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

P.F. Changs

P.F. Chang's offers up cheap drinks and substantial food during their happy hour.  A friend and I aimed to get a full meal and we succeeded easily.  Their happy hour runs from 3-6 pm daily, and accordingly all of their specials are priced between 3 and 6 dollars.

Drink menu

Their drink menu has a wide range of options; beer, wine, sake, and cocktails.  Although, I considered sake or one of their specialty cocktails, it was still early and there was still lots of drinking to be done, so I settled on a beer.  Their import drafts run for 3 dollars during happy hour, when they're normally around 5.  My friend and I both ordered Kirins and were quite happy with our decision. 
 

Kirin Ichiban

Onto the food!  P.F. Chang's advertises dim sum and street fare as their main happy hour selling points.  Thus, lots of different dumplings, fusion tacos, and other miscellaneous appetizers fill the menu.  We stuck to the dim sum menu on this visit.

We ordered two orders of dumplings and lettuce wraps to share.  I've had the lettuce wraps before and they're pretty spectacular.  Judging by the other tables, we weren't the only people who thought so.  In fact, I think they could only sell lettuce wraps and stay in business.  The main portion is pretty large, but there was not enough lettuce.  We spent a good 10 minutes trying to flag someone down to bring us more.  There's a lot of people walking around, they just seem to avoid eye contact causing you to be that rude customer who has to yell to get their attention. 

Do yourself a favor and order the lettuce wraps

The dumplings are not offered on their regular menu, so I was intrigued to try them.  It's rare that a restaurant serves food specifically for happy hour.  We ordered both the pork and vegetable dumplings.  They come three in a serving, in a little steamer tray with dipping sauce on the side.  The dumplings taste better than the ones you can buy in the freezer section, but don't quite reach "dim sum" level.  Still, we were pleased with them. 

Vegetable dumplings

Pork Dumplings

I was definitely satisfied by this happy hour.  It left me both full and content, providing the perfect base for a night of continued drinking.  As always, I wish the happy hour ran until 7, but then maybe they would increase the top price to 7 dollars.  I guess I'll take what I can get.

Overview:
Time: Daily, 3-6 pm
Specials: Drink and food specials all priced between 3 and 6 dollars.

Rating: 4/5 shots

P.F. Chang's
1805 East River Road Suite 100
Tucson, AZ 85718

Zinburger

Do you ever find yourself sitting at home on a rainy Saturday wishing there was a cozy place to cheaply booze your sorrows away?  Well, I'm here to tell you- there is!  Zinburger's happy hour is daily from 4-6 pm with half off all alcohol and sides.  You have to pay full price for the burgers if you want a full meal, but for the food and atmosphere it tends to be worth it.

Wine list

If you're going for wine, it's more economical to buy a bottle.  We went by the glass and with the amount we drank, the bottle would have been a much better choice.  I tried three different kinds, my preferred being the red malbec/syrah for 3 dollars a glass with happy hour pricing.

Ravenswood "Zen of Zin"

The sides menu is mainly just fries.  We ordered the zucchini fries and they were pretty delicious.  Covered in breadcrumbs and parmesan and served with a side of ranch.  And zucchini is a vegetable, so obviously you're being healthy.  I saw a few tables getting a split order of two different fries.  Our server didn't tell us about this, but it's probably the smart choice if you want some variety.

Zucchini Fries

Sides menu.  I didn't see anyone getting half-off cottage cheese, but I guess it's possible.

I prefer to sit out on the patio.  I went on a rainy night and the fireplace and heat lamps got rid of the chill entirely.  In fact it was so comfortable, we ordered another glass of wine after the meal just to stay and enjoy the atmosphere.  I can only imagine how nice it would be on a sunny day.

We ordered dinner on this trip, both meals being tasty and priced around ten dollars.  We both left happy and with leftovers! (my favorite part of a good meal.)  If you stick to the sides and wine, you'll walk away feeling very thrifty.  And I definitely want to go back and try their shakes.  They're not on special during happy hour, but I'll gladly pay full price for a strawberry cheesecake or creme brulee milkshake.  On second thought, Zinburger- put your shakes on your happy hour menu!

Clint's "Almost Famous" Vegetable Burger- smoked mozzarella, tomato marmalade & mayo

Zinburger- manchego cheese, zinfandel braised onions & mayo

Overview:
Time: Daily, 4-6 pm
Specials: Half off glasses and bottles of wine, beer, cocktails, and side dishes.  

Rating: 4/5 shots

Zinburger
1865 East River Road #101
Tucson, AZ 85718