May's Top 10 happy hour list —offering a deal on both food and drinks — includes several new restaurants and bars, and a few updates from some old favorites.
DOWNTOWN
BATANGA
The Place: Batanga, one of a new crop of restaurants and bars that have opened downtown including The Original OKRA Charity Saloon, Goro & Gun, Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar, and Clutch City Squire, serves up Latin American tapas and has a great outdoor patio.
The Food: Catalan Style Pork Ribs, Patatas (potatoes) Batanga and Grilled Chicken Pinxtos (the Basque word for tapas) for $4 each during happy hour.
The Drinks: Ice-cold beer, sangria, and red or white house wine are priced at $3. For a dollar more, order a mango or traditional flavored mojito.
The Times: Weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
THE SAM BAR
The Place: The Sam Houston Hotel may have gone back to its original name, but with a fresh take on the space that includes renovations from the 100 guestrooms to the The Sam Bar.
The Food: The happy hour menu features both shareable and small bites. On the shareable list: $8 white truffle mac and cheese and $7 Jury Fries tossed with duck fat, grated parmesan and chives. Small bites include $6 stuffed mushrooms with chorizo and a $9 grilled steak skewer.
The Drinks: Wet your whistle with $3.50 domestic beers, $4.50 imports/micros, $5.50 well drinks, $6 call drinks, $6 house wine, and $7 premium drinks.
The Times: Weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m.
MIDTOWN/ MONTROSE
ELEVEN XI
The Place: Eleven XI, Midtown's newest restaurant, features a menu by chef Kevin Bryant and a cocktail program by general manager and mixologist, Joe Welborn. The duo’s combined talents make Eleven XI worth your dime, especially with discounted prices during happy hour.
The Food: The Hand Ground Prime Burger on slow dough Challah bread with fries is a deal at $6. An order of fried smoked pork shanks (think buffalo wings with twice the meat) tossed in your choice of a myriad of house sauces is just $8 and Gulf Oysters are $1 apiece.
The Drinks: $2 of of all spirits.
The Times: Tuesday through Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m.
THE GOOD LIFE
The Place: The latest from co-owners Jeff and Darren Van Delden, also of Saint Genevieve, Wonder Bar and Red Door, is The Good Life Kitchen & Bar. Chef Kevin Naderi of Roost consulted on the bites menu. The drink list features edible cocktails (aka gourmet Jell-O shots), which while not on the happy hour menu are hard to pass up.
The Food: $6 Dаіlу Fооd Bохеѕ change daily. Expect to see regular menu items as well as innovative ideas from the kitchen.
The Drinks: $5 wеllѕ, $5 wіnеѕ, $3 dоmеѕtісs plus a daily drink special. While there's no official happy hour on the weekends, specials include $5 Grey Goose Bloody Mary's, $5 mimosas, $2.50 draft beers, and $12 sangria pitchers on Saturdays. Sundays, enjoy $1 mimosas and $7 Bloody Mary's.
The Times: Happy hour is Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. Weekend drink specials are Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
PISTOLERO'S
The Place: The just-opened Pistolero's, from Shawn Bermudez of Royal Oak and Boondocks, spotlights tacos and tequila.
The Food: 2 for $6 full size tacos.
The Drinks: $5 frozen & rocks house 'ritas, $4 sangria and $1 off all drafts.
The Times: Weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m.
WASHINGTON AVENUE
LITTLE J'S
The Place: This neighborhood sports bar, complete with an ample amount of flat-screen TVs and games, is located in the space formerly occupied by Salt Bar on Washington Avenue.
The Food: Mondays, crawfish and all the essentials are $5.95 per pound. Wednesdays, Little J’s offers $6 bacon food pairings to go with whiskey drink specials (see below). Example fare thus far: blackened shrimp with bacon grits, and Andouille sausage with roasted potatoes and mac and cheese.
The Drinks: Mondays, mini pitchers and big beer specials to go with your crawfish start at $6. Wednesdays, whiskey drinks are $5.
The Times: Monday from 6 to 10 p.m. and Wednesday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
AROUND TOWN
TEXAS DE BRAZIL
The Place: New at CityCentre, Texas de Brazil, an 8,500-square-foot Brazilian steakhouse, offers a happy hour deal in the bar and lounge areas.
The Food: Get your fill of protein with a small plate of chicken breast, garlic sirloin or sausage for $8.50 each (or two for $12.50).
The Drinks: Domestic beer is $3, wines by the glass are $5, well drinks, martinis are $7, and the house specialty, the Brazilian Caipirinha, is $5.
The Times: Weekdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
AMERICAS
The Place: Cordua Restaurants has a new beverage director, James Watkins, and a new social hour menu available at both locations, The Woodlands and River Oaks.
The Food: Prices vary from an order of $4 empanadas to a $19 tasting of four ceviches. A favorite snack is the Angel Wings (chicken wings) with brown butter, habanero-papaya sauce and blue cheese for $11.
The Drinks: Cordua Cocktails such as The Toronjada made with whipped orange vodka, lime, grapefruit, and soda are priced from $8 to $11.
The Times: Daily until 7 p.m.
THE UNION KITCHEN
The Place: This family neighborhood restaurant and bar has locations in Bellaire and Memorial.
The Food: Half price appetizers include a crab stuffed avocado and Tejas Kobe Carpaccio for $6.50 or less.
The Drinks: Wines by the glass are $6, sangria is $5, drafts are $3, specialty cocktails are $7, and wells are $5.
The Times: Seven days a week —from 11 a.m. to 6:30 at Memorial and from 3 to 6 p.m. at Bellaire.
ÉTOILE
The Place:Étoile at Uptown Park offers fine French cuisine, an aesthetically pleasing environment, friendly service, and a new happy hour menu available at the bar and on the patio.
The Food: A few of the items featured on Étoile's Social Hour Menu are Chef Verpiand's basque crab cake lollipops, beef short rib sliders and merguez sausage on ciabatta. All are $7 and under.
The Drinks: For $6 each, order select wines by the glass and cocktails such as the Moscow Mule.
The Times: Sunday through Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Fig Cream Cookie cocktail at Eleven XI
The miso caramel sundae at Balboa Surf ClubCourtesy of Western Addition
The buttermilk sundae at CredenceCourtesy of Credence
Pistachio soft serve at ElRo Pizzeria and CrudoCourtesy of ElRo Pizzeria and Crudo
il Braco's Italian sundae with olive oilCourtesy of Western Addition
Katami's sundae is made with Japanese shaved iceCourtesy of Katami
La Lucha's soft serve sundaeCourtesy of La Lucha
The Marigold Club's sundae cartPhoto by Zach Horst
Medium Rare's hot fudge sundaePhoto by Alex Staniloff
The Annie sundae at The Annie Cafe and BarPhoto Kirsten Gilliam
The Pit Room's Memorial location has a dessert bar to create sundaes. Photo by Alex Montoya
The coffee ice cream sundae at Tiny ChampionsCourtesy of Tiny Champions
The turtle brownie sundae at Turner'sPhoto by Brian Kennedy