequential, and send them well on their way toward a night to remember that they’re sure to forget. MIKE SEELY
