The Village Country Club
If you are not familiar with the massive combination of apartment and townhome complexes owned by Lincoln Properties under the combined name of "The Village," you should be. The Village is located on either side of Southwestern just off Greenville Avenue in Dallas and offers a wide array of services to the residents there. However, what is important to know is that many of these services are open to others. One of these is the bar & restaurant at The Village Country Club. To get into the fitness facility, you will need a Village ID Card, but not to go into the restaurant, which thankfully is closer to a casual sports bar than what comes to mind when someone says the words, "Country Club Restaurant." It is complete with outside dining and a bar at the pool, which is quite the place to be on a summer weekend. Occasionally, events such as pool parties will have cover charges of usually $5-$10 for non-residents, but I think you will see that it is worth it when you hear about the drink specials.
Let's go day-by-day through a typical week at The Village. The VCC, as the club is affectionately known, is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we'll jump to Wednesday. Wednesday night is Movie Night at the VCC. The Movie starts on the screens in the restaurant and bar at 8:00 PM, and there is no cover charge. If you get there earlier, Happy Hour on Wednesdays is from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. I'll pause here and define "Happy Hour" at the VCC. This simply means that you will receive $1 off a mixed rink $0.50 off beer, and $0.75 off wine. From 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, the Wednesday night food special is burgers. They offer a hamburger, cheeseburger (your choice of swiss, american, cheddar/jack, or provolone), or a Mushroom Swiss Burger. They are normally $5.99 to $7.29 and $1 for french fries, but on Wednesday night they are all $4.95. For August, the movies are Fast & Furious on 8/5, I Love You Man on 8/12, Obsessed on 8/19, and Duplicity on 8/26. One Wednesday night each month (August 12 this month), the Village Book Club meets at 6:00 PM in the restaurant. This is once again open to all village residents and friends (hello friends). This month they will be discussing "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky. If you want to start reading for next month, they will be meeting on September 9th to discuss "Still River" by Harry Hunsicker, and Mr. Hunsicker will be present for that meeting.
On Thursday nights, Happy Hour runs all night, and from 5 PM to 10 PM, Fajitas (chicken, beef, or combo) are $6.99, which is $4 off the regular price. Also, one Thursday each month is BINGO Night (August 20 this month). Even if you're not thiking BINGO sounds like the best way to spend your night, come out for some drinks and fajitas and play along. There are eight games, and the cards are absolutely free to both residents and guests (you can all be my guests) with prizes normally consisting of gift cards to area restaurants and shops. The final game is for $100 off your rent, so that only helps out residents, but feel free to win that and turn it over to me.
Fridays usually have Happy Hour from 5PM to 7PM and then what I like to call Happier Hour from 9PM to 11PM. During this time, wells, wines, and drafts are $1.50 each. The food special on Friday nights from 5-10 is Chicken Fried Steak for $6.99. During August, the pool is still going strong, so there is also a Poolside Happy Hour from 2PM to 7PM with the outdoor bar open, a live DJ, $4 appetizers, and draft beer for either $2 or $2.25 depending on the week (don't ask me why).
On Saturdays, the restaurant offers $4.95 Burgers and Salads from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM and a $14.95 Steak Special from 5PM to 10PM. For drinks, Happy Hour runs from 5PM to 7PM, and the Happier Hour with $1.50 well, wine, and drafts is from 9PM to 11PM. During the summer, Saturday is also the day for the VCC Pool Party starting at 11 AM with a live DJ poolside, water volleyball, and a beach-style party. On August 29th, there will also be an outdoor movie, although they have yet to publicize what the movie will be.
On Sundays, the VCC Restaurant serves an inexpensive Sunday Bruch in the morning and early afternoon and then has a $4.95 dinner buffet from 6PM to 9PM. There is also often a live jazz band inside with a cover charge for all. During the summer, there is also Relapse Sunday at The VCC Pool starting at noon with a live DJ poolside, and $2 Bloody Mary's & Screwdrivers from Noon to 1:30 PM.
Once a year, 1310 AM The Ticket holds The Ticket Fight Night at The VCC sponsored by Corona. For this event, basically anyone who has a grudge can register with The Ticket to "fight it out" in the ring. The Ticket Hardline starts at 3 PM, and the live fights start at 5 PM. This year's Fight Night is Thursday, August 27th. You can listen to 1310 The Ticket to get more details. I will warn you that this event brings in way more people than the poor parking lot at The VCC can hold, so they run a free shuttle from Dallas Children's Theatre from 5PM to 10 PM.