To those of you traveling to CS -- Welcome!
I try to put this together every year for traveling fans, so your trip to College Station is as easy as possible. Here's my take on how to maximize your fun in College Station. Keep in mind, I am in my early 30s, so it skews more towards the Night life and tailgating than the fine dining and sight seeing.
A few notes worth mentioning. Northgate is the Entertainment District in College Station. It's a 4-5 block area with 30-35 bars and a dozen or so restaurants that sits on University Avenue right across from campus. West Campus is where Reed Arena, Olsen Field and the REC Center sit and a large swath of tailgating takes place in this area. This is where 90% of the RVs are parked.
Restaurants in College Station worth visiting:
Republic Steakhouse -- Fantastic selection of bourbon and whiskeys. One of the best steakhouses in SE Texas. You would need to make reservations here.
Cafe Eccell -- Personally, my favorite for the price. It's a nice dinner, but not extravagant in price. They have great handcrafted cocktails and wood fired pizzas.
Napa Flats
Christopher's -- More fine dining.
Torchy's Tacos -- Leave the bar after a big night, find yourself here.
Freebird's -- On Northgate, large burritos
West End Elixir -- On Northgate, new place with unique cocktails and great food.
Koppe Bridge -- Best Burgers in town.
　
Northgate: Bar District (I'll just go West to East down Northgate)
West End Elixir -- See above
Chimy's -- Deadly Margarita and Tequila selection. Fun porch and always a great place to cap off your night.
Bar 12 -- Rooftop porch, two level bar.
Boulevard 247 -- Dance Club
O'Bannons -- Irish Pub with great beer selection
Paddock Lane -- Same as O'Bannons
Tipsy Turtle -- New Orleans Style Daquiri Bar
The Backyard -- One of my favorites. Chilled liquor on tap and tons of games on the back porch (Beer pong, washers, darts, etc). 2 story
Dry Bean Saloon -- Shot saloon with 200 different shots on the menu
Dixie Chicken -- College Station staple since 1974. I'd have one drink here at least. It will be slammed on Friday nights.
Dudley's -- The Chicken's less country brother since I can remember.
Madhatters -- 80s bar with cheap, STRONG drinks
Basil Whippets -- The "Apothecary Lounge"
Corner Bar -- Another one of my favorites. Three stories, with a large open air rooftop bar overlooking campus
Hookah Lounge -- Hookah bar that serves drinks
Foundation -- Dance Club
Kyoto Sake Bar -- Name explains itsself. All sake all the time.
Gatsbys -- Dance Club
Logie's -- Huge beers with a porch looking at inner Northgate
Rebel Draft House -- Tons of beers and large with a wrap around porch.
Rough Draught -- Top shelf bourbon, whiskey, scotch bar. They flavor balls of ice for their old fashion drinks. It's good.
Cedar Lane -- Try a "wake me up"...
Blackwater Draw -- Local microbrew that serves food.
Hurricane Harry's -- Dance Hall (Country centric)
　
Tailgating:
You'll get differing opinions on this depending on the age and tastes of the Aggie fan, so I'm going to throw all options out here.
West Campus -- This is where I tailgate and prefer. I'd suggest getting there early, and either dropping your stuff off around Reed Arena (in the grass) or around the parking garage (in the grass) and parking somewhere further out on West Campus in the pay lots. West Campus is a mix of all types, but tends to be the best collection of parties on campus. We tailgate at Reed Arena in the grass looking at the Baseball and Softball field. It is in the grass in front of 100g in the link below. We have a blow up 12th Man guy, so stop by and drink some on us. You can drop your stuff off starting at noon on Friday. The RV lots here are at Reed Arena, Olsen Field, George Bush Library and the Steam Building. [URLT]http://transportmap.tamu.edu/parkingmap/tsmap.htm?map=ft[/URLT]
Spence Park -- This is the park on the East Side of the stadium. You can't park anywhere around here, but you can drop off starting at noon on Friday. It's another good mix of students and alum, but you can't have the big trailers or generators in Spence. You have to power up your tailgate through batteries. Again, a nice place that's fun, just a little more of a hassle to set up up and pick up.
Cain Park -- This is the Reserved tailgating. A little less rowdy and more corporate, but crowded nonetheless.
Pay Lots -- The Pay lots are on the periphery of campus and not nearly as crowded as inner campus tailgating. If you want a quieter area, this is your place, but if your anything like me, you don't come all this way to not mix it up with the locals.
　
Golf:
Traditions Club -- A&M Golf Team home course and a Nicklaus course.
Miramont -- Private RTJ course
A&M on campus course -- I actually like this course since it's been redone.
Bryan Muni -- Haha.... no.
　
Sights and Sounds --
George Bush Library -- 41s Presidential Library on West Campus. RV Field parking is right beside it.
Bonfire Memorial -- On the NorthEast Side of campus recognizing the 1999 tragedy.
Messina Hof Winery -- Local winery in Bryan. I love it here at dusk..
　
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.
