Nightlife in Council Bluffs

Side Pockets is the perfect place for those who can only digest food while watching sports on the tube. The growing franchise boasts 16,000 square feet of space with multiple big-screen TVs, darts, tri-weekly poker, and a menu that's full of finger food for fingers stained blue with pool-cue chalk. Tiptoe these "hand-cues" to the toasty corners of toasted ravioli (stuffed with spicy beef, $6.99) or to the edge of a half-pound mushroom Swiss burger ($7.99). A hearty Reuben ($7.99) will improve your ability to second-guess the referees on the TVs, as will a chicken Caesar wrap ($8.29) or country-fried steak (with home-style mash, $9.29). And from Side Pockets' taps flow standards such as Miller Lite, Bud Light, and Boulevard Wheat, though you can also pop open a bottle of Blue Moon and many other domestic and imported beers.

You're probably thinking, "That sounds great, but I've never bought a car or a computer without first reading the Wikipedia definitions for car and computer—I'm not about to buy a Groupon either without a briefing." Well neither would we, and since this is everyone's first Groupon, allow us to briefly explain how it works.

The owners of Brewsky’s Food & Spirits know that the best way to get friends and family together is to create a vibrant space filled with live music, all the best sporting events on TV, frosty brews, and a menu of comfort foods. While taking pride in being the spot to gather for Huskers games, as well as all other major sporting events, the owners also take immense satisfaction in serving a selection of juicy steaks, flame-broiled burgers, and wings that their chef concocted exclusively for the restaurant. The team also entertains patrons with trivia nights and shows such as dueling pianos or quarreling xylophones at the Haymarket location.

Elite Lounge offers a snazzy dress-to-impress abode where partyheads sample New York club life without being held up by a cab driver on the way to the Big Apple of Liberty. Featuring a bar slinging a variety of specialty shots, a shimmy-baiting dance floor, and a kitchen whipping up tasty bites from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Elite Lounge soothes ear tongues and taste buds alike. Munch on tasty fare such as crispy hot barbecue wings ($5.99), fried shrimp ($5.50), and jalapeño poppers ($5.99) during Wednesday’s Salsa night, Monday’s Karaoke night, or the nightly nighttime beer-drinking night. Additionally, happy-hour specials ($5 martinis, $2 domestic beers, and $2 well drinks) are offered every day from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. This Groupon is valid with all nightly specials.

Traditions, formerly known as Indigo Joe's, maintains a devotion to large frosty brews, colossal dishes, and the art of displaying gentlemanly brutes on multiple screens. Their 49 high-definition TVs show all the popular sports, and Traditions provides a radio at every table in case you need to hear your event's play-by-play or Coach Roosevelt's halftime fireside chats. The comfortable cushioned chairs pamper posteriors during marathon clashes, and there’s a bulked-up bar-food menu. Hulking specimens may wish to try the onion rings with barbecue sauce ($7) or the juicy bacon cheeseburger ($9), which comes in a half-pound slab of certified Angus beef. Wash it down with the monolithic 34-ounce beer, served from an extensive bar that features 20 beers to wet all frequencies of whistle.

Clancy’s Pub mollycoddles mouths with delicious dishes from a mouthwatering menu stocked full of chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas. Start with an order of chicken wings available in five levels of spiciness ($7.99 for 10) or opt for a basket of breaded cauliflower served with a tall cup of creamy cheese sauce ($5.99) . Entrees include a bountiful selection of hearty handheld burgers ($7.49+), pizzas ($4.50+ for a 6" individual pizza), and specialty sandwiches. Try the jumbo-tenderloin sandwich, with a deep-fried pork loin slumbering in a bun bed ($7.99), or Clancy’s classic corned-beef sandwich, sure to evoke memories of long days in the kiting fields of Kilkenny ($6.99).