The Spot off Main ***

Bellevue was the next stop on my Happy Hour adventure. Trying hard to find a good rebuttal for the disastrous Twisted Cork, I found The Spot off Main. A first glance a good dive bar right here in Bellevue. The happy hour prices were great, $2 Rolling Rock or (my favorite) $3.50 Wells. Nothing says a good place like a strong double G&T. I noticed also that they had a small but satisfying happy hour menu. I was glad to see it wasn't the ordinary fries, poppers, or sliders. We ordered the Antipasto plate which had generic cheese cubes and pepperoni slices. Nothing to write home about. They did have a hummus & pita plate which looked appetizing, but I had men to please. We also ordered the pizza which to a sad dismay reminded us of Chucky Cheese Pizza. Reminiscing about all our favorite Chucky Cheese B-day parties, we forced down the crappy pizza.

Needless to say the drinks were good, the food was bad. Good Service, if you go to the bar, and good prices.

I give this 3 out of 5.

Bellevue is quickly loosing their audience.

Back to Bellevue-Rock Bottom *****

I took the oppty to attend a work organized happy hour at the Rock Bottom Brewery in Lincoln Square to help say farewell to a valued co-worker.

Not bad...The beer prices were good, the food was great, and the bathrooms were not totally disgusting.

I'm so glad to see they had a porter on tap. (Less calories). The atmosphere was okay, I wouldnt say stunning or even modern or trendy. The bar is filled with old heavy wood, and posters of there beer flavors. Not too interesting.

The food was great. Since we had so many people, I got the chance to look at all the offerings. I personally had the pepperoni pizza, the hot wings and the pretzels. The latter really make my husband happy as we have been trying to find a good soft pretzel since we crossed the Mississippi. The hot wings were great, and the pizza seemed amazing, not very saucey.

Overall I will def be back to Rock Bottom for happy hour..
http://www.rockbottom.com/bellevue

Take 2- List & Ohana ****

Okay, so with my last post I regret to say that I blew it. Now I am on a personal mission to redeem myself; that this resolution thing will be worth my time and money.
My next stop was to Seattle. Seattle, everyone loves it, it has everything you could imagine. I trolled the local blog site, GoTime Seattle and found something that sounded positive. Had all my factors: modern, trendy, and cheap wine. I gathered a few friends and off we went.

First stop- List (on 2nd Ave, between Bell & Blanchard) in Belltown. I met a girlfriend who informed me that they did not open until 4 o'clock. It was 3:30.. Strike 1.

With wine on our mine we headed across the street to Ohana, a sushi joint. I was pleasently surprised. The wine was $4 a glass and not that bad. $2 sushi rolls, and a nice quiet booth. Our other friend joined us a little bit later. I have to say that the cheap wine and sushi rolls were defenatly making Ohana my top choice.

Feeling a little "happy" I returned focus to my orginal plan, going to List.

List was way cool. It had a backlite bar in blood red, and white everything else. List so far gets points for looking modern and trendy. Now on to the wine. $14 bottles, now that is awesome. Who can find a red wine for $14 a bottle?

We have a glass of wine and I feel like I want some super cute food. So I order the clams (which I have oddly been craving like crazy). They were good and satisfied my need.

The men wanted some real food. It was 5:30 so we headed back to Ohana to catch the last of the super good deals.

In summation, List was a great "girl" hangout, Ohana was a great place to eat dinner. Bot had great wine and good food.

List- www.listbelltown.com 4-6:30 **** (4 out of 5)
Ohana- www.ohanabelltown.com 5-7PM **** (4 out of 5)

Twisted Cork in Bellevue *

My first shot at happy hour was in my local town of Bellevue WA, place called Twisted Cork. I wanted a fancy happy hour, because isn't that what's its all about? Feeling rich, while drinking cheap wine and eating super cute gourmet food? "Twisted Cork" first caught my eye as the same owner owns mulitple resturants in Bellevue. (Too bad they are all in the same block). I looked at the website site and it caught my eye, all the factors I am looking for: modern, trendy, wine on sale (half off bottles they claimed), and cute food. I found a few friends and strolled inside.
Wow, this place was super fancy. White table cloth, rich colored spot lighting, glass, metal, a bit of an industrial feel. We picked a table and began looking over the menu, the wine menu. Half off Bottle's of wine, and they were still $20?? With my hopes dropping like a 10 ton anvil, I took the cheapest glass they had. My intial thought of a happy hour was for poor people like me to get a chance to go to some swanky bar and feel good about myself. My first shot at a good happy hour was diminishing quickly. A friend at our table ordered a burger, and apparently lousy service to go with it. This place was not my favorite by any strech. I am sticking to my guns and following out with my resolution, this one was just a bad judgement call.

I give this 1 out of 5 stars.

In hopes of better hours to come, cheers.

New Year's Resolution 2010

Starting out 2010 with a bang & a killer hangover I decided, reluctantly, to set a New Year's resolution. I pondered the thought and took the time to seriously evaluate my life through 2009. As I tried to balance work, love and getting married, I always felt that something was missing. Then finally w/ the 60 watt shining brightly above my head, I figured it out. I was missing a social life. I'm proud to announce my 2010 Resolution.

My mission: To attend one happy hour per week. Preferably to a different place each week.