#1 Going Out with Me!
Announcing my new interview series by interviewing myself first
Going Out With Claire
Recently I decided to expand my Going-Out horizons by reaching out to my fellow Going Out-ers and declaring: Enough about me, why do you go out?! Over the next few weeks and months (and hopefully for a while), I’ll be periodically dropping interviews with all sorts of people (chillers, DJs, dancers, introverts, nightlife workers, college students, maybe even parents, probably some oldheads and some ‘seniors’ if we’re lucky, AND more) covering a few basic questions about going out.1
All being said, I couldn’t decide who to interview first, so I figured it only made sense to start with myself. Not only is this a far quicker way to understand the inner workings of my mind, but also a failsafe, Get-Out-Of-Jail Free Card opportunity for any newer readers who don’t know that much about me, think I might be a lunatic (I might be), and don’t want to dig through the eons of shrill think-pieces backpiled in my newsletter archive. Then again, if you’re nosy, go right ahead…
Anyways, interviewing myself was surprisingly really easy! I learned a lot—I’m very interesting, easy to get along with, and did I mention beautiful? (in a Monet sort of way). Learn more below!
What is going out?
Going out is leaving your house. Unless you’re hosting a house party or dinner party or other social gathering, then going out in that case is staying in, which is what I call a double whammy, a double entendre, double the fun.
Going out is immersing yourself in others.
Where do you go? Are you a regular anywhere?
There are two kinds of places where I like to go out. First, I like to go where I can dance and where the music will be good, which is just any music I want to dance to. For the past year and a half, that’s been Thursdays at Gabriela in Williamsburg. This year they’ll mark their 2-year-anniversary, which is crazy because Gabriela should be the type of place that’s been around for a while. I’m a regular (and a member, ha), but my time spent there fluctuates. I certainly don’t go every week (girl, I’m tired), but I try to at least go once a month or sometimes accidently 2 weeks in a row. Pre-Gabriela era, I’d say Mansions in Ridgewood, or Barbès in Park Slope for dancing to world music/live bands.
The other kind of place I like to go out to is a dive bar where ideally I can sit in a booth. A booth is special and cozy; I do not like stools unless I’m sitting at the bar. The crazier the dive bar decor, the better.
My favorite bars in New York: Big Bar (East Village), A Bar (Greenpoint), Jimbo Slims (Greenpoint), Barbès (Park Slope), Clandestino (Chinatown), Windjammer (Ridgewood).
My favorite bars in Chicago: Sidekicks (Irving Park), Rainbo Club (Wicker Park), Green Mill (Uptown), The Whistler (Logan Square), Louie’s Pub (Wicker Park), Weegee’s Lounge (Logan Square), Will’s Northwoods Inn (Lakeview), Sportsman’s (Ukrainian Village). I’m probably forgetting somewhere special. Also, Danny’s Tavern and Happy Village, Rest in Peace.
Why do you go out?
I go out because I want to. Or rather because someone has peer pressured me into going out (as you can see, I didn’t learn many life lessons past fifth grade).
I go out because being around people brings me energy. I do value spending time by myself but when I’m home consistently, I feel like I have a lot of pent up energy. When I go out and do something social, with friends or solo, I get to expel that energy. It reminds me there’s a world out there that doesn’t revolve around my anxious thoughts; it’s larger than myself and that can feel really exciting and refreshing.
I go out when I don’t want to be home.
When is the best time to go out? When do you come home?
The best time to go out is when I want to, and when you want to, and when that guy over there wants to, and so on. But if I had to choose a day, it’d be Thursday. Thursdays are often a bit looser, a bit more jittery than Fridays and Saturdays, and the bars aren’t as packed as early. You can soft launch the weekend with happy hours, gallery openings, and if you choose end the night on the earlier side. Or you can hard launch the weekend and stay out late. Then if your Friday ends up being a bit off kilter (you’re hungover or you just woke up late), at least you still have Saturday and Sunday to recover. A friend once said to me, Never waste a free day hungover. She makes a fair point.
If it’s gonna be a late night, I usually head home by 2-2:30am. I’ll only stay out all night or until sunrise, like, every two years. Substances don’t really work on me like that. I also can’t drink consistently for that long. Those kind of nights are either really special or totally idiotic, sometimes both.
How do you go out? Do you have routines, rituals, remedies; favorite songs, forms of transportation, outfits; what’s in your bag, how do you leave your room, pets, household?
Wow, Claire, great question! Boy do I. If I have room for it, I’ll pack my bag like I’m going on a trip: wallet, cash, AirPods, camera, Advil, mints, lip products, loose toilet paper, flask and/or water bottle, extra contact lenses, sometimes my newsletters, even sometimes candy. I love candy.
Routine-wise, I try to eat a full well-balanced dinner on the earlier side, like 6pm, so I have time to digest, but ideally no later than 8pm, otherwise that gets into indigestion territory. There was a period of time in college where I was constantly having indigestion, often right before I was supposed to go out. I’d be pacing in my apartment with my coat on, belching the air out of my stomach with every step. It was horrible. It could really ruin a night—feeling bloated, sluggish, uncomfortable in my outfit, literally belching at a bar like somebody’s uncle after Christmas dinner. A recipe for a going-out disaster. So I definitely have routines. I try to eat food that isn’t going to give me weird breath or unusual aftertastes, but if I do, it has to be early or paced well— no rushing a meal!
If it feels like it’s going to be a long night, I usually avoid pregaming when getting ready because it justs speed up my tolerance—I’ll be more tispy from one glass of wine while doing my makeup than after I actually leave my apartment. I’d rather bring a drink on-the-go or bring something in my purse for my destination. But if I’m having friends over to pregame, I like a martini or wine or a fernet/amaro-based spritz (now that’s what I call good digestion!).
My go-to outfit: mini skirt and a top. Usually black. Sometimes I’ll do a pants/top combo but I find it hard to feel hot in jeans, unless they’re tight and I’m bowling.
In the colder months it’s a game of managing adequate layers where I’m not sweating indoors or while walking but I’m not freezing either. I can’t wear Uniqulo HeatTech anymore because it just makes me overheat. Also, the coat becomes the main outfit until you take it off, so that’s a whole thing?
My remedies: ice cold glass of water per drink, LiquidIV before or after going out (sometimes both), SaltStick electrolyte caps (not sure if this is actually good for you but I think it does cuz it helps my migraines), Gatorade the day after. Not all of this at the same time, it just depends on the day. Sometimes electrolytes don’t agree with my stomach. The other night I lost my voice and got home at 2am so I drank some leftover hot udon soup broth. It just depends.
Last thoughts?
Doing nothing is beautiful too. You can do nothing anywhere.
Claire Bentley is a writer, artist, hostess-with-the-mostess, and total sucker for hanging out. She likes 1980s pop culture, steak tartare, staring into crowded rooms, and vintage bar decor. When she’s not writing a newsletter, you can find her sitting outside her apartment with a cup of coffee, heckling the neighbors, or planning the next over-the-top event (some ideas: fairy wedding, medieval-themed dinner party, Scandinavian cheese tasting, fraternity toga kegger). Claire is based in Brooklyn, New York, but is always from Chicago.
Think you have what it takes to talk about your going out habits? Feel free to nominate yourself or someone else and message me (though I may not answer).
Is that the ghost of Mars Bar