Sullivan's Steakhouse

Sullivan's offers a great happy hour deal on Thursday and Sunday nights, from 5 pm until 2 am.  We got there early to get some dinner and drinks while we watched the monsoon from the covered patio.  But, the party was really popping when we left, the bar area full of young professionals unwinding on a Thursday night.

Happy Hour Martinis

Sullivan's offers all of their signature martinis and wine for 6 dollars.  There were no beer specials, but the combination of martinis and wine made up for it.  The drink menu had something for everyone, I went went the CEO, basically a dirty (though you can have it clean) vodka martini with blue cheese stuffed olives.

The CEO. The blue cheese stuffed olives were the star.

One friend went with the Long Island Tea Martini.  The drink mixed Smirnoff orange vodka, Bacardi superior rum,  Bombay gin, Cointreau, Sweet & Sour, and finest call agave nectar.  The flavors in the drink were well balanced and all in all, delicious.

Long Island Tea Martini

The other two in our group couldn't turn down a nice glass of red on a rainy night.  Only a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon were on special, so they went with a Cabernet.

Sullivan's also offers half off their bar food menu.  Food is served from 5 to 11 pm, so you can't get your late night eats on.  The food is pretty high quality for happy hour food and for me, a substantial meal. 

Happy Hour Bar Food Menu

I went with the Gnocchi, normally 6 dollars so you get the portion for 3 dollars.  The gnocchi was prepared well in a cheesy, creamy white sauce.  Kind of like a grown up version of Mac and Cheese. There were about equal amounts mushrooms and spinach to gnocchi, so you can feel good about getting some vegetable intake for the day.

Gnocchi- Wild mushroom ragout, spinach & parmesan.

The Barbecue Beef Stack was probably the smallest portion that came to the table, and of course my friend with the largest appetite is the one who ordered it.  He definitely didn't feel that this was large enough for a meal.  Though he didn't complain about the taste at all.  The entree normally runs for 9 dollars, so it's 4.50 during happy hour.

BBQ Beef Stack- BBQ braised beef, white cheddar cheese, roasted red peppers & avocado salsa.

The grand daddy of entrees on the bar menu is the so-called "best burger in town."  The plate is the same size as the burger on the regular menu and comes with housemade potato chips on the side.  The burger looked great, and the potato chips were crispy and nicely seasoned.  I only wish they had a fancy dipping sauce to take them to the next level.

"The Best Burger in Town"- with cheddar cheese.

Sullivan's is definitely offering the best of both worlds with their happy hour menu.  The martinis and food were delicious and they offer a bar and a patio to enjoy them on.  This is on the expensive end of happy hours in town and the portion sizes seem to differ from appetizer to appetizer, but overall you're getting to eat steakhouse food for cheap.

Overview:  
Time: Thursdays and Sundays from 5pm to 2am.  (Food stops being served at 11)
Specials:  6 dollar wine and martinis, half-priced bar food menu.


Rating:  4.5/5 shots.

Sullivan's Steakhouse
1785 East River Road
Tucson, AZ 85718-7631

Om Modern Asian Kitchen

Om is a gem in the Tucson community.  They have a eclectic menu of Asian eats, their take on Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese.  And on top of it, they're doing it all well.  Add in a sleek ambiance and a good happy hour, and I really don't think you need anything else. 

Happy hour runs daily from 3 to 6 pm and offers deals on beer, wine, specialty drinks, sushi, and other appetizers.  Basically, if you want it, you can get it. On our visit my friend and I explored their specialty cocktail menu, which runs for 5 dollars.  I ordered the Wasabi Bloody Mary and my friend ordered the Asian Peartini.  They have a good selection of wine for 5 dollars a glass, and their beers are priced at 3.75 for the better selection, while bud light, etc are 2 dollars. 

Wasabi Bloody Mary- Vodka, Bloody Mary mix, Wasabi, Black Pepper and garnished with a Ginger Olive.

Asian Peartini- Pear Vodka, Lime Juice, Sierra Mist

The bloody mary was pretty fantastic.  I love the taste of wasabi, and horseradish in general, so if anything my complaint is that I wish the drink had more of a kick.  The Peartini was good, albeit a little too sweet for my tastes.  But, my friend enjoyed it.

The place Om really succeeds is in their food menu.  They offer an array of Asian-inspired appetizers as well as a fairly comprehensive sushi menu.

We ordered some edamame for the table.  The edamame is $ 2.25 and while not a large portion, comes steamed and lightly salted.  And it's always one of my favorite appetizers when eating sushi.

We explored the sushi menu for our main meal.  One of the best reasons to get sushi during happy hour is that you can get a full meal for cheap and most of it isn't deep-fried.  We ordered Nigiri Sushi, which runs on average around 3 dollars for 2 pieces, as well as a couple of sushi rolls.  They have a large selection of vegetable sushi and on this visit I ordered the vegetable roll, $3.20.  The rolls with fish are a bit more expensive, but nothing for more than five dollars.  The rolls are larger than usual, so you're definitely getting bang for you buck. 

Yellowtail and Albacore

Vegetable roll and Crab-Avocado Roll

 Overall, this happy hour impressed and I cannot wait to get back to Om to try some of their appetizers and maybe even check them out for a full-price dinner.  Sacrilege!  My only wish is that the happy hour lasted until at least 7.

Overview:
Time: Daily from 3 to 6 pm.
Specials:  5 dollar specialty cocktails and wine, 2-3.75 dollar beer, discounted appetizers and sushi.


Rating: 4.5/5 shots

Om Modern Asian Kitchen
1765 East River Road
Tucson, AZ 85718-7631

Hub Restaurant & Creamery

I was a bit apprehensive going into my Hub visit because I've heard good and bad reviews, mainly regarding the service.  But, if there's anytime to check a place out, it's obviously happy hour.

Happy hour runs from daily from 11 am to 6 pm, and they've recently started doing a reverse happy hour from Sunday-Wednesday from 10 pm to close.  Though, I'm pretty sure the reverse happy hour is only a summer deal, and the specials are a bit different than their regular happy hour.

Hub has drink specials during happy hour, but none on food.  At the time of the review, draft beer is 3 dollars, and draft wine is 5 dollar.  I noticed that Hub has since raised its prices to 3.5 dollars for beer and 6 dollars for wine.

The drink menu has a wide selection of both beer and wine, which is pretty exciting.  On our visit I ordered a Red Nectar ale, while my friends opted for the chardonnay.

Red Nectar for 3 dollars.  Yes, please.

Draft chardonnay.

The downside to the happy hour is that they don't offer food.  However, they have a few appetizers, wings and fries covered with various toppings for around 6 dollars.  They also have macaroni and cheese for 5 dollars.  So, I guess if you want to get a cheap meal, you can.  Be aware that their actual entrees are about 15 dollars on average. 

While I wish there were specials on their delicious specialty cocktails and food, Hub is a pretty good place to get cheap beer or wine in the downtown area.

Overview:  
Time: 11 am- 6 pm daily.
Specials: 3.5 dollar draft beer & 6 dollar draft wine.


Rating: 3/5 shots

Hub Restaurant and Creamery
266 East Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701