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  The Royal Flush: City Limits Saloon -- or is it? March 26th, 2005 Posted by Hunter Wilson

  Considering last night"s triple-header March Madness b-ball games, I was shocked to find a fairly decent crowd in City Limits, and not only that, hordes of people kept coming in even past one o"clock at a very healthy pace.  Kevin, the DJ last night, promptly informed me that the club was dead, and I would not have believed it, except for the fact that I have been there on several Thursday nights, and in comparison to last night, they were dead.  So, taking into perspective the reality that ninety percent of the Triad"s population were at sports bars or home instead of clubs, I was certainly blown away by what City Limits had to offer, even on an "off" night.

  Because City Limits boasts one of the best layouts I"ve seen in a long time, I feel the need to provide a tour for those unfamiliar with the club. Walk in to immediately find a beer girl with 24s of Bud packed on ice (simple, but effective solution to searching for the bar to get a drink, its right there at the door), bathrooms directly behind the beer girl, then swing it to the right and enter the first floor. The massive, main bar"s located dead center on the first floor, and I have yet to be there when a score of girls have not been dancing on the main bar. To the left is the focal point, as well as City Limits" main attraction, the mechanical bull ($5 per ride), and nestled in the left corner is the lounging area complete with porch-style swings and rocking chairs. Another large bar that nearly extends the length of the wall is positioned on the right. The second floors features the balcony-styled view of the first floor (the best view of the dancing girls on the bar), as well as the ideal view of the projection screen, two more bars, the coat check, DJ booth, arcade games, and stadium seating with table-chair setups, perfect for taking a breather.

  Toni, manning the coat check bar every night directly to the left on the second level, offered Mindy and myself our first donkey punch, City Limit"s self-proclaimed signature drink. Now, typically I would grab a Bud Light and Royal Flush shot as my standard drinks for the night, but after Toni"s donkey punch (the drink), I was more than content. Not only was it a very interesting and strong drink, she pours it into a red cowboy boot glass: added bonus. Apparently we were not the only ones getting donkey punches that night, as almost everyone danced to Kevin"s musical variety (more on that later) while swinging red cowboy boots in at least one hand. I must admit, at first I was a bit skeptical about this donkey punch deal, thinking it was nothing more than the typical chick drink (its pink in color), but I tried it, just because. Fellas, it holds its own and lives up to its name by packing quite the punch, and once in the red cowboy boot, the color fades.

  Alright, enough about the donkey punch, lets get into Kevin"s realm, the tunes. A major shortcoming would be to describe the variety of music in City Limits, because, frankly its ineffable. Kevin blared everything from Kenny Chesney to LIT to Eminem to Lincoln Park/Jay-Z to, well, you get the picture. A "Saloon" playing country, I can buy it, but playing Rap, R & B, even punk…..... it left me to go through my checklist of what came to mind when I thought of the word saloon, and furthermore, what City Limits provided that matched, and what it didn"t. Basically, I needed to tackle the reoccurring question in my head: City Limits Saloon–or is it" Here"s what I found:

  Saloon, yes, in the fact that there"s country music, a western feel with the cowboy hats and porch swings, and of course drinks called donkey punch. Saloon, no, in the fact that they do play much more than country and the repeat clientele is more diverse than the music selection, especially on Thursday nights (College Night). Essentially, the answer, I found, was that City Limits, although extremely diversified in nearly everything that happens, still maintains to hold enough of the country-western feel to claim the title saloon. And what"s more, it may seem a conflict of interest, but it works, and works very well. For the mere fact that I can think of no other place right now in Raleigh that takes two opposite themes and merges them successfully into harmony so well, City Limits is the place to be in Raleigh, and in my opinion is the best club in Raleigh at present.

  (City Limits Saloon is located behind Charlie Goodnight"s off Morgan Street, for those seasoned in Raleigh nightlife, same location as the old Banana Joe"s)

  New & Upcoming events at City Limits Saloon:

  Starting Sunday, March 27,

  (Every Sunday Night)

  $4 Jagerbombs; $6 Donkey Punch; $4 Bacardi-Flavored Drinks

  No Cover Charge

  April 9th, Release Party for Social the Magazine

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  Hunter Wilson

  Owner, CarolinaNightlife.com1 Posts

  Charles is the Executive Director of Carolina Nightlife and very involved in the nightlife industry in NC and SC. He has been working with venues of all sizes, different brands and products, and countless events across NC and SC for over 8 years.

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