Thursday, July 16, 2009

Hot Italian

Hot Italian Happy Hour Menu
No Dedicated Happy Hour Menu
DRINKS
$5 – Peroni draft
$4.50 - Racer 5 IPA draft
$5-$10 - Assortment of wines
$8 - Prosecco cocktails
FOOD
$3 cup or cone of Gellato or Sorbetto
$4 Gellato or Sorbetto sandwich
$10-$15 pizzas
Location: 16th and Q Street
(916) 444-3000



MY HAPPY HOUR EXPERIENCE:
I usually head to places after work with dedicated happy hours...however, in this case I was intrigued by the hype and amount of time this building took to complete, so I decided to create my own hour of happiness. We started with a cantaloupe sorbet ($3) and the Pinot Gris, Napoma ($5) along with a racer 5 ($4.50). The glasses were unusually plain, and it felt like the beer was a bit undersized. The crisp and tart pinot gris complemented the sorbet nicely.

We then moved onto slender glasses of prosecco($7)...Not really my normal happy hour choice, but then again Hot Italian is far from the norm and I felt inclined to try a little bit of everything. I think the best deal would be to order a carafe of Racer 5 IPA for $12. This would work out to around $3 per glass, which is on par with happy hour prices.


RECOMMENDATION:
There are so many things going on at Hot Italian (pizza, gelato, coffee, beer, wine, scooters, motorcycles, clothing), but somehow it all works. I was blown away by the architecture and style of the place (check out the crazy ceiling fan).
Definitely another one of those places that makes you forget you're in Sacramento. The cafeteria style seating takes getting used to, but after a drink or two, you don't even notice. The intimate outdoor seating is an ideal place to meet up with friends for a makeshift happy hour.






Sorry to stray from the usual happy hour format, but I felt that this place deserved a post!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Celestin's Island Eats



Celestin's Happy Hour Menu

DRINKS
$2 Bud Light Draft
$2.50 Red Stripe Bottles
$2.75 Sierra Nevada Drafts
$3.00 8 o.z. Sangria and Margaritas
$3.50 House Red and White Wines

FOOD
$2 – Chicken Gumbo (cup), 1/2 order of sweet potato fries
$3 - Croquettes, Cajun Flatbread, Jerk Beef Empanadas, Ham panini on garlic toast

Location: 1815 K Street
444-2423

Celestin's Hours of Happiness: 4:00-7:00 PM (Tuesday-Friday)
Late Night Happy Hour on Friday and Saturday (9:00-10:00 PM)
5:00-9:30 PM on Sunday


MY HAPPY HOUR EXPERIENCE:
I went to Celestin's after work on a Friday and the place was packed! The three of us found an opening at the corner of the bar. We tightly squeezed in between the bar and the bar tables, clogging up the walking space. Once we got situated we ordered.

Hmmm....$2 for a Bud Light and fifty cents more for a Red Stripe - we decided to break the bank and continue with the Jamaican theme.
We also ordered some sweet potato fries. Although there were ten or so orders placed around the same time, the bartender didn't seem flustered and was actually quite prompt. The fries took about 5 minutes to come out, and when they did, we were a bit disappointed at the measly portion. Since the fries were definitely not enough to share, we also ordered the croquettes. Round 2 of drinks included an 8 oz. glass of sangria and Bud Light. The sangria was light and fruity, wasn't as stong as I'm used to...Not bad, but I prefer the sangria at Aioli's.

RECOMMENDATION:

Very unique place. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and the atmosphere was great. I found the happy hour food and drink portions (8 oz. margaritas/sangria) to be quite skimpy. I would recommend one food order per person in your party, which almost defeats the purpose of ordering food off of the happy hour menu...

Overall, great happy hour spot if you're looking for reasonably priced drinks, but not the best place for grub if you're used to the happy hour portions at Lucca, Ink, or Pyramid. Just to clarify, I'm not knocking the quality of the food, just the portion size. I actually went to Celestin's for lunch a few weeks after I went for happy hour and the gumbo and jambalaya were MAGNIFICENT!