Shotzkies

There’s a scene in True Stories where David Byrne explains some Texans’ predilection for metal buildings. Shotzkie’s (and the owner’s other bar, Nox) fall into this category of «cheap Texan metal buildings.»
Byrne explains that within a week, your metal building can be installed, then all that’s left is for the owner to slap a sign above the entrance. Never mind architects, style, and taste, the owner can easily change the warehouse to fit his or her needs. Indeed this was the case on this block.
Oh, they slapped a deck on the front of it, affixed some light fixtures, placed a bar inside along with some tables, and a Texan flag lined in the rafters. But no pretense here. Not much of a disguise. It’s a warehouse. Oh, and in case you forget this, walk into the restrooms. You can easily hear the mediocre music bleeding through the wall from Nox. While you’re there, take note of the cheap paper and stalls.
The drinks, I’m sorry, the shots are inventive and interesting, but the concept is too simple to overlook the cheapness of the building’s construction… or the hike from Washington Avenue. Granted, there is parking in the paid lots surrounding the two businesses, but who would want to walk in their nice heels from Washington or pay an additional $ 10 to re-​park, just to venture to a bar that looks like it belongs in line with buildings that sell feed and aluminum siding? Gross.
The owners must be doing something right, look at all the sad faces waiting to get into Nox. I personally find it humorous that all of those pouty people are waiting in line in their cheap polyester dresses to get into a poorly constructed warehouse well off of Washington just so they can pay $ 200-​$ 300 for a bottle of liquor. I mention all of this because the deck of Shotzkies only has two views: a parking lot with a taco stand and the front of Nox.

I’m not big on shots and I don’t care much for country music, but I had a hell of a time at Shotzkies the other night. Between the awesome Unilocal crew (Nish N., Farrah A. and some choice Unilocalers in attendance), and the most gracious general manager Crystal, I slowly worked my way through the 1,000+ shots menu and picked up some two-​step lessons from Farrah in the process.

In summary, I had a good time while I was at Shotzkies. I liked each of the three shots I had. They were well made and tasty.
There were too many bartenders, so they kept chatting with each other and it was sometimes hard to get their attention, but that will change soon enough once ever ding-​dong on Washington starts coming here.
It is «Whiskey Creek, Jr.» as someone else already pointed out. I’ve always strangly been a fan of the country /​pop /​hip-​hop mix up though. It reminds me of my 8^th grade dance. Anybody remember «Catch Me I’m Falling» theme song from the Jon Cryer film, «Hiding Out»? No, they didn’t play that song, but I do remember it from dancing in the gym at Paul Revere Middle School in 6^th or 7^th grade.
So, Shotzkies, like all these other bars that I like to think I am too smart or hip to enjoy is as fun as you are willing to make it. I had a nice time attempting to boot scoot boogie line dance, which I have never done before. I had a great time trying to decide which shot of 1000 choices to drink. But, if I had just sat there expecting the bar to be fun on it’s own, I would have been sadly mistaken. Which is why we made our own fun.

My buddy just got divorced so I wanted to take him out and about on Washington last weekend. I knew I wanted something higher end than a sports bar and lower end than some dark loud dance club. I am really glad I asked around co-​workers and friends to get a run down on what the bars on Washington are like.
I decided I liked what I heard in the description I got of Shotzkies from a co-​worker of all people. The description I got was what turned out to be true. It is a fun atmosphere with cute bartenders and waitress’. The music is a fun good mix. And yes there are like 1000 shots to choose from.
We had a few shots and bought a few shots for some ladies and my buddy ended up getting some digits. The staff was also friendly and treated us right.
Hey I will admit I am happy my newly divorced buddy had a good time and that in turn made my evening at Shotzkies better for me than possibly somebody else. But I am really liked the layout and concept of the place it seems to fit me well. So what if I need a few shots to loosen up and talk to the girls. That’s just me and that is why I would say I am a fan of Shotzkies.

Shotzkies reminds me of a bar I used to go to my freshman year of college. Unfortunately, I’m not quite a college kid anymore, but it’s definitely fun for nostalgia purposes.
The ridiculous amount of shot concoctions they have is quite a novelty, and surely something the Washington crowd will enjoy. I don’t quite have the tolerance I did when I was younger, but I did try the #69 (some kind of orange flavored shot) and it was mighty tasty! The music ranges from hip-​hop to country and everything in between.
I did get out there and do some Boot Scootin’ but how can you resist a line dance in Texas? You can’t.
The place isn’t super large, but the dance floor is pretty ample compared with most Washington Avenue establishments. The bar staff definitely caters to the male population (don’t forget women like men in skimpy clothes too!), and the close proximity to Nox (same owners) allows for a mix of very random types of people. From the ladies room you could hear the «unce unce» of the techno on the other side of the wall. The patio is nice, not that large but has a few picnic tables for ample seating.
I had a good time here and wouldn’t mind coming back for a two-​step or two. The hard part is finding a guy to lead…

Ended up here on a Friday night when my friends got rejected from Nox. I warned them about that hellhole of douchery, but they were under the impression that because their friends were inside with bottle service, they could get in too. But, that’s another story for another time.
Shotzkies is fun, the crowd is diverse, and plenty of eye candy wanders in and out, and the music is straight up schizophrenic, ranging from hip hop, to country to techno. I didn’t get to experience their ridiculous shot selection, as I was in recovery mode hanging out on the patio out front and sticking with beers all night.
This place gives off a very homey Texas kinda vibe, with the wood everywhere and cowhide barstools. The crowd is your mix of friendly hangin out people, people rejected from Nox, people waiting to go to Nox, and just straight up strange people.
Overall, its not too bad, and the service is great, the bartenders are cute, and the drinks or flowing. What else do you need from a bar?

When my friend Farrah told me there was a new bar in town whose main focus was serving shots, going by the name of Shotski’s, I knew that would be my final destination for my Friday night!
It’s owned by the same people behind Nox, which is right next door, but the two couldn’t be more different. While there is a full bar, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t try just a couple of shots. I think the menu has something like a thousand on there, no joke, with ridiculous and hilarious names that strangely match the ingredients to a tee.
Well, I can’t be so sure of that, because after about four different ones, my memory started to be like this: nfadojdsofnhsakfjnas5927503nslkfsahq;mnvosyu93­wrslnf23475879824-noskkfmsofifsNISHOTSfnafknsafjnf­ksanfafjafnaksffjkdslf misfkdsfkdsflkdsf9iqwnfdsdfmdflksd9394u10777776666­sxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxnjfsfi82nmsfljsmflskjfi.xnvwhie–
… which pretty much was similar to someone shaking my skull vigorously and then my head hitting the bar. Yeah, I think I had fun, and so will you.
P. S. I can’t confirm it for the above reason, but I think at some point there was line dancing going on.

When our party bus rolled up to the front of Shotzkies, we were afraid… very afraid. There we were, dressed up to the nines (with tables reserved at two other clubs), but the birthday celebrant first wanted to stop by country-​bar themed Shotzkies.
We could see from the wide open barn doors that it was DEAD inside, and the cowgirl cocktail waitresses stood by the door coaxing all the fellas to come in before gettin to our table at Nox. So in we went to the barn.
To say we were were overdressed is an understatement, but that’s ok because this bar I believe compliments Nox like Whiskey Creek complimented Escobar. A wide open dance floor and stage welcomes you as you enter, and a few booths line up one wall. Each booth comes with a Spin The Wheel shot choices, similar to Shot Bar.
The menu boasts 1000+ shots, but one shot stood out to our group: THE GREASY MEXICAN. It consisted of Mayonnaise and Tequila. Yeup, that’s right. Mayonnaise. This was one of the many, many shots the guys in our group decided to down that night. And though I didn’t try it myself, I can tell you that by the sour faces they made after, this is something you should NOT even attempt.
The bathrooms of this bar is a big FAIL for us girls. We had about 10 girls in our group, and we filled up that tiny 3-​stall bathroom fairly quickly. I understand they’re going for a country-​barn type of theme, but did the restrooms have to look and smell like it too? The restroom was tiny and dirty. Running a «shot» bar, I would suggest they keep this area large, well-​lit, and clean… because chances are, girls will be running in and out of here to, uhh, you know, up-​chuck that Greasy Mexican or whatever choice of poisons they had during the night.
After you’re done pre-​gaming here, you can head next to Nox via their secret doorway in between, near the women’s restroom. However, I don’t know if we were allowed to use this only because we had a table reserved, or if it’s common practice to slip on in through here. Either way, I’d try it!

Whiskey Creek Jr. with a menu of 1,050 shots. After actually trying a variety of some good unique shots and grabbing a pretty good Hangover Hamburger from the food truck outside, I had to change my mind and give it another star for helping me escape the chaos at Nox.