Bowling's so chic at Levee's new lanes

The lounge and bowling area at Star Lanes on Newport on the Levee. (Credit: Joseph Fuqua II | Metromix)

Remember when bowling meant pulling on some nasty shoes, drinking flat beer from plastic cups and eating a tray of nachos with a cup of mystery cheese sauce?

Keep that in mind when you check out Star Lanes, the swanky new bowling alley opening Friday, April 23, at Newport on the Levee.

Otherwise, you'll take for granted the cushy couches lining the lanes. You'll eat a flat iron steak sandwich while waiting for your turn like it's nothing. You'll sip a martini before bowling a gutter ball and forget that it wasn't always this way.

Star Lanes and partner restaurant Toro are the two latest additions to the ever-changing Levee, and they're bringing a duo of fun never before seen at the complex: bowling and a mechanical bull. Yup: Cadillac Ranch now has competition.

We got an early look at the 24,640 square feet of space last week as construction wrapped up and some 90 employees - including (woo!) two Ben-Gals - went through orientation. Sales manager Bridget Bain-Grasse walked us through both places.

Let's start with Toro. We arrived just as a guy from Oklahoma unloaded the mechanical bull from the back of his pickup truck. That bull will be smack in the middle of the room at Toro, a bar/restaurant with high-top tables, a menu of sandwiches, pizza and barbecue finger food, and a DJ spinning music for the kids.

"It will have more of a nightclub feel," Bain-Grasse said.

Next door is the bowling alley, though we hesitate to call it that. Star Lanes is managed by Lucky Strike Entertainment, which has opened 19 such bowling lounges across the country. It has 12 public lanes - an additional four can be found in the fancy-pants private party room - and a huge bar where, at a traditional bowling alley, you would expect to find the snack food counter and some soggy fries.

Big projection screens sit above the pins - there are also 30 flat-screen TVs scattered throughout - and everything is bathed in red light. Without the sounds of pins falling, it's easy to forget this is more than a big, beautiful bar. But then we see the boxes of bowling shoes - new, for now. Even with the tasty menu, fancy drinks and mood lighting, some things never change.

You're still going to have to wear the shoes.

If you go

What: Star Lanes and Toro

When: 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday

Where: Newport on the Levee

Prices: $4.95 per game 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; $5.95 per game 6 p.m.-close Sunday-Thursday; $39.95 per lane/per hour 6 p.m.-close Friday-Saturday. $2.95 shoe rental. $10 per hour billiards, $12 per hour after 6 p.m. $3.50-$21 food.

Information: www.starlaneslevee.com; www.newportonthelevee.com