Some people consider Thursday the new Saturday. We think those people aren't doing enough with Wednesday. But if you're hanging onto Thursday, read on to see what's going on all over the Valley.
We love this way-up-north massive cowboy bar. It has a dance floor, several bars, tons of seating and a super-cheap happy hour. From 2 to 6 p.m. every Monday through Saturday, there are more than a dozen appetizers and drink specials for just $1, $2 or $3. Our favorites: a slice of pepperoni pizza, $2, a half-dozen wings, $2, and small domestic drafts for a buck each.
Looking to bring a little bit of Scottsdale to Mill Avenue, the Cherry Lounge and Pit is a sprawling nightclub with two DJ rooms and a trendy fan base. The bar stays true to its name, decorated in red with sexy pictures featuring cherries all around. One of the biggest draws is the go-go dancers, perched above the dance floor, who work up a sweat along with the patrons. Normal people can go wild, too, by hopping onto one of the many platforms throughout the venue. And the last Thursday of every month, it gets even more scandalous with the Scandalesque Burlesque. Doors open at 9 p.m., and some of the Valley's sultriest entertainers take the stage at 10 p.m. There's provocative singing, dancing and outlandish variety acts. Take it all in with two-for-one drinks.
Whether you think of yourself as a woman, a gal, a chick or a chica, those blessed with two X chromosomes are known as wahine at Trader Vic's on Thursdays. Half-price drinks and appetizers for all ladies, costume contests and live entertainment from the band Kokomo spice up wahine night at the fashionable Polynesian-themed spot. Men can join the fun, as Bacardi rum and 42 Below vodka drink specials are good for everyone.
Mill Avenue gets a touch of class from La Bocca Urban Pizzeria & Wine Bar, a hip pizza joint where diners can enjoy their pies while lounging on couches out on the patio, where people watching is great, or inside the art-filled dining room. Although the thin-crust artisan pizzas are a must-try—with varieties such as chicken and pesto and harvest mushroom—the eatery also offers bruschetta, salads and sandwiches. Happy hour, from open to 6:30 p.m., features half-price beers, glasses of wine and single-liquor mixed drinks. On Thursday nights, patrons are also treated to live acoustic music.
With the decor of a European wine cave and the air of a tryst destination, Kazimierz World Wine Bar is the perfect place to escape to, any day of the week. But for $5 on Thursdays, you can check out smooth-jazz vocalist Dennis Rowland. Past a back-door entrance that reads, “The Truth Is Inside” (a play on the Latin phrase “in vino veritas,” which means “in wine there is truth”), you walk into a stone room softened by candlelight and dark windows decorated with stained-glass trees. Plush leather couches and cushy chairs in vineyard shades and wooden casks complete the feeling that you've not only escaped the desert, you've escaped the continent.
Thursday nights are Skyy ladies' nights at this recently remodeled, upscale Old Town lounge. Happy hour runs from 8 to 10 p.m., including no cover for ladies all night, half-off all drinks in the house and beats by DJ J Alan. Those looking to splurge a little can get bottle and table service for $150.
At all of these laid-back locations, those with big stomachs and small wallets (and designated drivers) can indulge in both the daily happy hours and reverse happy hours. If you're looking for daytime goodies, stop by the Dos from 4 to 7 p.m. for a $1 happy shot, which changes daily, and $4 menu items like a pair of tacos, quesadillas and gringos rolls. For the nocturnal, reverse is from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. with the same rundown. And don't forget, Dos Gringos serves up $2 Coronas all day, every day.
Sassi is gorgeously designed to resemble a Tuscan villa, and the food is just as striking. Sassi's bar offers half-price antipasti from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. At that time, you can also indulge in $7 glasses of house wine. But we also recommend dishes like orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe. Many of the pasta dishes feature house-made pasta like Cordolona—rope pasta with pork polpettini, red sauce, oregano, pecorino and bread crumbs. Do you feel a Mediterranean breeze? It's blowing in with the wood-roasted calamari, grilled veal chop and grappa-glazed carrots.
Get a little exotic on the cheap at this trendy, flashy sushi joint. Food and drink specials abound from 3 to 7 p.m., and the sushi menu is perfectly priced for sampling. The menu includes California and spicy tuna rolls for $3, shrimp tempura rolls for $4, and crispy spicy tuna, dragon and Las Vegas rolls for $5. Sip on half-price cold sake and specialty drinks or $4 seasonal red wines. Sake Bombers are also half-off.
Honestly, y'all, what fun is happy hour without a mechanical bull? Whether you're rarin' to go for a ride on the bull yourself, or are more of a "sip your drink and smirk at people who fall off after two seconds" kind of person, Cadillac Ranch serves up great specials to loosen up your workweek. From 4 to 7 p.m. every day, score half-price apps, $2 domestic bottles and drafts, $3 Black Oak wines by the glass, $3 import bottles and drafts, $3 wells, $3 frozen margaritas and $5 specialty drinks. Sunday through Thursday nights, reverse happy hour goes from 10 p.m. to midnight.
Billiards players flock to this little gem in the West Valley to rack it up with some of the Valley's best pool shooters, especially Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, when you can compete in one of Northern Lounge's pool tournaments. If pool isn't your thing, there are plenty of cozy booths where you can sit back and relax with friends or a date. There are killer drink specials every weekday from 10 a.m. (the words “go ugly early” come to mind) to 3 p.m., such as $1 beers, $1 well drinks and rotating shots for $1. And you can play pool for free from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.
Drink specials: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Know a good Thursday drink special or happy hour we should add to the list? Comment below or e-mail phoenix@metromix.com.
