2 AM: Club life with Meme Hsu

Reading e-mail is one of the best parts of the day for me. I love hearing about people's clubbing experiences and getting questions like: "What is the best way to get into places?" and "What is the cover charge at (name a club)?" However, the best e-mails are from people who want to send me some feedback on 2 AM. Last Friday, I received an e-mail from San Diego, from a guy named Tim Huynh.

He wrote, "You seem like a `Sex in the City' kinda girl...fun, stylish, smart and witty. That shows in your articles, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your exploits in the Vegas nightlife. A good four hours at work well spent on this endeavor, I thought." That put me in a terribly good mood, which caused me to stop focusing at work completely, convincing my office girlfriend Lisa to do the electric slide with me in the hallway and showing my yoga moves off in the office to my co-worker Sarah. (The boss was out Friday.)

Huynh wanted to tell me about his fiancée, Christy Blackerby, and their planned excursion to Las Vegas for Memorial Day weekend. They are planning to hit Ra on Fri., May 28, as Naked L.A. presents "The Love Festival"; Ice on Sat., May 29, with Armin Van Buuren presented by Godskitchen; and Rain on Sun., May 30, for "Rubber, Summer of Love" presented by John Huntington. (Ra, 262-4949; Ice, 699-5528; Rain in the Desert, 938-9999)

Personally, I think those are great Memorial Day plans for anyone. Perhaps we should stalk them all weekend and buy them drinks.

I'll have a $25 beer, please

My friend Ducky is always telling me about Freakin' Frog Beer and Wine Café, 4700 S. Maryland Parkway. I always tell him I will visit but never do. Finally, after a nice guilt trip, I did decide to visit. To my surprise, I was there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Freakin' Frog is a great privately owned bar across the street from UNLV and perpendicular from Moose's Beach House. Holding the title of largest beer list in Nevada, Freakin' Frog is home to more that 311 imported and domestic beers and 70 wines. They are hoping to expand their beer selection to 500.

The most expensive beer available is the Stone Epic 02, which is $175 a bottle. However, don't let this deter you from visiting. The cheapest beer is $1 a glass. The most expensive bottle of wine is $75 a bottle. Most unique beers are the Trappist Ales from Belgium, which range from $5.50-$25 a bottle.

The hardest Trappist Ale to obtain is from the Abbaye de Saint Sixtus Westvleteren. Once a month, the abbey where monks brew the beer opens to a long line of beer lovers. Guests have to stand in line for hours to receive one bottle to many cases of this famous beer. Luckily, I didn't have to stand in line...instead I just ordered it off the extremely long beer menu. One fun and unique thing about ordering beer and wine are the glasses. The wine glasses say, "Enjoy your freakin' wine," and the beer glasses generally have the same logo as the beer you are drinking.

I asked the owner, Adam Carmer, why he opened this bar. He said, "I wanted to open a place without slot machines that was more of an old-school bar where people can play games and make friends. We attract a mellow, happy, educated, friendly and loyal clientele."

In addition to the great beer and wine selection, guests can enjoy watching movies on the 12x11-foot movie screen, learn more about beer and wine at one of the Sunday classes or eat some amazing food. I asked one the of Freakin' Frogs regulars, Zack Fahey, what his favorite food was. "They have the best steak I've ever had in my life," he said. "I bring everyone I know to try it and no one has been disappointed."

Personally, I like the fried stuffed olives, which are green olives stuffed with cheese and have a Parmesan herb crust. They are deep-fried and taste amazing. Freakin' Frog is open at 11 a.m. and closes when the freakin' fun is done, Mon.-Sat. Sundays are reserved for private parties, tournaments and beer and wine classes. (Freakin' Frog, 597-9702, freakinfrog.com)

Other Memorial Day options

Bikinis at the Rio and Girls Gone Wild are presenting "Memorial Weekend Beach Bash," on Fri., May 28, and Sat., May 29. There will be a $500 amateur bikini contest each night. (Bikinis, 777-6582)

On Sat., May 29, guests are asked to visit The Beach, 365 Convention Center Drive, for "Laughs at the Beach," a free comedy show starting at 8 p.m. The nightclub starts immediately afterward. On Sun., May 30, there will be a wet T-shirt contest. There will be an $800 cash giveaway. On Sunday, women drink free from 9-11 p.m. (The Beach, 731-1925)