Beer, wings, and basketball games are not the first things that come to mind for a girls’ night out – but we decided to expand our horizons when we visited our local Plucker’s. On a Friday night, we anticipated rowdy frat boys & March Madness brackets, but instead we found families and a staff of majority women. We stared in amazement at their sauce wall and took in our surroundings – rowdy, yes, but oh-so-inviting.
Plucker’s is a college town staple after being founded by University of Texas alumnus Mark Greenberg and Dave Paul, who, as the story goes, came up with the idea their freshman year after discovering there were no wing restaurants that would deliver. With trial-and-error, a chili cookoff, and help from friends, they opened the first Plucker’s location shortly after graduation on UT’s West Campus. The rest is history, and they have taken Southern college towns by storm.
For us, a girls’ night out means fun drinks, good food and even better conversation. As we were seated and given our menus, we were immediately drawn to their “D.I.Y (Dirty It Yourself)” drink menu. An entire page for just dirty sodas?! Don’t mind if I do! Caitlyn got herself a “Bless Your Tart”, which is Sprite, peach syrup, strawberry syrup, and a splash of fresh lime, while Leo got a “Pool Boy”, which is Dr. Pepper, peach syrup, and coconut cream… We suggest the “Bless Your Tart.” With drinks out of the way, we went in deep with the hard-hitting questions:
Why are young women put off by sports bars? Why don’t we feel comfortable in “messier” spaces? And should the Bachelorette season have been canceled?
Some of those questions were answered by hostess Carmen Marquez, who admits that even she doesn’t think of Plucker’s as the ideal girls’ night out spot. Even going so far as to classify it as a “male-oriented restaurant”. Despite this, San Marcos’ Plucker’s makes a real effort to involve itself with the Texas State community. From football games to apartment move-ins, Plucker’s is constantly sparing 5 free wings coupons to entice students – students who wouldn’t usually visit. Carmen told us that it’s with those coupons that bring big parties to the restaurant, huge groups of college kids looking for a little bit of a discount and great company.
We talked over our wings and fries, sharing laughter and perspectives on situations hitting our social media timelines. We were able to share our thoughts on just about anything, share opinions and stories without judgment, and I learned about interesting things I had never really thought about deeply before. Overall, it was a perfect time, with even better food and staff. Also, I highly recommend their loaded waffle fries; they’re always absolutely delicious.
As important as it is for men and boys to feel comfortable with femininity, women and girls deserve to feel comfortable in more masculine spaces. Sports, beer, and finger foods are not exclusively male things, but it’s hard to recognize that when you only see men and boys there. It’s hard to be surprised that most women’s first choice for girls’ night doesn’t seem to be Pluckers, but it really could be! The truth is, girlhood really does exist everywhere; it’s all about finding it. I think the beauty of being a woman is that it goes wherever we go, even in a restaurant with a different sport on each of the wide array of TVs all over the restaurant. All that you need is great food and an even better group of girls to prove it.