Greetings, eaters and drinkers, and welcome to Food Fight: The Happiest Hour—Round Two. The last time we did this—that would be round one—was the glorious summer of 2006, and our focus was sunny exposure: happy hours on decks, patios, and rooftops. Now we're heading into late autumn of 2007, when the skies go gray, dusk comes at 4:30 pm, and an early evening happy hour can feel like the perfect night out before nocturnal hibernation in your warm, dry home. Even better, happy hours are thrifty, or at least thriftier, and round two of The Happiest Hour goes after the best of Seattle's happy-hour offerings with a hungry heart and healthy liver. Inside you'll find Cienna Madrid going nightclubbing, Angela Garbes trolling sports bars, Sage Van Wing exploring the favorite happy hours of Stranger reader-reviewers, and Paul Constant discovering just how happy one man can get with eight bucks, among various other delights. Got a happy hour of your own to praise or critique? Get thee to The Stranger's reader-review-powered bar and restaurant listings: www.thestranger.com/bars. Now dig in.
Budget Swank by Bethany Jean Clement
Hunting for Sport by Angela Garbes
Nightclubbing by Cienna Madrid
The $8 Experiment by Paul Constant
Frugal Exotica by Lindy West
Reader Review Revue! by Sage Van Wing
No Food, Just Booze by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee