'Playboy' hot for Mad 4 Mex

The female bartenders may not perform stripteases or lap dances for their customers, but whatever they're doing these days at Mad 4 Mex seems to suit the editors of Playboy magazine just fine. In its November issue, Playboy honored the weekday "Happy Hour" at Mad 4 Mex, the Mexican restaurant in the 3401 Walnut Street complex, as "worth skipping class for." The only other bar to receive the honor was El Arroyo at the University of Texas in Austin. Max 4 Mex's happy hour, which takes place Monday through Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., offers half-price margaritas, beers on tap and 10 cent wings to its customers. The Friday happy hour is typically the most crowded, drawing scores of students, faculty, staff members and Philadelphia residents. Mad 4 Mex owner Juno Yoon, who said the Playboy mention was a huge surprise to him, added that the national recognition could draw a more diversified crowd. "Besides the students, hopefully it'll become more of a regional thing," Yoon said, attributing the publicity to Mad 4 Mex's various specials. This month's issue of the men's magazine includes a two-page spread entitled: "The Campus Buzz: Our Way to Get an A." Colleges and universities are ranked in more than 25 categories, ranging from "Superhot Sex Spot" -- in your absent roommate's bed -- to gambling, the best "Hot Moneymaker." The "Happy Hours Worth Skipping Class For" category is the only one in which Penn was mentioned. According to Playboy Assistant Editor Alison Lundgren, the magazine relied on a "word-of-mouth" system in compiling its lists. She said Playboy had contributors from all over the country -- including many college students and alumni -- and received several hundred suggestions. "It's to be taken with a grain of salt, of course," Lundgren said. "It's not like we're saying, 'Don't go to class.' But if you were to miss a class, this would be worth it." Lundgren said she personally had first heard about Mad 4 Mex from a cousin who attends a nearby college. She noted that this issue was the first -- and possibly only -- time that the magazine had ranked schools using these categories. Regardless, Penn watering holes are no strangers to Playboy rankings. In the September 1997 issue, for instance, Smokey Joe's was ranked among the top 100 college hangouts. While Smoke's may hold the rights to the "Pennstitution" title, the 2-year-old Mad 4 Mex has developed a loyal following of its own, some of whom say the restaurant's regular customers -- coupled with frequent specials and deals -- make it quite possibly the best place to drink around campus. "I can come here and see all sorts of people and, on top of that, my professors too," said College junior Damian Gutierrez, who estimated that he goes to Mad 4 Mex about three times a week. Gutierrez jokingly suggested that the restaurant have a party for all of its loyal patrons. "We're the people who made this happy hour great. I want bunnies in here," Gutierrez said. And College junior Duff Blair, who has worked at Mad 4 Mex as a bartender for two months, suggested that the cheap prices for quality beer made the Max 4 Mex happy hour a "hard deal to beat." "I don't think you can beat the prices. You come in here and get a margarita or two and start your night off," Blair said.