Burgers and Brew

Burgers and Brew Happy Hour Menu

DRINKS
$3 Draft Pints - Huge Selection! - Stella, Guiness, Paulaner, Hoegarden, Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, Arrogant Bastard, Boont Amber Ale, Racer 5 IPA, Guiness 250 ($4 ltd. time)
$12 Pitchers
$5 8oz of Chimay
Good Wine selection - prices vary
FOOD
$5-$5.50 -Buffalo Wings, Tahini Sliders, Kabobs, Fish or Pepper Jack Quesadillas

Location: 1409 R St.
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 442-0900

Burgers and Brew Hours of Happiness: 3:00-6:00 PM (Monday-Friday)
Late Night Happy Hour on Friday and Saturday (10pm -1am)

MY HAPPY HOUR EXPERIENCE:
1st visit - I started off with the Guiness 250 Anniversary Stout, just because I had never tried it before. Great choice, I actually enjoyed it more than the original Guiness as it shared the same roasted flavor, but with more carbonation and a smoother finish.We then ordered a pitcher of the Paulaner - which came with some orange slices around the brim of the pitcher. After ordering the pitcher, I realized that there was no real financial incentive for buying a pitcher at happy hour. Breakdown :

Happy hour pint = $3 (16 ounces) or $12 for 4 pints (64 ounces)
Happy hour pitcher = $12 for 64 ounces
Non-happy hour pint = $4 (16 ounces) or $16 for 4 pints (64 ounces)
Non-happy hour pitcher = $14 for 64 ounces

VERDICT - only order pitchers at non-happy hour times - for variety stick to pints at happy hour!

As for food, we just ordered some garlic fries - which were delicious.

2nd visit - We decided to go with the ultra fancy beers this time. The special was 8oz glass of Duvel Green. We ordered two Duvel Greens and one 8 oz Chimay. I was hoping the Duvel would be served in the trademark tulip glass, but it came out in a Chimay glass which was close enough. This was my first time trying Duvel Green, and I was expecting more of a traditional Duvel taste which wasn't overtly apparent to me. I'm used to Duvel (Red) being thick, creamy, lightly sweet, with a head that remains till the last few sips. Duvel Green on the other hand (which has about 2% lower alcohol content), had a thinner mouthfeel, was less fruity/aromatic, and the carbonation was a lot less subtle.

The weather was a little overcast, but not too cool, so we decided to sit outside under the patio heater. This, combined with the strong beer was a perfect way to unwind after work!

RECOMMENDATION:

Burgers and brew may be one of the only Sacramento happy hour destinations where you can buy a kebaaab for the most beautiful girl...... in the room.
For about $10 per person, you can get two classy beers each and a high quality appetizer (they use Nieman Ranch beef for the sliders and kabobs).
As for a recommendation for Duvel Green---
I prefer the traditional Duvel and would say Duvel Green is much more of a crisp, spicy, summer selection. I would however still highly recommend trying Duvel Green (if it's still available) at Burgers and Brew because it's pretty rare, and may be the perfect beer on someone else's palate. I think it's great that we have a restaurant with such an up to speed draft beer list.

It would be nice to see happy hour prices reflected in wine as well (even $1 off), especially since they have such a high tech wine saver concoction.

A quick shout to my pal Bay Miry, who did a wonderful job revitalizing the old bread factory while preserving most of the old school flavor.

Ella Dining Room and Bar

Ella Happy Hour Menu
No Dedicated Happy Hour Menu
*****Updated 8/19/2010-******

I'm happy to relay the information that Ella is now offering a Happy hour menu as well as 1/2 off signature drinks!!!

DRINKS Real Gin and Tonic - $12
Assorted Specialty Cocktails - $8-$14
Draft Beer - Lagunitas $5, Stella and Allagash $6, Ayinger $7, Duvel and Hitachino Nest $8

FOOD

Occasional free appetizers

1131 K Street

Sacramento, CA 95814-3904
(916) 443-3772

ELLA Hours of Happiness – No Dedicated Happy Hour - UPDATED FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST!

3-6PM Mon-Fri

My Happy Hour experience:

To celebrate my friends new job, we thought we’d go somewhere fancy after work….Ella is by far the fanciest happy hour I’ve been to, and could very well be the nicest restaurant in Sacramento. We sat down at the beautiful bar and ordered a “real” gin and tonic ($12), as well as a grey goose and tonic ($13). Hands down the best gin and tonic I’ve ever had!!! The only similarity between the gin and tonics I’m used to and Ella’s was the use of the base ingredient…gin. Most places pour gin on the rocks, top it off with Canada Dry tonic water, and garnish with a lime…Not bad, except for the fact that bottled tonic water is usually made of carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, sodium benzonate and quinine. Ella on the other hand, takes carbonated water and combines simple syrup and citrus juices along with quinine bark powder (also known as Cinchona). What a difference! Now although I try to stay away from HFCS whenever possible, my opinion here is entirely based on taste.

The “real” gin and tonic was able to balance sweetness, tartness, and bitterness all while allowing the flowery aromatic characteristics of the gin to shine through, which can easily be masked by overpowering bottled tonic. This was the first time I’ve had Distillery 209 gin and must say – it was as smooth as the Grey Goose and tonic even with the higher alcohol content (92 proof). In fact, I liked the drink so much, I ordered some cinchona for home.

The bill came and turned out to be $30 (with tip)…Although it was expected, I was still taken aback. Were two drinks worth $30? In a weird way…..YES.

Recommendation

Ella is definitely not the type of place that I could visit for happy hour on a regular basis, not only because of the economic impact to my wallet, but also because the atmosphere doesn’t really allow me to loosen up my tie and unwind. For special occasions though, it is perfect. It will definitely leave a lasting impression on whoever you take with you….especially out-of-towners. I’ve heard that they are now offering smaller versions of their “real” gin and tonic for $8. If you try one though, beware, you may never go back to pedestrian gin and tonics again.

This will be the last restaurant without a dedicated happy hour menu for a while....I swear!

*Updated Drink Recommendation - Old Cuban (pictured in the martini glass above) very much resembled a concentrated mojito made w/ prosecco instead of club soda. It was delicious, and only $5 during the August happy hour!

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!

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!

Capital Garage

Happy Hour Menu

DRINKS
$2.50 – Shock Top Bottles
$2.75 Wells
$3 Margaritas
$3.50 Long Islands/Beaches
$4 Jager Bombs or Irish Car Bombs
$1 off all draft beers and wine
Draught Beer – Newcastle, Deschutes Mirror Pond Ale- $3.75, Pyramid Haywire (Hef) - $3.50, River City Seasonal - $3.25, Unknown Amber Ale -should be $1.95 but is $2.95, Dogfish Head IPA - $5.50

FOOD

$3 – Potato Tower w/ mozzarella, tomato, basil
$4 - Mozzarella Sticks, Popcorn Chicken, Fried Shrimp, Crab and Cream Cheese Wontons


$5-$7 - Nachos (depending on addition of meat)

Location: 15th and K Street

Capital Garage Hours of Happiness: 4:00-7:00 PM (Monday-Sunday)

Late Night Happy Hour on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday



MY HAPPY HOUR EXPERIENCE:

I visited Capital Garage on a Friday after work around 5:00. The space (although rather small) is very open, as two walls are pretty much all open windows. There were about 25 people enjoying happy hour, which is by far the most crowded I had every seen it after work.
We ordered two Shock Tops as well as a Long Beach to start.
A Long Beach is pretty much a long island with the Coke swapped out with cranberry juice and sometimes a bit of Sprite. We also ordered the potato tower then went and sat outside. The potato tower took about 15 minutes to come out, and looked impressive. It tasted pretty good, but was slightly under seasoned.
When the waiter came outside to bring the tower to us, we asked if we could order another round of drinks. He said to go inside and order them at the bar. This seemed a little weird, but he seemed a little flustered with the number of people, so it was probably better that we got our own. Once inside, we ordered three Unknown Amber Ales from the tap. Now the non happy hour price of these is $2.95. On the happy hour menu, it clearly states "$1 off all draught beer and wine." You would think this would include the Unknown Amber which is a draught beer, making the final price $1.95....not the case! We even asked the bartender, "Isn't it supposed to be $1 off?" to which he replied, "Not for that beer." Now it's difficult for me to really complain about this because it was still only $3 and the beer was tasty, but I felt a little hosed.
I would be satisfied if the menu read: $1 off all draught beer EXCEPT FOR THE UNKNOWN AMBER ALE.


RECOMMENDATION:

Relaxed atmosphere, but the service can at times be a bit slow. If it's busy, you are better off ordering at the bar and taking your drinks back to your table. Capital Garage probably has the cheapest long islands you can find in the downtown/midtown area (I'll update if I find any cheaper). If you're looking for a strong drink after a rough day at work, this is definitely the spot for you.
One little quirk was that each drink was priced down to the quarter...example - a well drink is $2.75 but a margarita is $3.00. Could I order a well tequila w/ lime juice and sweet and sour to save a quarter? I wouldn't mind if all wells were $3 just from a simplicity standpoint.
Except for the slight false advertising ($1 off ALL draughts), I was overall quite happy with the experience. Great start to the weekend!

Level Up

Happy Hour Menu

DRINKS

Bottled Beer (no draft available) - $2 domestic and $3 for premium
Call drinks- $4.50
Wine- $5.50
Signature Cocktails- $6.50
Assorted Managers drink specials - $4

FOOD

$4 - Wonton Chips, Tai Ginger Garlic Fries

$5 - Vegetable tempura, Samosas


$6 - Lettuce Wraps, Chicken Satay, Tai Beef Jerky w/ sweet Rice, Coconut Chicken, Spring Rolls




Location: 2431 J St Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 442-7690

Level Up Hours of Happiness: 4:00-8:00 PM (Monday-Friday)


My Happy Hour experience:

Level Up is a somewhat hidden place located above Thai Basil (same owner). This is officially the longest happy hour I have seen so far in the midtown/downtown area. Since there was no beer on tap, I went with a “call” drink. I ordered a peach vodka (Stolichnaya) and club soda, and my friend got a rum (Bacardi) and coke. $9 for the two, which is a little more than the average $2-$3 wells, but Stoli and Bacardi are no doubt a few steps up from the crap well quality I’ve seen (Aristocrat, St. Elmo etc.). Definitely worth it! We ordered the somosas (shown above), beef jerky (below), and the coconut chicken (above), which were all on point. Someone ordered the chicken satay which looked identical in size to the satay served as starters downstairs (Thai Basil) for $7.50. It was good to see they didn’t skimp on the portions for the happy hour price.
The low ceilings along with the artwork and "bowl" seats gave a cozy loft feel to Level Up. There were two TV's, one of which was equipped with a Guitar Hero setup. It seemed like a decent place to watch sports, although when I was there the TV's were muted and music was playing. Seating at the bar itself is limited to about six people, however there is plenty of room throughout to sit.




Recommendation:

I think Level Up is one of the most underrated happy hour spots in downtown/midtown. There were only 4 people in the whole place…which very well could be attributed to it being a Thursday when I went. The food (from the kitchen of Thai Basil) was excellent and worthy of all of the accolades and awards they've received. The decor was hip w/ an indie vibe and the second story view of J street was refreshing. The bartender was very friendly, and was not at all pushy, which I greatly appreciate. No complaints!

Hangar 17

Hangar 17 Happy Hour Menu
Food Only – NO DRINK SPECIALS
Calamari: $4.95
Beef Skewers: $3.95
Pork Sliders: $3.95
Wedge Salad: $2.95
Margherita Pizza: $4.95
Pepperoni Pizza: $4.95

Hangar 17 Happy Hour Hours: 4:00-6:00 PM (Monday-Friday)

Location: 1630 S Street

My Happy Hour experience:
I had seen on numerous sites that this place had the “longest happy hour in downtown” hours ranging anywhere from 2-7 PM… so I was a little surprised to find that the happy hour was only from 4-6 PM. When I asked the waitress when they decided to change their hours of happiness, she said it had been 4-6 for the two years that she had worked there. At 5:30 we ordered a Coors Light ($3.50) and an Absolut & tonic ($5.50).

Not much as far as drink specials…Hangar 17 boasts a nice selection of Happy Hour appetizers. We tried the beef skewers which were tasty, and the pork sliders. The pizzas did not disappoint and are big enough for two people to snack on.

We just happened to visit on a Tuesday and Thursday, where they had some sort of drink promotion.

$2 Tuesdays during the month of July feature a new beer every Tuesday. Buy the featured beer and logo glass for $4 and refills are only $2 until the keg in the outdoor area is finished. This was a little awkward because you had to go outside to get a beer refill, but for $2, I’m not complaining. The feature when I was there: Mendocino White Ale.
September was “Sierra Nevada September” where pints were $3 and it was $6 for Draught Sierra Nevada and a T-shirt. Hopefully there’s another promotion in October.

Thirsty Thursday was less exciting and actually a bit of a ripoff in my opinion. On Thursdays, all custom Smirnoff cocktails are “only” $4. Isn’t that how much they’re supposed to be? Anyways, you have your choice of the type of flavored vodka (all 20 Smirnoff flavors are available), then proceed to choose what type of drink you want (kamikaze, cosmo, lemon drop etc) and how you want it served (martini, shooter, on the rocks). The four of us decided to get four different fruity concoctions, and they all pretty much tasted the same…ROBITUSSIN. Although the drinks were filled with sugar, they did pack quite a punch. Overall, too fake tasting for my palate.

Recommendation
I think Hangar 17 is a great place to watch sporting events. There are 6 TV’s, and an outdoor pool table under the patio overhang. The staff is very friendly and non pretentious. The only minor complaint I have is that the food took a while to come from the kitchen.