Its finally spring. The flowers are blossoming, the sun is shining and everyone is in a generally better mood. As if being in college weren’t enough of an excuse to drink, the nice weather certainly allows people to let loose and be a little more care free, especially when it comes to day drinking.
If I went to any state school, day drinking would be more of a regular event for me. Tailgates, homecoming and spring fling are regularly used words in any State-er’s vocabulary, but for us city folk, these words are only expressed in times of wishful thinking.While we certainly may know how to Darty, the event only occurs but once or twice a year.
Enter: the happy hour. It is our favorite time of the day because on Friday it usually means classes are over for the week and we can get drunk to “celebrate” (because the end of a week is such a rare, special occasion, right?). Happy hours are meant to be, well, happy, but with so many great choices for restaurants, how can one know just the right happy hour to choose?
While there are many great happy hours in and around D.C. I think there is a little more of a science to choosing which venue, and a good amount of thought should go in to making the right decision. Its not just about the cheap, strong drinks anymore. Its about the atmosphere and the food too!
In my opinion, (it may just be because I am a huge foodie) one of the greatest things about happy hour is that you can go to more upscale restaurants and try their most popular dishes for a lesser price. The happy hour at BLT Steak, for example, offers $5 cocktails and snacks, including their truffled grilled cheese sandwich and friend oysters. Similarly, Zengo, a Latin-Asian fusion restaurant, offers $5 Asian Tapas and $5 Latin-Asian cocktails. Once you try their home made mango mojito, you will understand why $5 is such a great deal on an amazing drink that is regularly $11.
Besides having good food and drinks, happy hour is meant to be fun. Dupont Circle’s Sign of the Whale offers drawings for VIP Happy Hours. They are relatively easy to win, surprisingly, and it is a great way to get your friends together for a night of drinking. Bar 19, “smack in the middle of the financial district,” offers great specials every day of the week and also hosts beer pong and flip cup tournaments on their patio when the weather is nice (like..now!).
Whether you’ve had a rough week of class or are simply too anxious to wait until the sun goes down, happy hour is the perfect way to unwind.
For a full list of daily DC happy hours go to http://www.dchappyhours.com/
