Having celebrated its fifth anniversary in April, this joint rocks on. With its funky, Hawaiian-themed décor -- surfboards on the walls and television sets showing big-wave videos on a loop -- the Surf Café seems the perfect spot to hang ten -- or just hang out. (It also ain't bad for the FAU college crowd to take a breather from all those tests.) And you don't even have to wear a Quicksilver shirt or carry a Jensen backpack to enter. Secretaries, construction workers, and just folks come in after work for their happy-hour fix (served 4 through 8 p.m. daily, till 10 on Friday), which includes a variety of beer, shot, and wine specials. As evening progresses into night, there's no need to go elsewhere. On most Thursday through Sunday evenings, the café transforms into a nightclub, with local rock, reggae, and alternative bands as well as electronic, hip-hop, and underground DJs. The place also offers a grill, three pool tables, homey couches and sofas, a small stage for the bands/DJs, and plenty of seating so you can kick back and enjoy the show.

Having celebrated its fifth anniversary in April, this joint rocks on. With its funky, Hawaiian-themed décor -- surfboards on the walls and television sets showing big-wave videos on a loop -- the Surf Café seems the perfect spot to hang ten -- or just hang out. (It also ain't bad for the FAU college crowd to take a breather from all those tests.) And you don't even have to wear a Quicksilver shirt or carry a Jensen backpack to enter. Secretaries, construction workers, and just folks come in after work for their happy-hour fix (served 4 through 8 p.m. daily, till 10 on Friday), which includes a variety of beer, shot, and wine specials. As evening progresses into night, there's no need to go elsewhere. On most Thursday through Sunday evenings, the café transforms into a nightclub, with local rock, reggae, and alternative bands as well as electronic, hip-hop, and underground DJs. The place also offers a grill, three pool tables, homey couches and sofas, a small stage for the bands/DJs, and plenty of seating so you can kick back and enjoy the show.

The Avenging Lawnmowers of Justice's succinct, silly, and unimaginably catchy songs (about worms, weirdos, weed, unpaid bills, alien abduction, and other important concerns) have been collected on a self-titled disc and another, soon-to-be-released offering. But your best bet is to catch the 'Mowers trimming their turf on-stage. That's where the band's offbeat humor is best appreciated and where gangly, bespectacled bandleader Chris DeAngelis is likely to end the show by writhing like an insect on his back as he squeezes out bass melodies that'd make McCartney jealous. However, it must be duly noted that Sir Paul is much too mature to pen a ditty called "Your Sister Stole My Girlfriend." The 'Vengers call themselves "Florida's very own musical crusading crime fighters of crap," and if that's not worth a prize, what is?

The Avenging Lawnmowers of Justice's succinct, silly, and unimaginably catchy songs (about worms, weirdos, weed, unpaid bills, alien abduction, and other important concerns) have been collected on a self-titled disc and another, soon-to-be-released offering. But your best bet is to catch the 'Mowers trimming their turf on-stage. That's where the band's offbeat humor is best appreciated and where gangly, bespectacled bandleader Chris DeAngelis is likely to end the show by writhing like an insect on his back as he squeezes out bass melodies that'd make McCartney jealous. However, it must be duly noted that Sir Paul is much too mature to pen a ditty called "Your Sister Stole My Girlfriend." The 'Vengers call themselves "Florida's very own musical crusading crime fighters of crap," and if that's not worth a prize, what is?

The bar scene in South Florida leaves much to be desired. You spend the entire night competing for the attention of the harried bartender. You repeat the mantra, "Make eye contact, make eye contact, and maybe he'll notice me," but to no avail. By the time you place your order, happy hour has ended, and instead of the double Bombay G&T you waited all day to sip, you settle for a Miller Lite on draft. Bummer. Don't despair. Instead, make a beeline for the one place where the bartender knows your name: Legends Pub. On any given Friday night, Ty Fenton, with his 1000-megawatt smile and crew cut, is a regular guy in a world of Cocktail-esque drink slingers. He's a young man but old school in spirit -- he actually listens while you cry in your beer and doesn't seem to mind when drunken regulars start impromptu but friendly wrestling matches in the middle of the bar. (Beats a couch trip any day.)

The bar scene in South Florida leaves much to be desired. You spend the entire night competing for the attention of the harried bartender. You repeat the mantra, "Make eye contact, make eye contact, and maybe he'll notice me," but to no avail. By the time you place your order, happy hour has ended, and instead of the double Bombay G&T you waited all day to sip, you settle for a Miller Lite on draft. Bummer. Don't despair. Instead, make a beeline for the one place where the bartender knows your name: Legends Pub. On any given Friday night, Ty Fenton, with his 1000-megawatt smile and crew cut, is a regular guy in a world of Cocktail-esque drink slingers. He's a young man but old school in spirit -- he actually listens while you cry in your beer and doesn't seem to mind when drunken regulars start impromptu but friendly wrestling matches in the middle of the bar. (Beats a couch trip any day.)

The key to a great sports bar is televisions. They must be legion -- a whole array of boob tubes should be scattered throughout the place so that at any moment, all one has to do to check the score is look up from the beer bottles and hot wings strewn across the table. This is Arena Sports Bar, where the televisions often outnumber the patrons. A big exception to this rule is when the Miami Dolphins games are blacked out. Arena has satellite TV, so the place is packed on those days with all the poor Fins fans who don't have dish. Another advantage to Arena Sports Bar is the shuffleboard table, which is very long and situated behind the largest television screen. Tabletop shuffleboard is swiftly vanishing from the bar scene, despite the fact that it's loads of fun. Foosball, apparently, is cheaper and lower maintenance. But if pucking around and watching sports are a couple of your favorite pastimes, this is the place.

The key to a great sports bar is televisions. They must be legion -- a whole array of boob tubes should be scattered throughout the place so that at any moment, all one has to do to check the score is look up from the beer bottles and hot wings strewn across the table. This is Arena Sports Bar, where the televisions often outnumber the patrons. A big exception to this rule is when the Miami Dolphins games are blacked out. Arena has satellite TV, so the place is packed on those days with all the poor Fins fans who don't have dish. Another advantage to Arena Sports Bar is the shuffleboard table, which is very long and situated behind the largest television screen. Tabletop shuffleboard is swiftly vanishing from the bar scene, despite the fact that it's loads of fun. Foosball, apparently, is cheaper and lower maintenance. But if pucking around and watching sports are a couple of your favorite pastimes, this is the place.

Slattery's, a tiny, dark watering hole where only the Irish dare go, can make winners feel like losers. At least, that's one possible outcome if you enter the bar on a Wednesday night for Slattery's "Alternative Pub Quiz." The proprietors promise fun and games all night, with the chance to win "T-shirts, drinks, and God Knows What Else." The ad hoc contest allows patrons to compete with one another on current events, world history -- and plenty of UK football trivia -- but sometimes yelling out the right answer can lead to an even toastier circle of hell. Your "prize" might entail your racing around in a circle, pounding a beer in seconds flat, or arm-wrestling your opponents, all because you answered a question correctly. Sometimes it's better to just be quiet and drink your Guinness in peace. Otherwise, says the in-house trivia master (a ringer for Mike Myers), you may well end up with "a punch in th' throat an' a kick in th' balls!"

Slattery's, a tiny, dark watering hole where only the Irish dare go, can make winners feel like losers. At least, that's one possible outcome if you enter the bar on a Wednesday night for Slattery's "Alternative Pub Quiz." The proprietors promise fun and games all night, with the chance to win "T-shirts, drinks, and God Knows What Else." The ad hoc contest allows patrons to compete with one another on current events, world history -- and plenty of UK football trivia -- but sometimes yelling out the right answer can lead to an even toastier circle of hell. Your "prize" might entail your racing around in a circle, pounding a beer in seconds flat, or arm-wrestling your opponents, all because you answered a question correctly. Sometimes it's better to just be quiet and drink your Guinness in peace. Otherwise, says the in-house trivia master (a ringer for Mike Myers), you may well end up with "a punch in th' throat an' a kick in th' balls!"