The Happiest Hour

Since I’ve been on Spring Break this week, I’ve been able to indulge in some social activities like HAPPY HOUR. And let me tell you, since I’ve been off the radar, some very fantastic new opportunities for after work socializing have come up.

Last night, I went to one of my company’s local haunts, Troiani, with some of my co-workers. Since this is my boss’s favorite restaurant and it's a block down the street from my building, we tend to go here a lot for birthday lunches, holiday dinners, and after-work drinks. And until recently, we were usually the only people in the mostly empty restaurant or bar.

Boy, have things changed.

Troiani has now extended happy hour to closing time, and the happy hour crowd can spill over to the dining area when the bar gets packed. Not only did we not have to rush down there by 4:30pm to get a seat at the bar, we could take our time ordering delectable appetizers and delicious cocktails… because it’s happy hour all night, my friends!

Talk about a genius marketing tactic in a tough economy. The entire restaurant and bar were completely packed. I get extremely sick of practically running down the street after work to try and get a seat at a bar for happy hour, and then only being able to order one round before the cheap prices expire. So basically, this is a dream come true for me.

In addition, I also recently read an article in The Stranger that outlined several Seattle happy hours with complimentary food. No gimmicks, just free. These include:

• Morton’s Steakhouse: Free mini steak sandwiches, even if you just order water, from 5 to 6:30pm M-F. Drink specials start at $4.
• The lounge at Il Fornaio: Free snacks like pizza, chicken wings and bruschetta from 4:30 to 6:30pm M-F with no drink minimum. Draft beer is $3, wine $4.
• Oliver’s Lounge in the Mayflower Park Hotel: Free foods like spinach dip, pita and potstickers as long as you purchase something (drinks are a little pricier, $9.75 martinis, but you can always order a soda). 4:30 to 6:30pm daily.
• Bernard’s in the basement of the Hotel Seattle: No-cost snacks like taquitos and mozzarella sticks as long as you order a drink – strong wells start at $2. 4:30 to 7pm M-F.

The greatest part of all? I can walk to every single one of these places from my office! My guess is that the food might not be all that amazing, but hey, free is free, right?

Give me a call so we can go check it out!