Nightlife in Hastings

Since 1986, Champps Americana's kitchen has sizzled with burgers and classic American dishes, satiating sports fans and families with a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. Amid the sunlit dining room, diners at wooden tabletops have views of 25 TVs broadcasting sports games, competing with a cluster of arcade games for eyes' attention. Chefs cater to taste buds by plumping up pastas with chicken, shrimp, and vegetables and piling rolls with beef patties, barbecued pulled pork, and spicy buffalo chicken. Behind the bar, bartenders whip up specialty cocktails and margaritas and fill goblets with an expansive selection of draft beers and wine. The bar and grill draws guests with regular specials and events throughout the week, including daily happy hours, Thursday-night trivia, and Sunday brunch. Every Tuesday, the restaurant serves up free meals to children, as a magician saunters table to table, entertaining kids with tricks and balloon art, crafting replacement siblings on request.

Standup comedy showcase. Comedians are professionals from all over the country. Some have appeared on your favorite sitcoms and talk shows!

Sixty-four tables populate Shooters' 22,000-square-foot billiardland. Some are Valley and Diamond coin-operated tables, and others are Brunswick Gold Crown tables designed for professional play, with flawless felt and wood that welcomes elbows like the moon welcomes a handsome astronaut. Observe the physics of a well-played bank shot from the ample seating surrounding each table. Shooters' rates are hourly and depend on the number of people at a table. Before 7 p.m., one to four players play for $3.75 an hour per person; after 7 p.m., hourly rates are $5.25 for one player, $4.75 for two players, $4.25 for three players, and $3.75 for four players. On weekends after 8 p.m., rates rise an additional $0.25 per hour.

At McHugh's Public House, eight taps pour down the sides of mugs, which bartenders twist back to leave a light crown of froth as plates of pub fare emerge from the kitchen. Potato chips plunge into cheese dip with chunks of corned beef and cabbage alongside plates of Minnesota-caught walleye. Guests set their glasses on the gleaming bar, leaving cool rings of condensation beneath flat-screen televisions and vintage Guinness signs. Outside, sun filters down past the green umbrellas, which line the patio like swaying palms that won’t throw coconuts to impress their friends.

Lone Spur’s menu offers a massive selection of tasty eats known to spark spontaneous “Yeehaws” and unprintable Deadwood quotes from dining city slickers. Master cooks harness a slow-cooking heat to ensure that each brisket emerges from the pit 14 hours later in a delicious smoky cloud that won't try to kill you like the monster from your favorite island program. After a lunch of sandwiches and ol’ Mexico bites such as the buffalo burger ($9.50), brisket melt ($7.95), and lunch taco burrito ($7.75), you can ride back through town for some dinner barbecue (any two meats, $12.95; any three meats, $15.95), which includes Texas toast; a choice of cole slaw, potato salad, or soup; and a choice of seasoned steak fries, ranch house beans, cornbread, or baked potato with your beef, pork, or poultry order. If you still miss the danger of high noon shoot-outs, Lone Spur offers a chili so hot it requires a signed release before consumption. And if you can't take the heat, try the smoked sautéed pork barbecue ($11.45, Texas size $13.95) or three pounds of turkey leg ($12.95) instead. For dessert, dive into a hot fudge brownie stampede ($4.99) or Texas saucy banana ($4.99), just like real cowboys did before they settled in for a night of pillow fights and painting each other's nails.

Harry's Food and Cocktails recently coronated Ryan Stechschulte as its new chef after he proved the only applicant capable of pulling the chef's knife from its enchanted cutlery block (in accordance with the prophecy). Ryan's updated menu features an eclectic selection of steaks, chops, seafood, burgers, and more. Start with an order of poutine (house-cut french fries topped with cheese curds, pickles, and onion gravy, $9.95) or opt for a more continental beginning with an order of mussels sautéed in white wine ($10.95) or grilled asparagus ($8.95) drizzled with truffle oil, crowned with parmesan, and served with a soft-boiled egg. Lunchtimers can savor the gooey barbecue pork, pepper-jack cheese, and jalapeño-relish-covered cowboy burger ($14.95) made from Angus chuck or impress the Bavarian polka virtuoso of their dreams by ordering a liverwurst sandwich ($9.95). The beef stroganoff with roasted mushrooms and crème fraîche ($15.95) and the seared duck breast ($22.95) with potato dumplings and wilted greens will quell carnivorous cravings, and aquaphiles will find much to love in the red snapper with grits and sweet-pepper sausage ($17.95). Finally, impress your date with a dignified dessert by alternately slamming your face into a toasted fluffer-nutter sandwich, with house-made marshmallow and redskin peanut butter topped with malted vanilla ice cream ($6.95), and a caramelized banana split, with vanilla ice cream, salted caramel, and Chantilly cream ($7.95).