The Weekly Happy Hour: Parkside

I just wanted to thank you guys for your supportive comments on the 'What's the Point of Blogging?' post. Like a lot of you guys, I resist the idea of blogging being 'dead' because I resist the idea of losing this space where I can talk about important things and also, fun but probably less important things (in the grand scheme of the world). Even though, I'm not sure that spending time with friends is ever unimportant. Goodness knows I would go crazy without midweek socialization.

This week, it was my turn to pick the happy hour and because I missed last week, I was eager to hit the ground running. The website for Parkside immediately drew me in. Fries? Cheeseburger? Mac and Cheese?? It seems like the perfect, warm place to take refuge on this dreary, almost rainy day.

Park side is on Dirty 6th, a place I'd been a thousand times before but I'd never noticed the little restaurant tucked away on the corner. At 5:30, the place was already popping and the atmosphere was fun and Friday-esque.

I got a drink that was part strawberry Stoli, part champagne and part sugar and it was so, so good. For most of my of-drinking-age life, I've tended to stick with the same things so it's a nice change of pace trying drinks I wouldn't have otherwise tried.

Having been put on notice that there would be cheeseburgers, I tried to eat healthy during the day which meant I was starving when I got there. I got the cheeseburger, Karlz got the fried egg sandwich and Ferj got the ceviche and it was all so tasty. The fries were those crispy, wonderfully salty kind and were served with a garlic aioli. It was the perfect offset to the sweetness of the drink. Like, I'll be honest, I wish I was eating it right now.

We were tucked in a corner booth and it was the perfect place to talk about our jobs, the holidays and the very real stress of waiting for Bar results. 

I'd definitely come back with friends, with J, or even with a good book. Such a delicious, well-priced and centrally located place! Plus happy hour, which runs till 6:30 is half price off of cocktails, beer and the bar menu! 

Like with all happy hours, I was sad to see it end but I did see this really strange thing outside of Roppollo's, a drunken night out institution on 6th. Not surprisingly, there was a massive line of people waiting to take a picture with it. Oh, Austin. 

Here's to hoping the rest of the week flies by! 

Overall rating: 4/5

The Weekly Happy Hour: Italic

This week found us all a collectively cranky, tired mess. You guys already know how I feel about Wednesdays in general but today was especially bad. After a 3 1/2 hearing that got out late, a terrible headache and backache, and the knowledge that I have a ton of packing to do tonight, I was worn down. Weirdly enough, Nat, Karls, and Ferj all felt the same way. So "Happy Hour" became the Complaining Hour and you know what? It was just what the doctor ordered.

This week, we went to a relatively new haunt called Italic. Due to said tiredness, I didn't get too many good pictures but they had a giant, suspended glass case of wine so that was pretty cool.

They had $4 glasses of wine and happy hour cocktails (I got the wine if you couldn't tell) as well as a few starters including a giant ball of cheese for $8. Yes please!

They also give some free sandwiches with the purchase of a drink so that's definitely a selling point! Overall, it was a decent happy hour. I particularly loved the part about the wine and cheese. Like most places downtown though, parking was terrible. Foodwise, they had some olives and prosciutto (pictured above), for $8ish and $10 respectively. Besides that, they had some $17 pizza which is just a little bit more than I was prepared to pay for pizza so I filled up on bread.

If you're really into Italian food or you're looking for a glass of cheap wine, I'd suggest it! Otherwise, you might want to have a quick peek at the surrounding blocks that are filled to the brim with restaurants.

Overall rating: 3/5

The Weekly Happy Hour: Malaga

Like every Wednesday before it, I was really looking forward to tasty drinks and snacks by the time I got off work. This time, we tried a place downtown called Malaga. It's a tapas place and I'm not typically a big fan of tapas, so I was a bit wary. First, like most places downtown, parking is awful. I was lucky enough to get a close spot but it was only after 15 minutes of driving in big circles. Make sure to stock up on your patience before heading out to this locale.

Snapped this on my 5th go round past this light 

The restaurant itself was nice though. There were tons of people sitting out on the patio and it's on twinkle light-lit 2nd St. so why not? They have $5 sangria (4 different flavors!) and $6 white and red white. There were beer specials too, but I'll be honest, I was too distracted by the sangrias to check their price!

Malaga also has certain tapas on happy hour so we got the cheese plate to split with the table, some calamari and bread with some kind of tomato spread on top. Everything was good but the real standouts are: the free, warm, continuously reappearing bread and the sauce that came with the calamari. Still thinking about it.

See the sauce hiding on the back of the calamari plate? Total game changer.

I'm not sure that I'd go here if it was full price but it's definitely a happy hour worth checking out, especially if you're in the area (and don't have to drive!). Specials are till 7, which is great if you're having to work late.

Overall rating: 3.5/5

The Weekly Happy Hour: Contigo

I've been lucky enough that 4 out of my 5 good friends have stayed in the same city as me after graduation. I've been even luckier to have made some new friends since. But perhaps the best luck of all comes in this tradition we've adopted: the weekly happy hour. I know we're far from the only people to do this, but my goodness, am I glad we do.

Typically, it's on Wednesday which is the perfect day in my opinion. The novelty of the week has worn off and you've probably already spent all day thinking it was Thursday, only to be disappointed each and every time you're reminded it's Wednesday. No matter how much you love your job (and I do, so I can say this with certainty), Wednesdays are the worst. See also NeverShoutNever (verifying that Wednesdays are indeed the worst).

It's on these plateaus of days that we've decided to do our Happy Hour and I'll tell you friends, it is worth it. Not so much for the drinks or the delicious snacks, but for the company and commiseration that you get during the consumption process. It's a perfect de-stresser. A power-up for the rest of the week, if you will.

Right now, we choose our locales based on their food specials and we're using this list as our guide. If you're in Austin, I highly recommend it. It takes the stress out of picking a place.

The key to a successful happy hour though? Try to avoid a Thursday hangover. There's still two more days in the week to go!


Happy Friday!

PS- If you're in Austin, Contigo has a happy hour worth checking out. $1 fried chicken until it runs out!

Rating: 3/5