RGV Clubs and RGVNRG can now offer bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and entertainment venues of every shape and size an unbeatable opportunity get the best value from their advertising dollars.

03/01/2010 – 03/31/2010
Join thousands every Wednesday night in March for ‘The Infinity. @ The Pool’ Spring Break Party at Isla Grand Resort. Celebrity hosted by CT from MTV’s The Real World, poolside spins By DJ Silver from Austin, Texas. Pools & Hot Tubs open all night!

Coca Cola Beach

03/07/2010 – 03/23/2010
The Travel Channel called Coca-Cola Beach on South Padre Island “The largest beach party on the planet.” Rolling Stone said it’s “the place to be during the day.” Spring Breakers from across the U.S. have enjoyed Coca-Cola Beach for the past 15 years.
Located behind the Isla Grand Beach Resort, Coca-Cola Beach is open daily March 7 – 23, 2010 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

offering:
Non-stop action with heart-thumping music fueled by a 50,000 watt sound system, the hottest DJs, contests, giveaways and more
Free entertainment with a chance to win thousands of prizes
Security is a top priority as Coca-Cola partners with South Padre Island Police Department and South Padre CVB to ensure a fun, safe environment.
You can lie on a beach anywhere. But there’s nothing else like Coca-Cola Beach.

Skydive SPI

Everyone is invited!
03/06/2010 – 03/24/2010
Skydive South Padre will be conducting tandem jumps during spring break, everyone is invited so bring your sun screen and party hats. tell all your friends! There will be a boogie held mid month soon to be announced. So shake off the cold and put your feet in the sand, see ya in South Padre.
Contact Info: http://www.skydivespi.com/

Feel The Heat Tour

03/06/2010 – 03/07/2010
Spring Break Jam March 6-7 custom truck and car show.
Contact Info: www.heatwaveinc.com

US Army – Fort Padre

03/06/2010 – 03/24/2010
The U.S. Army will be setting up Fort Padre at the Isla Grand Beach Resort for Spring Break 2010. At their footprint, students will be able to take the Army Challenge on the new and exciting obstacle course which will feature a zip line, paintball gun challenge and many other challenging obstacles. The US Army will also have their ever popular mechanical bull free to students as well as numerous free giveaways for everyone! Be sure to stop by!

Geico Gamer Zone

03/06/2010 – 03/24/2010
Geico is back for another great year at the Isla Grand Beach Resort with a huge tent filled with video games and many other fun, entertaining games to play. Be sure to stop in and pick up your free Gecko inspired give-aways.

Victoria’s Secret

03/16/2010 – 03/18/2010
Victoria’s Secret will be visiting the Isla Grand Beach Resort from March 16-18 giving away bikinis from their 2010 line. Be sure to also check them out at Louie’s Backyard doing 3 Fashion Shows those nights. There will be a Victoria’s Secret prize pack so be sure to visit the VS booth on the Isla Grand walkway to enter the contest (must be in at least a 2009 VS bathing suit).

But instead of wow, I got hmm… that was ok. 

The seating time was right around 35 minutes, which I suppose is acceptable for a busy restaurant in a popular shopping center. I was a little disappointed with the atmosphere of the restaurant, which I’ll admit wasn’t bad, but had the ambiance of an upscale cafeteria.  If they ever open a Luby’s in China, this is what it will look like.

Table service was very good, and the food was delivered pretty damn quickly (under 15 minutes). The dishes (wok seared lamb and sweet and sour pork) were well prepared, and served hot.  Overall, the meal was good.  Not great, but good.

And that’s the rub.  When it comes to food, there are only three things I’ll stand in line for: Bargain prices, buffets, & awesome food. Since P. F. Chang’s is neither a low-price fast food restaurant nor an all-you-can-eat establishment, I was really counting on some awesome food.

P. F. Chang’s isn’t bad, but it’s a little short on awesomeness.

RGV Clubs Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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P. F. Chang’s
3100 E Expressway 83
Mcallen, TX 78501
(956) 664-1516

The seating time was very reasonable, and the table service was good.  The food, however…sigh…

I went with the Grilled Burger Melt, and well, I’m really grasping for a more descriptive word, but mediocre isn’t harsh enough, and disaster is a bit much.  Let’s just say it resembled something I would throw together in the middle of the night.  Drunk.  And I don’t mean that in a good way.

One more thing.  The floor in the dining area will try to kill you.  It seems to be covered with a thin film of grease or cooking oil.  Maybe the janitor just used too much wax, but either way, you’ll want to wear non-slip industrial work shoes to avoid a potential trip to the hospital.  Sure, stiletto heels are sexy, but head injuries?  Not so much.  They might as well just replace it with ice and let the servers skate to your table.  It would be just as dangerous but far more awesome.

Overall, it wasn’t the worst dining experience I’ve suffered through.  I’ll probably give it another shot in the near future, but BJ’s has a lot of making up to do.

RGV Clubs Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

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BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse
3200 Expressway 83
McAllen , TX 78501
956.687.2005
956.683.9153 FAX
Palms Crossing Shopping Center

Instead of taking pictures all night, I opted to use my precious time for drinking beer and smoking cigarettes simultaneously, without the constant pressure of moving and doing stuff that didn’t include beer and cigarettes. That was so much easier.

To be honest, I hadn’t been to the Cypress in years so I halfway expected to get stabbed in the parking lot or at least catch a bullet in the ass on my way out, so I was fucking stunned pleasantly surprised to see that the entire building got a ground up makeover and looks like an upscale lounge now. It was like seeing that old chick who sells newspapers by Target win the lottery and turn into Jessica Simpson.

I also got to meet Josh (Selarom) who is neither black, nor shaped like a square, so I’m more confused than ever by his profile pic.

Anyway, big ups to Drew who has been organizing kick-ass Christmas parties since Jesus was a baby. Good job capturing all three of my chins in that photo phucker. You will pay…

I also think they should serve pie and donuts in nightclubs, so clearly I’m an idiot.

Call it disillusionment with humanity if you like, but it seems every time I leave the house, I come home wishing I’d strangled  at least two or three of the people I’d met that day, with the expectation that it would actually make the world a better place.

Perhaps my expectations are unrealistic. Perhaps I’m setting the bar too high. Maybe I’m just a dick.

But it’s cool, because Saturday night was like a breath of fresh air. The beats were tight, the sound was good, and the people were as laid back as they were diverse. Yeah, that’s my kind of crowd.

While discussing the event with a friend, I believe the question I rhetorically asked was “why can’t the rest of the Valley be like this?”. No inflated egos. No misplaced pride. No wannabe celebrities. Just solid talent and a genuine love for the art.

Props to the Ill-Oddeo crew and everybody who put this thing together. The music scene needs more events like this.

!!!UPDATE!!!ARGGG!!!WTF!!!BBQ!!!

More pics here!