Amuse-bouche Happy hours around town
HAPPY HOURS AROUND TOWN
Whether your wallet is held together with duct tape or comes from Comme des Garçons, everyone likes a good deal, especially if it’s delicious. This week, we hunted down the best happy hour bargains in Santa Fe — but these highlights are by no means the last word on cheap eats and drinks in town, as daily or weekly specials are everywhere from the Jean Cocteau Cinema (6-10 p.m. Wednesdays) to Secreto Lounge at the Hotel St. Francis (4-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays) to the Burger Stand (2-6 p.m. weekdays). Go to www.pasatiempomagazine.com and click on “Restaurants” for a more comprehensive list. And, not to suggest that anyone’s a cheap date — but some of these deals might just fit perfectly into your Valentine’s Day plans. At Milad Persian Bistro’s late-night happy hour (802 Canyon Road, 10 p.m.-midnight Thursdays-Saturdays), you are rewarded for being one of Santa Fe’s rare night owls. This upmarket grotto carved out of an adobe house is a warm, sexy spot with a vaguely Old World feel. Keep your evening going with half-price wine by the glass from their extensive selection and $5 small plates like the “date omelette,” jigar (a traditional Persian street dish of grilled beef liver with a pomegranate glaze), mirza ghasemi (roasted eggplant with egg and pita), or beet falafel and house-made hummus.
— Tantri Wija
With your back to the dining room, the intimate bar at
La Boca (72 W. Marcy St., tapas de la tarde 3-5 p.m. daily) is ideal for gorging on bruschetta — a fried egg on toast under a lush cloud of cream, earthy mushrooms, truffle oil, and Parmesan-like reggianito. Other beloved dishes are discounted daily, like the patatas bravas, fried fingerlings beneath a luxuriance of aioli. On the lighter side, the roasted eggplant dip comes with housemade crackers and giardiniera worthy of a pickled vegetable startup. The drink options are spare (juicy sangria, one beer, and two wines), but try letting the bartender guide you to one of the three sherries at $5 to $6 a glass. — Nouf Al-Qasimi
If you live on the Southside or often find yourself there, The Ranch House bar (2571 Cristo’s Road, 4-6 p.m. daily) has a happy hour that’s as classic as they come, with discounted house wines and draft beers as well as deals on a few creative cocktails, like the pineapple margarita and the Cucumber Crisp — all of which you can sit back and enjoy in a warm, well-lit space, with its cozy booths, leather bar chairs, and oversized TVs. Food items are referred to as “bar bites,” but that’s quite a misnomer — you can easily fill up on rich goodies like wonton tacos filled with saucy-sweet rib meat or barbecue sliders. — Laurel Gladden
Sundays are a steal at the New Mexico
Hard Cider Taproom (505-A105 Cerrillos
Road, Sundays 11 a.m.-close), a cozy rec-room-like space stuffed into a strip mall. Drinks are a dollar-off all day, including the warming Touch Me Gingerly and the sourfinish Dry Mariachi Tart Cherry ciders. Pair one of those with the strikingly good house-made salsa trio ($5, including fresh mango pico de gallo, chile caribe, and a fine regular salsa), and you’ve got yourself a great game plan. — Molly Boyle At a happy hour as established as Pranzo’s (540 Montezuma
Ave., 4-6 p.m. daily), getting in can be competitive, but don’t let that stop you. Arrive early for a seat at the bar and watch 6-inch pizza after pizza float out of the kitchen until it’s impossible to resist ordering one; all the bar food is 25 percent off during happy hour, making these snackable pies, like the Funghi — a savory hit of shiitakes and roasted garlic scattered with arugula — a bargain at $5.21. Still peckish? Stick with Pranzo’s more traditional offerings, like the mixed fried seafood. Order a half-price glass of wine from the extensive list or a $4 well cocktail and contemplate returning Monday night for a barrel-aged cocktail special. — N. A-Q. As Andrew Carnegie said, “The first man gets the oyster; the second man gets the shell.” To avoid a shellfish-free fate, show up early at 315 Restaurant & Wine Bar (315 Old Santa Fe Trail, 5-7 p.m. daily), where people flood in for half-price oysters (recently, classic Blue Points, mildly saline, and Misty Points, with their intriguing notes of lettuce) washed down with discounted beers, cocktail specials, and select wines. If a dozen