ADOBO TACO LOUNGE
909 Madison St, 332-0772
Until two or so years ago, the ADOBO TACO LOUNGE was officially called the Terry Tavern, and unofficially (and more frequently) called the Scary Tavern. The Scary Tavern was a gloomy place that catered to the lowest of life, who consumed the hardest of drugs. The bartenders were bitter and aggressive, and treated their wasted customers the way animal trainers treat jungle cats: with a chair and a whip. The Adobo Taco Lounge is a tamer place. The bar has comfortable furniture and attentive, attractive service. The drinks are as good as any other respectable spot's (though I was upset they didn't have, during my visit, Skyy vodka for my martini--they had to use Absolut instead). All that remains of the club's nightmarish past is on the walls above the bar: a number of horrid voodoo or fertility masks that resemble (and might be some form of atonement to) the damned and disfigured drunks of the Scary Tavern. CHARLES MUDEDE