Lucca

Lucca Happy Hour Menu

DRINKS
Bottled Domestic - $2.50
Draft Beer (El Toro Amber Ale, Sudwerk Marzan, Trumer Pilsner) - $3
Bottled Import & House Wells and Wine- $3.50
Assorted Specialty Drinks on the Rocks (Spring Thyme, Cucumber Mojito, Pomegranate Margarita) - $4
Assorted Specialty Shaken Drinks (Blue Goose, Jalapeno Martini, etc) - $4.50


FOOD
$2 - Zucchini Chips, Citrus & Chili Marinated Olives
$2.5 - 1/2 Grilled Artichoke
$3 - Parmesan Fries w/ truffle dip, "sweet bite of the day"
$3.5 - Lucca Chop Salad, Cheese Flat Bread, Steamed Mussels, LDR Beef Meatball w/ Polenta
$4.5 - Spicy Garlic Shrimp
$5 - House Made Ricotta Gnocchi, Lucky Dog Ranch Beef Hamburger

$6 - Grilled Steak Skewers(2)


Location: 1615 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 669-5300

Lucca Hours of Happiness: 3:00PM - 6:00PM (Monday - Friday)
On Thursdays happy hour continues all night!

MY HAPPY HOUR EXPERIENCE:
1st visit (Oct. 2009) - On our first visit, we ordered hummus and flatbread, as well as the smoked almonds and zucchini chips. Lucca's zucchini chips are famous throughout Sacramento and speak for themselves. The flatbread was baked with a topping of shredded mizithra, which was delicious and unexpected. Usually when I order hummus, it comes with wedges of plain pita on the side, which I'm fine with because you top the pita with the hummus... however, Lucca's flatbread was so flavorful, it didn't really even need the hummus. It was also twice as big as we were expecting for $3.

The almonds were flavorful and lighter than the typical Blue Diamond smokehouse flavor, but seemed a bit too oily (the almonds have since been removed from the menu). If we had been more hungry after work, we would have definitely gone with the LDR Burger, which is available for a reduced Happy Hour rate of $5. I've had this burger for lunch, and it is HUGE and delicious. For drinks we ordered the El Toro "Poppy Jasper" Amber Ale and the cucumber mojito. I've never seen the El Toro beer anywhere else in Sacramento, and it was a nice change. It was malty, slightly sweet, and very smooth. The cucumber mojito consisted of your typical muddled mint and lime, but substituted rum with Crop organic cucumber vodka. Sometimes, mojitos can come out syrupy, but in this case, the cucumber added a crisp and refreshing taste which was perfect for an after work cocktail.

2nd visit - We walked in on a Thursday around 6pm and there was absolutely no room at or around the bar! Needless to say, we moved on and vowed to come earlier next time.

3rd visit (May 2011)- Arrived by 5 this time, and the place was not too busy. My friend and I decided to sit at a table near the bar to mix it up and began ordering. We quickly ordered the zucchini chips as something to snack on right away while we looked over the menu, which looked slightly different. On average, it seemed as if everything in the $2-$4 range increased in price by $1. Although the prices had increased somewhat, the selection was still superb. While snacking on the zucchini chips which came out in about 3 minutes, we decided to go with the Steamed Mussels and the Meatballs with polenta.
For drinks, we were intrigued by the Spring Thyme, a cocktail consisting of vodka, muddled blueberries, thyme, and shaken with lime juice. We also had to get another El toro. The drinks came out relatively fast, but the food was a different story. Although the place was beginning to pick up, we felt the wait time was a bit long. Although there were plenty of servers, it looked like they were too busy preparing for the upcoming dinner rush. When the food did arrive, we dug in and were quite impressed, possibly warranting the somewhat long wait. The Mussels were steamed perfectly and the broth was exceptional. It would have been nice if there was a piece of bread to soak up the delicious broth, but for $3.50, its a great deal. As for the meatballs, we were suprised to just see one huge meatball instead of a few small meatballs, but we found it fun cutting into the behemoth and sharing amongst each other. The polenta and marinara sauce was buttery and cheesy as all good polentas should be. Eaten seperately, the meatball seemed a bit bland, but the yummy polenta quickly covered this small issue.


RECOMMENDATION:
Lucca is definitely a spot to check out for happy hour. The drink and food selections are plentiful and the food prices ranging from $2 - $6 dollars is practically a steal! The plates are big enough to share with two people with big appetites and the variety really can't be beat. The place can get quite busy so if you're planning on going to Lucca, make sure you get there early, especially if you're going with a big group. If you're planning on drinking beer, I suggest going with the ones on tap as they are an unusual change from the norm. It seems that a lot of effort has gone into designing the specialty drinks, which have quite an exotic flare. The happy hour pricing allows for one to be a bit more adventurous. All in all, Lucca should definitely be on your radar when the hours of happiness is upon you!