C’mon, get happy: Specials abound at Las Vegas pubs

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003 | 8:38 a.m.

They aren't all free and certainly aren't gourmet, but low-priced snacks at happy hour that afternoon interval between work and dinnertime when we leave the office and socialize at the local pub or restaurant are still available in Las Vegas.

There was a time when many local watering holes served complimentary appetizers during happy hour, but with a few exceptions those days are gone. Blame the economy or perhaps the times. True, Las Vegas Club downtown still puts out a happy-hour spread at Casey's Bar during "Monday Night Football" and will again next season God willing, according to hotel Executive Chef Heinz Lauer.

But other local restaurants have not continued this practice, opting to offer discounts on drinks, domestic and imported beers, and on snacks usually cheap, spicy fare designed to entice customers to drink more. Some restaurants consider happy hour a reward for their regulars, and great deals are still to be had. Here are a few of the many local possibilities:

Fado inside Green Valley Ranch Station Casino and J.C. Wooloughan inside JW Marriott Las Vegas are two of the area's better Irish pubs, and both serve food and offer discounts on drinks when happy hour rolls around.

At Fado, which looks exactly like a Dublin Public House (and it should since much of the decor was imported from the Emerald Isle), happy hour is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Manager Patrick Connelly offers $3 pints (the British size about 20 ounces in U.S. measurements) of three Irish brews Guinness, Harp or Bass all poured from the tap. Well drinks are $2.50 during these hours, and although appetizers are not discounted, the boxty quesadilla a crusty potato-and-cheese pancake is a favorite.

Meanwhile in Summerlin at J.C. Wooloughan's, Irish native Declan McGettigan, who has been in charge of this colorful pub since its opening, offers pints (British size) for $3.50 and a spate of $3 appetizers during happy hour, which runs from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Super-Mex at 3460 Sunset Road is relatively new to Las Vegas. The Long Beach, Calif.-based chain of casual Mexican restaurants has happy hours from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and offers $1.50 draft beer, $2 margaritas and 50 percent off on all appetizers.

Two of the best appetizers to try are the awesome, ultra-filling nachos, piled high with cheese, ground beef, jalapenos and salsa, and the mini-chimis, a pair of two-beef and two-chicken bites served with the piquant house salsa. The regular price is $5.95, which means they are $3 at happy hour.

One of the most varied happy hours in town is still at the fish house McCormick and Schmick in the Hughes Center. And in the view of many this remains -- as it has been for years -- the best deal in town.

The bar area in this attractive restaurant is nicely appointed, all wood and Tiffany lamps. And amazingly, despite inflation, there is still a $1.95 menu from 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. stocked with well-crafted, delicious items. There is a $2 beverage minimum for drinks such as the squeezed-to-order lemonade, and well drinks are $4.50, call drinks $5.

But for pub grub, this is top-drawer stuff. The half-pound cheeseburger is first-rate, and the fried calamari comes with a house spicy red sauce. Buffalo chicken wings and oyster shooters are also options, and for the less budget conscious, what the restaurant calls its $11.95 Crustacean Craziness, a 1-pound live Maine lobster, cooked any way you like it.

Napoleon, a chic, Rococo bar furnished with period pieces at Paris Las Vegas, features live jazz, more than 100 champagnes, and upscale bar snacks such as ceviche, caviar and fresh fruit. From 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, there is a tray of sandwiches -- pork, turkey or beef on delicate little buns -- complimentary to anyone drinking. But drinks start at $4 for a humble domestic beer, and get rather pricey from there.

Cili at Bali Hai Golf Club gets into the happy hour act on Thursday evening with a promotion called Martinis in Paradise. From 6 p.m.-9 p.m., martinis run $9 and domestic beer $4.25, and there is a "buy one, get one free" policy, plus a spread of delicious, complimentary hors d'oeuvres.

On a typical evening, one can expect items such as a goat cheese crostini, a colorful fruit-and-cheese tray and beef or chicken canapes.

From the Southwest there is Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill, 3824 Paradise Road, where happy hour reigns supreme from 3 p.m.-7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. This chain originated in Austin, Texas, and the food is surprisingly good. At happy hour there is a long list of things to eat, all offered at half-price. Most normally range from $7-$8, so we're talking $3.50-$4 during happy hour.

Catfish beignets -- similar to chicken fingers with catfish standing in for chicken -- are delicious, and so is the smoked chicken quesadilla. There are also catfish rolls, dips such as guacamole and chili con queso, and much more. During happy hour one of the restaurant's specialty margaritas, the Perfecta --made with El Tesoro Anejo tequila, Grand Marnier and juice from a fresh lime -- is a dollar off ($5.50 instead of $6.50).

That doesn't make it cool to go overboard. One of the things curbing the happy-hour concept in this country is stricter control on drunken driving, and a tighter set of laws. Please remember this before that one last drink.