Best Happy Hour + Tapas

Café Ba-Ba-Reeba, on the street level of the Fashion Show Mall right across from Wynn, has been one of my favorite happy hour places for years. You can’t beat it: half-price on sangría pitchers (many varieties to choose from; typically, I go with the traditional red) and a good selection of tapas (small appetizers meant to be shared with the table) for $3. Many times, when I invite friends to go have tapas, for some reason, they think I am saying “topless.” I have to explain that no, we are not going to eat at a strip club, even though that is also possible in Vegas.

We choce Café Ba-Ba-Reeba again a few weeks ago during Earth Hour, when (almost) all of the lights on the Strip were turned off. The patio at the restaurant – I can’t resist al fresco dining – was excellent.

Some of my favorites include the traditional tortilla española (nothing to do with the Mexican tortilla; this is based on eggs and potatoes), the albóndigas (Spanish meatballs) and dates wrapped in bacon (just pretend they have no calories).

Happy hour is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, bar area only, so get there early unless you enjoy fighting big groups of girls for tables after a long week!

Café Ba-Ba-Reeba at the Fashion Show Mall
3200 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
(702) 258-1211

--By Judy Jennner

Sedona: Forget Happy Hour

In these troubled economic times, restaurants are finding it challenging to keep their doors open. Sadly, many fantastic places in town have recently closed their doors, including Sapporo (best happy hour in town), Sea Stone (that particular corner in Boca Park appears to be cursed), Louis's Las Vegas and Fish Camp at Town Square (where else could you eat alligator prepared by a well-known chef?), and many more.

The restaurants that are alive and well are busy coming up with creative and interesting ways to keep diners coming. Surely you will have noticed the coupons in the mail, the ladies' night drink specials, the early bird specials, the extended happy hours, etc. Interestingly enough, Sedona on West Flamingo and 215, site of one of our favorite patios in town, does not have a happy hour, unless it happens to be Friday.

As I don't plan my happy hours on a specific day, I met up with a good friend at Sedona on a lots-of-empty-tables and near-deserted-bar Tuesday. Our semi-friendly waiter seemed surprised when I asked him about happy hour, and went on to tell us that it's only on Fridays. However, we could get a bottle of wine at half off, which didn't help, as I wanted a gin and tonic. No conveniently-priced appetizers, either. Since we were there and were hungry, we had drinks and dinner anyway. The food and drinks are quite tasty at Sedona, but we also like good value and customer appreciation programs of some sort. Next time we will head to any number of bars and restaurants that offer fantastic deals. For instance, the day before we went to Brio's at Town Square: can't beat their great selection of appetizers at $2.25 during happy hour.

Sedona Lounge
9580 West Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, NV 89147
Phone: (702) 320-4700

--By Judy Jenner