If you’ve been to college, you understand what it’s like.

If you haven’t been to college, watch the movie “Animal House.” That’s EXACTLY what college life is like.

Well, it’s the college life we dream of, and the students who attend college in the Fullerton area try their best to emulate the Deltas of “Animal House.”

Click here for a photo slideshow of the Matador Cantina’s College Night.

When they’re not running through the streets in their underwear (actually that’s Chapman University in Orange), they’re playing beer pong and hanging out in downtown Fullerton on Thursday nights.

Seriously, Thursday night in downtown Fullerton is like a weekly spring break, only without the beach.

Students line up outside almost every eating and drinking establishment in the area, and one of their favorite haunts is the Matador Cantina.

The Mexican restaurant, on the former site of Rockin’ Taco Cantina, offers fine cuisine, a solid happy hour and 50 different kinds of tequila, from the basic drink you find everywhere to top-shelf tequila that costs $25 a shot (Gran Patron).

Actually, Thursdays start out pretty normal at the Matador, with a mix of dinner patrons and happy hour revelers.

As the dinner hour nears an end, some tables and bar stools are removed, and the Matador becomes a nightlife destination, where the future stands six deep at the bar.

By the way, in addition to the discounts during the regular happy hour (2-7 p.m., Monday-Friday), there is a $5 late-night menu from 10 p.m. to midnight.

By Barry Koltnow, the Orange County Register.

Contact the writer: 714-796-5051, ext. 1110, or bkoltnow@ocregister.com

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