Yard House Happy Hour

When you can combine Happy Hour pricing with real dishes, you've got a win-win situation. I'm not saying that chicken fingers and wings aren't real dishes, but having a variety of items to choose from beyond the typical fried items is always a welcomed sight.

Enter: Yard House. With over 180 drafts on hand, it will satisfy the most serious of beer drinkers while dishing up great complements to the beverages. Just the sight of the kegs is quite impressive. There are two locations in Las Vegas. One is at Town Square on South Las Vegas Boulevard (just down the street from Mandalay Bay Casino). The other one is situated inside the Red Rock Casino in Summerlin (westside Las Vegas).

Yard House's Happy Hour is Mon-Fri 3-6:00 PM and Sun-Wed 10 PM-Close. Their late night Happy Hour especially appeases me because the 10-11 PM hour is an oddball time slot where most places haven't yet started their Happy Hour which makes Yard House right on with their timing!

Most of their appetizers are half-off and here's a run down of the choices:

Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Stir fried chicken with pine nuts, green onions, tofu with three dipping sauces (one of them being peanut sauce).

I order this dish about 90% of the time because it's tasty, interactive (you have to make your own wraps of course) and it's not an item that is typically on other Happy Hour menus. They give you a generous portion of  lettuce and it's not iceberg, I believe it's butter or bibb lettuce. Or - are they kind of the same lettuce?!?!? Who knows. Anyways, it's a flexible leaf that doesn't break in half on you so it works well. As an obvious Asian (Chinese to be exact), I give this one two thumbs up!

Seared Ahi Sashimi: Seared rare, lightly blackened served with soy vinaigrette.

So you have to be a sushi or rare fish eater to appreciate this one, but it's very very good. It's a light appetizer so if you order this one, you'll most likely need to order or share one more dish with someone. It has a very refreshing taste and I've always had it come out just right. I recommend this one for sure.

Spinach Cheese Dip: Just like you know and served with flatbread crisps for dipping. 

This is also a good dish but as in any restaurant that I order a spinach cheese dip, I request that it comes out extra bubbly hot because it always tastes better that way. Their dip has a good taste to it.

Chicken Nachos: This is what you would expect. It's the typical nachos layered with beans, cheeses, guacamole and sour cream. 

It's hard to mess this one up. If you are in the mood for nachos, it's quite a large size so you won't be disappointed with that. It's a consistent dish that will satisfy your taste buds.

Garlic Noodles: Tossed with butter and topped with Parmesan cheese.

This is a smaller dish and it's great as a side to complement the other appetizers. It's got a really nice unique flavor with the garlic and cheeses on it. This isn't a saucy noodle dish. It's more of a dry noodle dish but has a nice burst of flavor.

Onion Ring Tower: Beer battered dusted with Parmesan and served with chipotle and ranch dipping sauces. 

I've had this either once or twice and it's not because it wasn't good. It's just so darn big. It really is stacked like a tower and it's definitely meant to be shared with a few people. You really only want to eat one or two and to try other dishes, otherwise you can get onion-ed out and really full from it.

Pizzas: BBQ Chicken, Spicy Thai Chicken, Margherita, Four Cheese, Pepperoni and Mushroom, Ham and Pineapple round pizzas. 

It's a decent sized pizza that you can either share or eat as your entree. Of all the pizzas, my favorite is the Spicy Thai Chicken one because it's a unique item and it's got the peanut sauce on it. It's definitely not a traditional item but it's not one that you'll find in other places.

More appetizers that are half-price are: Wings, Moo Shu Egg Rolls, Fried Calamari, Fried Chicken Strips, Blue Crab Cakes, Tuna Roll and California Roll.

They also have sliders on the menu for $6.95 and they all come with fries. They offer the Classic, Bearnaise, Pastrami, Turkey or Gardein (TM). You really can't go wrong with their sliders. They are all good. I especially like the Classic, Pastrami or Turkey sliders. Another option for $9.95 is their Ahi sliders. I haven't tried these yet.

There are drink specials, of course. They start at $2.25 and up. Domestics are $3.50 and Well Drinks are $4.25-4.75. Specialty Drinks and Wine by the Glass are $2.00 off.

What's also great about their Happy Hour is that it extends throughout the entire restaurant. Every seat is a Happy Hour seat so you don't have to cram yourself into the bar area. Sit comfortably at a table or a booth and still enjoy the specials.



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Einstein Bagels Offers Late Day Discounts

If you are like me and just eat bagels as they are, then this latest Einstein Bagels special is right up your alley. Monday-Friday, from 3-5 PM, they offer 25% off of their bagels. Sure, it makes sense. It's late in the day and they are about to close and what better way to unload their bagels to customers than a discount?

While I typically like to enjoy the freshest bagels that come out in the morning, a 25% discount could definitely entice me in there for a late afternoon snack.

I used to always get the Asiago Cheese Bagel, but lately I've been having the Everything Bagel and the Cinnamon Sugar Bagel toasted with a side of butter. I'm not a big cream cheese person so I can't really attest to the new cream cheeses. Either way, all of their bagels are good and it's really up to what your tastebuds are looking for, something sweet or salty?

Bagels typically run anywhere from $1.10-$1.70 - depending on if you pick a Classic, Signature or Gourmet bagel. You really can't go wrong with any flavor.

Kona Grill Dishes Up Happy Hour Specials

Kona Grill has been one of my favorite Happy Hour spots for many years. Located in Summerlin at the Boca Park center (Rampart and Charleston), they dish up awesome Happy Hour specials every day of the week and on most days, it's both afternoon and night. While the offerings have slightly changed throughout the years, it has stayed more or less the same in selection while the theme of "Half-Off Pricing" has consistently made it a winner for me.

The Kona Grill Happy Hour schedule is as follows:
Monday-Friday: 3-7 PM
Monday-Thursday: 9-11 PM
Friday-Saturday: 10-12 AM
Saturday: 1-5 PM
Sunday: ALL DAY!

Double check that their winter hours haven't taken effect yet - that would only affect the late night Happy Hour ending times. 

Happy Hour offers half price food and $6 "essentials". Each table in the bar or outdoor patio will have a mini-stand that has the menu inserted on one of the sides.

Menu:

Sushi
Philly Roll, Atlantic Roll, Fiery Shrimp Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, California Roll, Vegetarian Roll, Crab Special Roll, Crab Crunch Roll.

The sushi is good here. I primarily eat tuna and salmon based rolls so I have tried the Philly Roll (spicy tuna with cream cheese, the Atlantic Roll (cooked salmon with eel sauce on top), and the Spicy Tuna Roll (like the traditional...spicy tuna inside). They are all good and I see plenty of tables and parties ordering plates upon plates full of sushi.

Appetizer Items

Potstickers: These aren't your traditional potstickers with the traditional lump of meat filling. In fact, when you bite into it, the meat is more of a loose minced style and will come spilling out. So if you dare to dip the potsticker into the very tasty sauce they give you and to re-dip, beware, most of your filling may end up in the sauce. To prevent this kind of incident, I like to pour the sauce on my potsticker instead of attempting the task of dipping.

Sweet & Spicy Shrimp: I haven't tried this one yet although I spotted another table with it and I am definitely going to try it next time!

Chicken Satay: This is a really nice simple dish with grilled chicken breast on skewers. The peanut dipping sauce or the hoisin sauce they give you makes the dish yummy. Hoisin is a Chinese sauce that is often served with Chicken Lettuce Wraps in other restaurants so give it a try. It's tasty. The chicken is laid on coleslaw although I opt to ask for their "island rice" instead which is a fried rice with some shrimp.

Avocado Egg Rolls: Hands down this is one of my absolute favorite items on their Happy Hour menu. It's an avocado mixture in an egg roll wrapper deep fried and served with this out-of-this-world sauce. I can't even describe it but it's so darn good!!!!! If you like avocado, I 1000% (yes, one thousand) recommend this!

Flatbreads: They serve three different kinds - Margherita, BBQ Chicken and Pepperoni. Like it sounds, it's a  oblong flat dough that is served on a wood board. They used to serve traditional round pizzas and I must say that their transition to the flatbread is a definite plus! My favorite is the BBQ Chicken because of the integration of red onions, BBQ sauce, diced chicken and fresh herbs. It's just a nice gourmet tasting flatbread.

$6 Essentials

While the other items above are half-off their regular price, the following items are straight up six dollars.

Specialty Sushi: Bama Roll, Voodoo Roll, Wave Roll (I haven't tried any of these so I can't describe them.)

Kona Calamari: It's a nice lightly breaded calamari with a mayo-like dipping sauce. I prefer asking for some red marinara sauce with it and extra lemons as well. This is a good dish to share so you can eat other items without getting too full on just calamari.

Twin Mini Cheeseburgers: These are surprisingly good - why I say surprisingly isn't because I don't expect Kona to have great food, but I normally think that a mini cheeseburger is going to taste like the typical one but these are very delicious and would make you want to order them again.

Chicken and Shrimp Lettuce Wraps: This dish has a tangy sweet type of sauce on it. With all versions of lettuce wraps, they have their own flavor. This one is quite good and the last time I ordered it, it came out piping hot temperature wise and they gave me tons of lettuce for wrapping so I was a happy camper.

Tacos: These are fish tacos in a tortilla wrap over coleslaw if I remember correctly.

Drinks

Happy Hour wouldn't be complete without drink specials - so here they are:

Margarita - $3-4.50
Cosmo - $5
Sake Bomber - $7.50
Gekkeikan Draft Sake Bottle - $6
Bud Light Draft - $3.50
Sam Adams Selection - $4
Featured Wines - $5

PLUS! Wednesdays is Wine Down Wednesdays featuring half price bottles of wine all day on all bottles!

On the Border Part II: Happy Hour

This is On the Border Part II (OTB) as promised in the last post. As a restaurant in the suburbs of Vegas, specials are a must and having an affordable Happy Hour is definitely a must employ strategy. While I do wish that OTB stayed open at least an hour later, perhaps their numbers don't warrant it.

Monday-Friday, OTB has Happy Hour in the bar and patio from 3-7 PM and late night Happy Hour from 9 PM-Close which is a short time frame since last call for food is around 9:30. The restaurant actually closes at 10 so drinks are still available until that time.

Happy Hour consists of both food and drinks specials. It's half off select appetizers and I have tasted most of them. Now, OTB isn't for the dieter or for those that want a moderately healthy meal....on Happy Hour that's next to impossible. So, for half the cost, for a snack, take OTB for what it's worth.

I have always liked their Chips and Salsa which are served free to everyone. I like their salsa because it comes out cold and has a loose consistency with a little kick to it. They give you salsa in the small little blue dishes but I typically request a bowl because I use a lot of it. The chips - when done right - come out nice and hot. If they come out kind of cold and stale, don't hesitate to ask for a new batch. It's your money, get what you want and you deserve it.

Some of the items on the Happy Hour menu:

Empanadas:
Fried dough pastry shell (like a mini-pie) stuffed with meat (chicken or beef). You get five of these and they come with cheese (queso) dip. I think these are quite tasty, however, you definitely want to share this plate with two other people. If you eat five of these by yourself, you are going to feel like a greaseball mess and your stomach is going ask you why you just did that. Eat one or two at the most and consume some other items.

Firecracker Stuffed Jalapenos:
Again, this is a dish to share with others. Don't eat the whole thing by yourself or you will feel like a greaseball mess. Just have one or two and share with others. This is a typical stuffed Jalapeno where it's filled with cheese and then fried. It's hard to mess this one up.

Texas Wings:
These are kind of bready, but not bad. One bartender suggested that we dip them in some queso dip and it was a nice complement to the wings.

Fajita Nachos:
Now, these are not like the nachos that you are accustomed to because it's not a pile of tortilla chips with meat and cheeses and toppings sprinkled all over. Each chip actually is topped on its own and then baked so the cheese is melted on it. I personally wasn't a fan of these and maybe it's because I was expecting one thing and got another. Plus, the chip gets soggy the way it's made. Fair warning to you if you want to get them.

Queso Dip:
This is your typical cheese dip and it's always best when you request it "piping hot" so it's bubbling when you get it. Otherwise, it's just not the same.

Chicken Flautas:
These are like your typical flautas except I like them better without the sauce they drizzle on top of it because it gets the flauta shell soggy. This is a sharing dish, once again, because you don't feel good if you eat the whole thing by yourself.

Drinks specials are about $3-4 and include Dos Equis and Margaritas.

In a nutshell, OTB is good for a mini group gathering where you can sample a few items on the Happy Hour menu. I don't often go for their Happy Hour actually. I typically go for Taco Tuesdays where tacos are on a special price at 99 cents. I also like their Chips and Salsa. So, I go for a lighter meal and not for the all out Appetizer spree. Either way, with the apps being half-price, at least go check it out.

LIMITED TIME: Freebies at On the Border

While I talk a lot about ongoing economic eats deals in Las Vegas, I also run across a lot of deals that are great but are only available for a limited, and sometimes very limited, amount of time. This post is about On the Border, a neighborhood joint that serves Mexican food. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one of them in Las Vegas and it's in Centennial - just off of US-95 and Ann Road. It sits between Panda Express and Cane's Chicken. I searched in Henderson as well and the On the Border site yielded no results.

Through tomorrow, On the Border is offering a free bowl of Original Queso and a smaller order of Sopapillas with the purchase of one or more entrees at full price. I've tried both of these items before and they are good! This is a limited time offer and is good through Thursday, October 4.

I really like On the Border for several reasons. I haven't had any dish there that I didn't like. Their free chips and salsa is awesome because they are all made in-house. The chips come out warm (when served right) and the salsa is a really nice fresh loose mix with a little kick to it.

When I go to this restaurant, I've always preferred to sit at the bar counter seat only because a large flat screen occupies the space above the bar and it's nice to watch a nice sports game while enjoying my meal. There are other smaller flat screens around the bar area as well.

I often order their enchiladas, the chicken or pork ones with a request for green sauce on both. The green sauce (chile verde) typically comes on the pork enchilada but I really like it on everything. Otherwise, the chicken enchilada comes with a red sauce which is also very good but I simply can't resist the green sauce sometimes. Their plates are served with rice and beans and I like ordering the black beans with my entree.

I'll do an On the Border post part two where I talk about their regular specials which change every day but are consistent from week to week. Does that make sense? I just wanted to give a quick shout out about the freebies that are offered through tomorrow - Oct. 4.

A Deal Near the Strip: Terrible's Casino Cafe

It's not often these days that outrageously "I can't believe it" deals are found on the Strip, but traveling a few blocks from the Strip (a walk if you are ambitious!) can yield some great deals that appeal to both tourists and locals. One such place is Terrible's Casino which is on the corner of Flamingo and Paradise. Flamingo is the street houses Bally's, Bellagio, Caesars and the Flamingo Casino. Terrible's is down a few blocks from the Strip on the Bally's side of the road.

While I don't frequent Terrible's Hotel & Casino very often, I have eaten at both their buffet and cafe before when there were specials. My Las Vegas Entertainment book used to house a few 2-for-1 buffet coupons and that usually led me to the establishment.Unfortunately, Terrible's hasn't been in the book for the past few years.

The deal that I'm going to talk about is a simple one: breakfast. It's $2.99 every day and you just need to sign up (for FREE, of course) for their Player's Card. The Deuces Wild breakfast, as it's called, comes with 2 eggs, 2 pancakes and 2 strips of bacon. Next to its newspaper ad it has stamped "Best of Las Vegas" as voted by locals at one time or another.

When it's breakfast, it's really hard to screw up....really, so while I haven't had this one lately, I can't imagine it being anything further than what it should be. I've also had their other breakfasts including a Hawaiian Loco Moco and that was also pretty good. That is a normal priced menu item.

The casino is a smaller one. It's in a location that is supposed to attract both tourists and locals so it must balance its prices. For just a penny under three bucks...I don't think there's much room for any complaints here.

Happy Hour at Brio Tuscan Grille (2 Locations!)

When you don't want the typical bar menu items for Happy Hour, Brio Tuscan Grille at Town Square and Tivoli Village (Summerlin) make for a great outing. Now, their Happy Hour used to be $2.95 items, but I guess it was so popular that they felt an extra dollar wouldn't hurt their crowd. In an evolving menu - as restaurants should be doing anyways - there are new and old items on this Happy Hour Menu. Some of these items I can personally vouch for, while on other items, I'll need others to let me know!

There are two Happy Hours which satisfy the late afternoon crowd as well as the after dinner crowd. The times are: Monday-Friday: 3-6:30pm and Monday-Thursday: 9pm-Close. Happy Hour is available ONLY at the bar.

Here are some of the items on the menu with some commentary. Overall, you can't really go wrong at Brio. Even their full menu (although a quite a it pricier) has always dished up great stuff:

ALL $3.95:

Beef Carpaccio - served with field greens, capers, mustard aioli and Parmigiano-Reggiano. (I've had this one before and I thought it was very tasty and quite healthy of a dish. Thinly sliced beef with some nice cold salad greens. Although I'm not a huge capers fan, you can easily request them off or they are easy to just remove yourself.)

Spicy Shrimp & Eggplant - pan seared shrimp with Romano crusted eggplant and a black pepper cream sauce.

(This has got to be one of my favorite dishes of all time. When done right (and there were a few times that the dish didn't come out temperature fresh hot-hot like it was supposed to) it is spectacular. Crispy eggplant with a gooey center topped with shrimp and the sauce is what really completes this dish. It's described as a black pepper cream sauce but it resembles a red pepper cream sauce to me. Anyways - I HIGHLY recommend this one!)

BRIO Burger - grilled to order with Provolone and housemade chips. 

(There is a "secret sauce" of something on this...I don't prefer it so I usually leave it off. I get mine grilled medium and it's a nice size. It's not a full burger, so don't expect that, but it's a smaller burger that is just right. I love to order this with the Spicy Shrimp & Eggplant because I dip the chips in that sauce!)

Margherita Flatbread or Sausage & Pepperoni Flatbread - just like it sounds on flatbread.
(The flatbread is a nice lighter version of a pizza without all of the bread. It's nice and crispy with a little bite to it. The Margherita has tomatoes and basil on it and it's refreshing. The Sausage & Pepperoni is equally delicious.)

Ravioli Caprese - Romano crusted ravioli topped with tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh Mozzarella and cilantro pesto drizzle. 
(The ravioli can be a little dry only because it's crusted and deep fried so the moisture can be taken out of it. The toppings make it tasty however and the pesto drizzle...anything with pesto is always a plus with me!)

Roasted Garlic, Spinach & Artichoke Dip - served bubbling hot with Parmesan flatbread.
(The dip is pretty good. I'm quite picky on my spinach and artichoke dips. My main thing with hot dips is that it's GOT TO BE bubbling hot. Although the description on the menu is that it comes out bubbling hot, I have had to send mine back before because it wasn't. However, if you kindly ask your server to make sure it's bubbling hot - you stand a better chance at getting it the right temp the first time. When it does come out bubbling hot - it's delicious! I did have to request an extra few pieces of flatbread to finish off the remaining dip.)

Shrimptini - chilled shrimp served in a martini glass with classic cocktail sauce and flaxseed cracker.

Tomato & Mozzarella Capri - sliced Kumato tomatoes, fresh Mozzarella and basil; served with balsamic glaze and field greens.

Crispy Shrimp Piccante - Romano breaded shrimp drizzled with a spicy aoli. 

Out of all the offerings on the Happy Hour menu, the last three items are the only ones that I have yet to try. So, for the most part, you have my first hand accounts of each dish.

Food isn't the only Happy Hour items. There are $5 Drink Specials that include the following:

Sangria Rosa, White Peach Sangria, Mango Mojito, Strawberry Mojito, Pomegranate Cosmo, Black Raspberry Cosmo, Tavolo Matto Chardonnay, Tavolo Matto Pinot Grigio...and more!