Happy Food Hours

Comments () | Published June 9, 2009

Taberna del Alabardero
Monday through Friday 3 to 7

This opulent Spanish dining room woos younger customers with half-price tapas before the expense-account set arrives. The happy-hour crowd sometimes spills out of the cozy bar into the dining room, where you might find yourself snacking atop a plush crimson banquette. Recent winners are sweet piquillo peppers stuffed with Catalonian sausage ($4.25) and a crock of shrimp sizzling in olive oil and garlic ($6.75 for a large portion). Pitchers of sangria are $14 for one of the best renditions in town.

Toledo Lounge
Nightly, food until 11; drinks Sunday through Tuesday 6 to 9, Wednesday through Saturday 6 to 8

You can’t find a bar much friendlier and less pretentious than the narrow Toledo Lounge, a refuge from the usual Adams Morgan madness. It’s a dive in every sense—duct tape hides holes in the vinyl booths—and there’s nothing highfalutin on the menu, either. Half-price food deals abound: Appetizers on Mondays, burgers on Tuesdays, and grilled cheese and hot dogs on Wednesdays. Skip the dog—it’s okay but not special—and go for the melted-cheese sandwich on buttered sourdough with a side of onion rings. Wash them down with $2 drafts. If liquor is your thing, rail drinks are $3.

Tags: Nightlife