Bistro Taste on a Fast Food Budget

I love a cheap happy hour. I love it even more when it's posed in a setting that appears to be up-scale, where you can sit next to people in expensive suits and pretend like you're there for the scene, not the cheap drinks.

Bistro 33 in Midtown in that kind of place. As a whole, any of the ever expanding restaurants in the 33rd Street Bistro franchise (They now not only have their Bistro 33 in Midtown and the original on 33rd and Folsom, but one in El Dorado Hills, Davis, Riverside Clubhouse, Suzie Burger in Midtown and the new Tre which I have no information on. Ok, I need to take a breath...) offers good food and drinks at a fairly decent price, but it's certainly not the place you think of when you need a cheap drink. The other night my friend Yelena and I stopped for a couple of drinks and managed to only spend about $30 with tip between the two of us. For a place that describes itself as "hip, sexy and stylish" (according to the website) that's pretty damn good. Especially when you find out what we had... so here we go: 2 lemon drops, 2 dirty martinis, 1 vodka tonic, 1 dungeness crab and artichoke dip and 1 shrimp "cone" (baby shrimp in a paper cone). We were full and drunk, and I think that should be the goal of any good happy hour.

If you've been there you know the service can be a bit sketchy. Lucky for us we had good service, good drinks, and good food. Selected drinks are no more than $3.50 and selected apps are only $3. Go for the crab dip. Bistro 33 also makes a bitchin' breakfast.