happy hour: McCormick and Schmick

Last night I went looking for happy hour food. Sara was having dinner with a friend, so I figured I'd go get me some $6 burger and wine special. But, oh the horror! Upon arrival I discovered Ruth's Chris no longer does their "late" happy hour. They're under "corporate management" now (whatever that means) and so they only have the 4pm happy hour.

Other than a certain multi-billion-dollar CEO of a certain company I used to work for in the lobby talking business with someone, the place was dead. In the past, even on a Monday night, the bar was always packed. The bartender seemed quite depressed. He said he'd understand if I wanted to leave. And I did.

So I ambled across the sky bridge to McCormick and Schmick. Their late night happy hour starts at 9:30pm and is still going strong.

I had their S&M, er, M&S Cheeseburger ($2) their Hummus Plate ($2) and a glass of Penfold's Kanooga Hill Shiraz/Cab ($8). Obviously it's not a $6 meal, but it's pretty close. If I had really wanted to stick to the $6 limit I could have got a glass of beer and a cheeseburger and come pretty close. However, I wanted a glass of wine as I watched the Rockies finish their sweep and they don't have the $3 wine special at M&S.

The burger was pretty good. Nice and hot, but juicy-pink in the center. No mayo by default and it comes with Fries, which Ruth's Chris did not. The Hummus plate was good, but I wouldn't pay more than $2 for it: the red chips were a bit stale in places. The hummus itself was well-made with garlic and some time of oil on top, but without that overpowering flavor some hummusses (hummi?) have.

The Kanooga Hill Shiraz/Cab was what you would expect from the lower end Penfold's wines. It's as good a bet as any other by-the-glass wine, typically cheaper than the others and more reliable. This one hit the spot and went well with the burger.

I now pronounce M&S the new King of Happy Hour.

happy hour: ruth's chris

Downtown Bellevue offers quite a triad of happy hours. Daniel's Broiler, Sea Star and Ruth's Chris each have great happy hours with very high food quality to price ratios. This week I hit Ruth's Chris.

The happy hour is from 9pm to closing. To eat I had a cheeseburger ($3) which was the best damn $3 burger you are likely to find in Seattle, not overcooked (medium) and made with good meat, lettuce, tomato and onion (hold the mayo). To drink I had the red wine special, which was The Little Penguin Cabernet Savignon ($3). The Little Penguin is a discount wine from Australia that nestles into the same class as the low end Rosemount and Penfold's wines. It was drinkable, if a little rough around the edges. It goes oddly well with the cheeseburger though.