Thank Those Who Created “Happy Hour”

Two sailors pretending they are drunk and drinking from bottles while standing outdoors near pole.

A great “Happy Hour” with discounted food and drink, brings joy to my soul. Does anyone ever stop stuffing their face and think, where did “Happy Hour” originate? Well, I am here to tell you. Thanks to the boredom of U.S. Navy sailors, “Happy Hour” was a weekly entertainment program during the first World War. Instead of playing rock, paper, scissors on the ship, most sailors wanted more. Many sailors enjoyed drinking beer and being loud for all to hear. There was live music, movies, dancing and more to keep the sailors busy because, let’s be real, who wants to sit on a ship without entertainment? Exactly, no one.

Two servicemen standing with two women at bar lined with six bottles, more in background.

Since Prohibition (1920-1933) had to ruin the fun of drinking, “Happy Hour” become a code word used for drinks. People had to keep alcohol lowkey so that the authorities would not find out and take away the enjoyment of the sailors catching a buzz. Of course, there were rebels that needed to get their drink on before going out to dinner, so these “pre-gamers” would meet at someone’s house or at speakeasies, to drink. *Clink Clink* The term “Happy Hour” took off, and restaurants began to discount drinks and bar food as bait after Prohibition ended. Other businesses caught on the idea and created their own strategies to reel in customers.

However, not all states allowed the popular “Happy Hour”; in fact, eight states made it difficult to sell discounted drinks. Some of the states even went as far as to make it illegal. People consumed drinks, accidents happened, and those states had, had enough! Even in modern time some states banned or restricted alcoholic beverage. Since 1989, happy hour drink specials had been banned in Illinois. In 2015, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill into a law that would allow happy hour drink specials, with some restrictions. Finally, the Illinoisians were able to chug a nice ice beer till they could not drink anymore. Another state, Massachusetts, has one of the worst regulations for happy hour. Discounted drinks are not allowed because Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis approved a new Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission regulation.  Also, there is no such thing as an “open bar” to customers for a fixed price.

 Yes, as depressing as that sounds for those states that cannot enjoy happy hour, just remember, folks, you get to pound that tall beer and stuff your face with some chicken nachos.

P.F. Chang’s Restaurant Happy Hour

Don’t whine just drink.

Six pieces of delightfulness.

P.F. Chang’s Restaurant happy hour has good food and prices. I ordered a $6 Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and my friend ordered a $6 Colby Red Cabernet Blend. This restaurant’s nice, relaxing ambiance made it easy to put down two glasses of wine each.

The salted northern ribs and salad (I didn’t like it).

The Chang’s BBQ ribs and salad (again didn’t like it).

We ordered the $3 Chang’s BBQ Spare Ribs (270 calories) and the $3 Ricks Northern-Style Spare Ribs (240 calories) both orders came with two ribs each. I love ribs so next time I will order more. The two ribs complemented each other nicely; the Chang’s BBQ ribs were saucy while the Rick’s ribs were salty.

The chicken is sitting on top of the crispy rice noodles.

Don’t forget to check how many pieces come in each dish.

Our next order was a subpar $6 Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps (730 calories). The chicken was OK, but we got more lettuce than chicken. Lastly, we ordered the delicious and filling $6 Mongolian Pot stickers (700 calories). I will be back to order the pot stickers and ribs again. P.F. Chang’s has a decent sized happy hour and another menu for everyday specials, so I will be back to try more.

I am pleased with their happy hour drink menu.

I need to go on a Tuesday.

Next time I want to order their $4 Handmade Pork Dumplings (280/330 calories) with their $6 Organic Agave Margarita.

Islands

I would rather try more dishes with chili, but Quesadillas work too.

Islands can be a hit or miss when ordering food and drinks. I wasn’t a huge fan of the joint due to their regular food menu, but I decided to try their happy hour. My coworker and I both ordered their $6.25 blended strawberry and mango margarita.

It looked so good, yet looks can be very deceiving.

I couldn’t drink half of it because I started to feel sick from all the salt.

This is a must try. This dish was my favorite and I will be back to order it again.

I suggest if you order these tacos to ask for a side of cheese.

The rim wasn’t salted, but the drink itself was extremely salty, which made it unbearable to drink. My coworker’s mango margarita was salty as well, but not as unbearable. Under the happy hour section “Loaded Fries,” we ordered the delicious $7 chili mac. It had melted jack cheese, fries, boxed mac ‘n’ cheese noodles, chili and sour cream. Our server suggested the $6 chipotle chicken under “Mini Quesadillas,” which were three tacos that were a tad dry, but squeezing lime juice made it a little better.

The Big Island Iced Tea sounds bomb, but if all fails just order a beer.

Next time I will order spinach & artichoke dip, nachos and kalua pork.

The chipotle chicken came with tomatillo salsa verde, chipotle-white sauce, avocado and cilantro, but I think some cheese would have made the tacos better. Next time I want to try the $7 kalua pork with pineapple-Pico because it sounds like it would be juicy. Even though I only liked one thing on the happy hour menu there are still more options, so I will be back to give their other sections a try.

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse

Next time I will try the avocado egg rolls and a seasonal beer.

You don’t taste the alcohol because it’s a blended drink, so these can be dangerous.

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse is one of my top places I like to go to for happy hour with some coworkers mainly because of the beer. BJ’s has a handful of $6 items and half off on their mini deep-dish pizza for happy hour, which is only offered in the bar. BJ’s has happy hour deals on beer, but for other drinks you pay full price.

Instead of beer this time around I ordered a $9.50 frozen strawberry splash that came with a slice of pineapple. This drink wasn’t on the happy hour menu, but it was hands down a tasty drink. If I hadn’t driven, I would have ordered more. The drink reminded me of a fruit punch ICEE that you would get at a gas station, but with vodka.

Next time I am ordering two of these for me, myself and I.

I normally order their spinach and artichoke dip, which is my favorite, but this time I ordered something different – the root-beer-glazed ribs that came with a small side of a cole slaw salad. Their ribs were appetizing, so I recommend them because it was nice and tender, and there were no dry pieces.

They were a bit dry, but I didn’t want to drown them in ketchup.

The breading and sprinkle of cheese didn’t taste fresh.

Next, I ordered the sliders without cheese because they would have been an extra charge. I feel like any sliders should automatically come with cheese, even if it is on the happy hour menu. At least the dish came with lettuce, pickles and some sauce (I have no idea what it was-didn’t try it) on the side…lowkey, my dish looked sad, and it wasn’t all that great (I was a little bitter). BUT, if you take it home for leftovers and add cheese and some eggs, then that would be a good meal.

I ordered the mozzarella sticks, which were good, but I wasn’t impressed because the breading didn’t taste right. Overall, I recommend going here for happy hour if you want to drink beer and kick back with friends and family.

If you are not a beer person, that’s OK because they have delicious and refreshing fruity drinks, but unfortunately, they won’t be happy hour price. I highly recommend the root-beer-glazed ribs; I wasn’t disappointed. The sliders and mozzarella sticks weren’t to my liking, but I heard their avocado egg rolls were delicious, so next time I come in I’ll order that. I still plan on coming back and trying out their seasonal beers that are $1 off.

Limericks Tavern

I spy my little eye on an Apple Jim Beam.

BOGO, buy one get the other second for $1.

I enjoy going to Limericks Tavern an Irish pub in Chino Hills because it has good food and the ambiance is dimly lit with dark wood all around is my kind of place. This is a perfect place to go to when you just need a drink during the week and to party on the weekend. I ordered a 12 oz, $6 Golden Road Mango Cart beer to wash away a hard day.

left side is the avocado sauce, and right side is the salsa verde.

Keep the onions because it makes the tacos.

There $7 spicy street tacos (3) aren’t even spicy – I ordered the delicious short ribs. They had other options, such as carnitas and carne asada. The tacos came with a side of avocado a ‘oly sauce (house sauce) and an in-house salsa verde that completed the tacos.

That is not ranch, it’s blue cheese dressing.

The last thing I ordered was the $9 garlic parmesan wings (8) that had three wings and five drumsticks, a side of carrots and celery sticks and a side of blue cheese dressing. This is perfect for those who like a hint of cheese on their wings. I love cheese, so next time I will order a side of parmesan to make my meal more satisfying. The food was decent and plenty to eat.

Next time I go in a want to try their bacon mac n cheese and angus sliders because I heard they were popular. It gets busy Thursday-Sunday that contains a DJ, which keeps the energy flowing. Each location varies on prices and daily specials on happy hour.

The weather is changing and a Guinness stew sounds warming to the belly.

Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que

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  BBQ rib tips I crave every time I think of BBQ.

The thought of Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que restaurant makes me happy and giggly like a six-year-old. That is because I know Lucille’s has a good happy hour and some items contain BBQ sauce.  I would normally order the rib tips and lucky me they had them on the happy hour menu. Their happy hour menu prices are between $4 and $10, which I think is a fair deal, but it depends on what you order. Lucille’s happy hour drink menu for drinks is anywhere between $2 and $9, they offer $2 off all 22oz. draft beers and $1 off any other specialty drinks. What I appreciate about their menus is the calorie count is right next to the item.

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  If you don’t eat the biscuit with butter you’re weird.

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  I think jalapeño not, put that on the side.

For starters, Lucille’s biscuits and butter are a must because that’s what they’re known for. I really wanted to order the $9 smoked brisket nachos, but another table next to mine ordered them, and they did not look appetizing at all. I like my nachos with refried beans and heavy cheddar cheese that fully covers the chips; Lucille’s nachos looked dry and lacked the gooey cheese. But of course, I ordered the $8 BBQ rib tips (1,210 cal.) some pieces were a tad bit dry, but not dry enough for me not to box them up and eat later.

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  Be right back. I’m going to stuff my face for 10 minutes.

 My coworker and I kept going back and forth deciding whether we should order the $10 blazin’ burnt ends (660 cal.). The word of mouth was that the burnt ends were good, so we gave them a shot. The name doesn’t sound appealing because who wants to eat something burnt? But they weren’t burnt- the edges were crisp and quite juicy. The blazin’ burnt ends typically come tossed with sliced jalapenos but for our order we asked for it to be on the side. I’m glad because the jalapenos had a weird tangy taste to them. The last thing I ordered was the $7 spinach and cheese dip (580 cal.) because I love the cheesiness in my dip. However, it wasn’t as good as the ones at Tahoe Joe’s because instead of chunks of spinach, everything was blended. I still think it’s delicious, but I prefer the chunks.

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  Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

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  Next time I will order the $6 BBQ Sausage Duo.

Lastly, I didn’t order a drink other than water, but I took a swig of my coworkers $4.99, 32oz. mason jar peach lemonade that blew me away because it wasn’t over-poweringly sweet. Next time I go to Lucille’s I will order the peach lemonade. Overall, I dig their food.

The Pub

Bacon goes with everything.

We have a Lagar over here.

The Pub provides great food and good vibes with good happy hour prices. The Pub has happy hour throughout the restaurant, so I decided to sit on the patio. The waiter served my mom and me a small bowl of buttery popcorn as a complimentary snack while we looked over the menu. I liked being served popcorn rather than bread or chips because it’s different. Happy hour specials included $4.99-7.99 appetizers, $4 draft beers, house wine, well drinks and $6 crafted cocktails.

Just add salt, you’ll be fine.

Onions make everything taste better.

I wanted to eat healthily, so I order the delicious $4.99 grilled Brussel sprouts with sautéed onions. I felt like I had already dropped three pounds. The al dente Brussel sprouts were cooked perfectly since my mom hates eating vegetables that are mushy. I wanted comfort food as well, so ordered the $7.99 sloppy fries. The bacon is what really sold me on this order. The buffalo ranch sauce that came with the fries looked delicious, but unfortunately it wasn’t to my liking because the sauce didn’t mesh well with the fries. To wash everything down I had $4, 12oz. Pacifico Lagar that quenched my thirst, which stuffed my stomach to the fullest.

When: Saturday-Thursday: 3p.m.-6p.m.

              Friday: 3p.m.-7p.m.

Where: 5771 Pine Ave, Chino Hills

Vanilla Fish

Watching workers while sitting at the bar top.

This was my first time going to Vanilla Fish. I instantly loved the ambiance because it was a small dimly lit room. It took me to a place where I didn’t feel like I was in Chino Hills anymore. I sat at the bar top due to lack of tables, but at least I was able to see the workers cutting sushi. I wish I knew to pay cash ahead of time so that I would have been able to get a 10 percent discount when ordering a minimum of $20. Vanilla Fish had happy hour prices ranging from $6 for appetizers and traditional rolls to $5 house drinks. The first thing I ordered was the $5 Kirin draft beer 25 oz. For those who are not sure if the beer is to your liking, the server will offer a taster for no charge. The first thing I ordered for food was the $6 pork shumai (six piece).

25oz. Kirin beer that I did not finish.

There is an option to choose pork or shrimp shumai for those who prefer shrimp over pork. The pork shumai was delicious, but I practically inhaled the shumai because they were so small, and I was also sharing with my mom. Sharing is caring.  However, for how small the shumai were I wouldn’t pay $6 for them because the portion was more worth $4 or even a $4.50.

The juicy small pork shumai someone can easily choke on.

The second thing I ordered was the $6 salmon collar, and to my surprise, was a nicely sized appetizer that sat on a bed of lettuce noodles that contained a citrusy dressing. On top of the salmon were little orange fish eggs. Sounds sad, but it was good.

The delicious salmon collar.

The last thing I ordered was the $6 California roll (Blue Crab) (eight piece). The California roll wasn’t bad, but I have had better elsewhere. However, it was only $6 so I cannot complain; it did its job and I was full.

The too much sesame seed California roll.

The cool part about their menu was a sushi etiquette to show the “do’s” and “don’ts” when it comes to picking up sushi. The only two things I was impressed by were how big the beer was and the size of the salmon collar. However, the food was delicious so I would go back and order more of their happy hour.

$6 food items with $5 drinks can’t beat that deal.

When: Monday-Thursday: 7 p.m.- 9 p.m.

Where: 15870 Soquel Canyon Parkway Ste G. Chino Hills CA 91709

Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse

When: Monday-Friday: (11a.m.- 6 p.m.) & (9 p.m. – close)

Saturday: (10 a.m.- 6 p.m.) & (9 p.m.-close)

Sunday All day

Where: 3968 Grand Ave, Chino, CA 91710

Happy hour only provided in the bar and patio area.

On a mission to fill my stomach, I rushed over to the only place I knew that served happy hour starting at 11 a.m. on a Friday. Tahoe Joes Famous Steakhouse has cheap prices ranging from $4 for a large Bud Light/Coors Light, $5 house wine (cabernet, chardonnay, merlot) and a dollar off other cocktails. Keep in mind that happy hour appetizers portions are significantly smaller than the regular size appetizers.

Bailey’s and coffee in the making, up next the whipped cream.

I ordered a $7.50 Baileys and coffee and fueled myself with a $5.50 spinach and artichoke dip that had creamy cheese with chunks of artichoke and spinach. I was able to scoop the deliciousness with the colorful tortilla chips that were provided with the appetizer.

My heavenly happy hour food with a nice smell of deliciousness.

Next was the $4.50 five-piece tempura battered shrimp railroad camp shrimp. My favorite part was the bed of lettuce with peanuts tossed in a cucumber sauce and the side of sweet/sour soy sauce.

Lastly, I ordered a filling $5.50 ¼ lb cheeseburger with cheddar cheese that came with LTO and a side of fries.

I ate everything and wasn’t hungry till hours later. The happy hour here was worth my money.