La Raza

While I have not investigated many of Cambridge's late night haunts and bars, I was pretty sure that there was not a chill, loungey bar offering quality cocktails and tasty food, outfitted with comfy couches and walls, painted in deep red and white, sporting hipster-esque paintings that would not be out of place in Giant Robot or modern home stores on 3rd or Beverly in LosAngeles. Meeting some of M*'s classmates at La Raza on Friday night for a birthday celebration proved such an belief to be false.

Painting at La Raza

The selection of cocktails was impressive, and M*'s julep and my (three) caipirinhas were outstanding. Most pubs measure the alcohol that goes into a drink—I think that it's a law. However, M*'s julep, made with Makers Mark, certainly had at last two shots, and I witnessed my glass filled with far more than one shot of cachaça. When the dj went on about 9:30, I was beyond thrilled that the first track he played was one of my favorite house tunes from about six years ago: "Days Like This." Now, the rest of his set, while better than expected, was not particularly memorable—he worked in too many unimaginative standards, including at least two by Michael Jackson.

Atsushi, Johannes, M* and me

The club is downstairs, so there was no outdoor area to go and escape the smoke. But it's less than a month now to 1 July, UK smoking ban in enclosed spaces, so there won't be many more opportunities to wake up to my hair reeking of cigarette smoke. Can't wait.

Pavel, the birthday boy, and M*

M* in motion