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I love to visit Paradise whenever I spend any time with my friends in Cambridge; it's practically on the MIT campus and is easy to get to on foot, on the subway, or by bus. Paradise is really two clubs in one: the basement is a dance club that's somewhat cramped but has always featured good music when I've been there; above that, on the main floor, is a cruisy (but still fairly classy) pub with go-go boys who are cute, friendly, and accessible. The crowd is almost all men and spread out in age, with the young ones tending to congregate downstairs on the dance floor. A couple of times I've hit on guys here and been told they were "married" -- it's fun to call their bluff and see if they actually are married, which of course is possible in Massachusetts. :)

JR's is a fairly big, fairly friendly, fairly preppy bar (or complex of bars) on Pacific Street in Montrose. The main bar area features big crowds and cute go-go dancers; there are some tables where you can sit and talk to friends as well. Behind that is a billards area (the table is usually in great demand), and there's another large bar (formerly a separate place called Santa Fe) attached to that; this is where karaoke and other special events take place. There's also an outdoor bar and patio when the weather is nice, which is most of the time in Houston. The decor could use some updating, but this is a place where you can meet a lot of cool people... many of whom will end up next door at South Beach come the wee hours of the morning.

South Beach is one of a trio of clubs, owned by one Charles Armstrong, on the 800 block of Pacific Street in Montrose. This one is a shiny, ultra-modern, high-tech dance club, and the perpetual long lines of folks waiting to get in is a testament to its success in giving the people what they want. Inside, South Beach almost seems like a theater in the round, with the crowded dance floor sunk slightly below the bars that surround it; this set-up allows one to easily participate in the fun as a spectator or as a dancer. South Beach has a high cover charge ($15 as of December 2005), but if you arrive between 10 and 10:30 you get in for free -- that's much too early, of course, but if you're on a budget it's a good deal. Laser/fog shows and refreshing water jets are among South Beach's cooler features.