Earlier this month, Paul’s Club–tree and all–moved a few yards up State Street to the former Jack’s Shoes. The  new space is much bigger; it’s still narrow but has more depth and couch space.

Besides the fact that the layout is the mirror opposite of its previous incarnation, with the bar on the left side as you walk in, I couldn’t help but notice how bright it was inside (bring your sunglasses to the bathroom). To me, this disappointing feature gave Paul’s Club less of a bar feel. I can only hope that management comes to its senses and returns the darkness version 1.0 had.

Also lost during the change was the coziness the couch areas previously had. It’s almost as if the seating areas were an afterthought. I think moving the seating areas closer together and adding some decor would be a helpful start.

Still, it’s the people who make the bar, and on a recent weekend night, even with school out for the summer, Paul’s Club was packed. With its prime location across from the Overture Center, it makes for a nice pre- and/or post-show watering hole.

Paul’s Club is open daily. The nearest parking ramp is on the same block; enter on Dayton Street.

Wingstop opened last fall in the spot previously occupied by the poorly managed Palis Mediterranean Cafe on Regent Street. The other Wingstop in Madison, located where Harold’s Chicken Shack is now, closed too quickly for me to ever visit it.

The menu is exactly what you’d expect: wings, boneless wings and chicken tenders. From the nine flavors of sauces, I tried the original hot, hickory smoked BBQ and garlic parmesan with my order of 35 wings ($21.99).

Overall, the wings are meatier than their counterparts at BW3s. The original hot sauce was tasty, even though it wasn’t the least bit spicy, and it went well with the bleu cheese sauce ($0.69). I also enjoyed the garlic parmesan sauce, which was very buttery in flavor.

Most places can’t do a good BBQ sauce, and Wingstop is no exception. This version was just average and definitely didn’t have a “hickory smoked” flavor. Well, for my meal, two out of three ain’t bad.

I was surprised to see Wingstop sell beer, since the ALRC is pretty thrifty about giving permits to restaurants on campus. Here, domestic bottles and 16-oz taps are reasonably priced at $1.50, while imports are $2.

Wingstop is open every day for lunch, dinner and carryout. It’s also open until 2:30 a.m. on Friday and 3 a.m. on Saturday.