Thursday, August 28, 2008

Chicago area Metra Trains End Happy Hour




The Chicago Tribune reports that the busy Chicago area Metra commuter rail line will no longer be able to serve drinks in the trains "refreshment cars." Passengers are still able to bring their own alcoholic beverages onto the train except on St. Paddy's day and New Year's eve. There are a few reasons for this change in policy. Metra claims it only makes about $100,000 in revenue per year from these bar cars and they want to maximize the space since there is an increase in the number of people riding on trains these days because of high gas prices. Metra also says the counters and coolers in the bar cars block the exit doors and new federal regulations require these doors to be operational at all times for safety reasons.

For many commuters, they consider this their happy hour after work to enjoy and unwind while they travel back home. For Cubs and White Sox fans, this will definitely affect your pre-game drinking plans. If you used to plan on hopping on the train and drinking at the bar car, you'll now have to make extra time to run to the corner store or liquor store to pick up some booze and carry it all onto the train as opposed to just conveniently not worrying about buying alcohol and ordering from the refreshment car on the train. Many riders are against this and are petitioning to keep the bar cars open.

Watch a video and read the Chicago Tribune article here.

Go to www.happyhourwatch.com to find happy hour specials in your neck of the woods.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Florida Atlantic Football announces Happy Hour Thursdays


According to the FAU Sports website, Florida Atlantic Athletics will sponsor four Happy Hours at Miller's Ale House east Boca Raton location.



The Happy Hours will all be on Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. prior to each Home Football game:


• Thursday, September 4

• Thursday, October 2

• Thursday, November 6

• Thursday, November 13


The event is to rally behind FAU football prior to each home game and Coach Schnellenberger will be giving a pregame pep talk. Miller's Ale House will provide free appetizers and drink specials. Miller's Ale house is located at 9244 Glades Road in east Boca Raton.

We at www.happyhourwatch.com did a little research on the Miller's Ale House website and found two Miller's Ale House in Boca.

Boca West Ale House
9244 W. Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33434
(561) 487-2989 Phone

&

Boca East Ale House
1200 Yamato Rd
Boca Raton, FL 33431
(561) 988-9142 Phone

The FAU Sports website says the Happy Hour will be at the Boca East Ale House located at 9244 W. Glades Road. Look above, according to Miller's Website, the Boca East Ale House is located at 1200 Yamato Rd and the Boca West Ale House is at 9244 W. Glades Road. SO WHICH ONE IS RIGHT? Anyone from the area know? Please lease a comment and let us know. Ya'll have a big game against Texas this weekend and we at HHW want to make sure you go to the right Happy Hour!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Bobby Brown's Prerogative




TMZ.com reports that Bobby Brown had a double Grey Goose on the Rocks yesterday morning at 8:30am at LAX airport's Home Turf Bar. They also claim he didn't leave a tip. Either way, we're glad that Bobby believes in HappyHourWatch's motto, "No Matter what time it is, it's happy hour somewhere"

Article

Visit www.happyhourwatch.com to find local drink specials in your neck of the woods.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Happy Hour hits Politics - HAPPY HOUR FOR HILARY - hosted by the RNC?




The RNC (Republican National Committee) is hosting a "Happy Hour for Hilary" tonight (Monday, August 25, 2008) at 8:30pm to 10:30pm MDT at the Paramount Cafe located at 519 16th Street Denver, CO 80202.

Blog Article

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Free Drinks at Bloomingdale’s Today

This one is for the ladies. Today at the Molton Brown counter at Bloomingdale's in New York City, they are serving free drinks from 10am to 8:30pm. I'm not sure what kind of drinks or what the catch is, but it's worth checking out if you live in the area or plan on going shopping there this evening.

Article

EVENTS
• Stop by the Molton Brown counter at Bloomingdale's for their happy hour and sip on drinks while perusing their lotions. Bloomingdale's, 1000 Third Ave., at 59th St., first fl. (212-705-2000); 10–8:30.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

HAPPY HOUR ORDINANCE IN GAINESVILLE, GA

There are so many different laws around the country which restrict the amount of alcohol that can be served at bars and restaurants during happy hour. The Gainesville City Council recently approved a Happy Hour from 5pm to 7pm Monday thru Saturday.

Here are the key rules & restrictions to the "Happy Hour Ordinance" that was recently approved there:

1. Restaurant owners have the opportunity to sell drinks at a lower price from 5pm to 7pm, Monday thru Saturday

2. Restaurant owners are prohibited from using coupons or holding contests with the primary purpose of increasing the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

3. The 50-50 rule is still in effect, which requires restaurants owners to have food sales comprise at least 50 percent of revenue.

4. The Georgia state law called, "Merlot-to-go," allows restaurant patrons to take home partially consumed bottles of wine, and those that make provisions for wine tastings in the city.


Read the full Article

Another related news Article

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A "Sweet" Happy Hour

The Texan Cafe in Hutto, TX (just outside of Round Rock and Austin, Texas) is offering a pretty "sweet" happy hour. From 3pm to 5pm Tuesday thru Saturday, a slice of Pie and a Non-alcoholic drink is only $3.74. Usually a slice of pie itself costs $3.75. I think more places around the U.S. that specialize in desserts, pastries, and other non-alcoholic treats will offer more Happy Hour specials to drive business to get thru this recession. Read the article below for more info.


PIE HAPPY HOUR

Not your typical happy hour
Two hours a day, Hutto cafe offers pie happy hour
By Melissa Mixon

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF



Thursday, August 14, 2008

They come from out of town, from neighboring cities. Some take a break from local jobs just to get their sugar fix.

All of them have one thing in common: the love of pie.

It's a concept that The Texan Cafe in Hutto has tapped into. From 3 to 5 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday, the small down-home cafe offers a pie happy hour, when customers can get a slice of pie and a nonalcoholic beverage for $3.74.

During other hours at the cafe, a slice of pie costs $3.75.

It's not just the price that draws attention. It's the choices, customers say.

There's an apple pie that's served on a fajita skillet with brandy and powdered sugar. Another pie is filled with bananas and pineapples.

"They have too many choices. Every time someone comes into town, I try to get them to come here," said Sarah Lamneck, who was at pie happy hour last week for a meeting with local moms and their children.

"It's not like we can go to a regular happy hour," she said.

The cafe does serve wine and beer.

Owners of the cafe, Roger Joughin and his partner, Ron Yaudes, bought it two years ago after deciding to trade in their corporate jobs for something they consider a little more personal and laid back.

They don't have TVs in the cafe because, Yaudes said, "we want people to talk when they come in."

"We're both from Michigan, and we were brought up in families where you did a lot of car trips and you just like stopping and going into old diners," he said.

They bought the small cafe from Bud and Debbie Wheeler, a Round Rock couple who had opened it in 1996 in Frame Switch, a small stock-raising community three miles west of Taylor on U.S. 79.

The cafe didn't serve alcohol when the Wheelers owned it, and they wanted a way to attract customers when business was slow between 3 and 5 p.m.

Debbie Wheeler liked making pies, so the idea for pie happy hour was born.

"We'd bring people in for a cup of coffee and pie at a reduced price and then introduce them to our menu," she said. "It was our happy hour."

The Wheelers moved to the Hutto location in 2005 and eventually sold the cafe because it consumed too much of their time.

Now in the cafe, pies — some topped with whipped cream, chocolate chips or coconut — fill three rows of a glass display case. On the counter, hot fudge is advertised.

The pies are cooked daily starting at 8 a.m. by local women or by Joughin.

"I've seen cases where (Joughin) opens the mail at midnight and sees a magazine that has a recipe in it and he says, 'I think I'll try that tomorrow,' " Yaudes said.

The happy hour attracts from five to 25 people a day, Joughin said, and draws a variety of people including local retirees, high school students and motorcyclists just passing through town.

Pies and a drink used to sell for $3.50, but Yaudes and Joughin recently had to raise prices because of increased dairy costs and because they started using more extravagant recipes.

But that hasn't stopped people from coming.

Hutto City Manager Ed Broussard said that when his children do well on their school report cards, his wife rewards them sometimes by taking them to pie happy hour.

He has even rewarded his staff and colleagues by taking them there, he said.

In the past, when Broussard has needed a quick break from work, he has gone to happy hour for a slice of pie.

"It's a great stress reliever in the middle of the day, but it has to be a slow (work) day," he said.

ARTICLE

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Even Animals Get Drunk

Happy Hour Watch

In a recent NYT article, scientists have discovered that there are a few animals in the rain forests of western Malaysia that drink fermented palm nectar regularly as part of their diet technically making these animals, "alcoholics". Read the article below.

Here's are a few great youtube clips of "Drunk Animals" that are falling over and stumbling around after eating rotting or fermented fruit.

DRUNK ANIMALS


DRUNK SQUIRREL


DRUNK MONKEYS OF THE CARIBBEAN






NY Times - Observatory
It’s Always Happy Hour for Several Species in Malaysian Rain Forest

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

Published: July 29, 2008

The human species now has drinking partners.

German scientists have discovered that seven species of small mammals in the rain forests of western Malaysia drink fermented palm nectar on a regular basis. For several of the species, including the pen-tailed tree shrew, the nectar, which can have an alcohol content approaching that of beer, is the major food source — meaning they are chronic drinkers.

Frank Wiens and Annette Zitzmann of the University of Bayreuth were separately studying two of the species, including their eating habits. They discovered that the nectar of the bertam palm becomes fermented by yeast carried on the flower buds.

The pen-tailed tree shrew, in particular, takes advantage of it. By watching the animal and analyzing fur samples, the researchers estimated that the tree shrews consumed enough alcohol that they had about a 36 percent chance of being intoxicated (by human standards). But the researchers never saw any signs of inebriation, and from an evolutionary standpoint, it makes no sense to be drunk anyway. With predators all around, Dr. Wiens said, “it’s just too risky for an animal.”

The findings, reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that the tree shrews and other animals have some efficient means of metabolizing the alcohol. The findings also suggest there must be benefits to having chronic low levels of alcohol in the bloodstream — otherwise the behavior would not have evolved.

Those benefits may be psychological, Dr. Wiens said, perhaps enabling the animals to cope with stress of some sort. Further studies to determine the benefits may help in understanding humans’ relationship to alcohol, he said. And since tree shrews are similar to species that were precursors of primates more than 50 million years ago, studying their alcohol use might also provide some evolutionary background for human drinking, he added.

Article

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Man spent $1,000 a week on beer?

Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:51am EDT
SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian man convicted of his seventh drink-driving charge was spending about A$1,000 ($972) a week on beer -- enough to buy more than 2,500 small bottles a month, a newspaper said Tuesday.

The heartbroken construction worker began drowning his sorrows after breaking up with his partner five years ago, the Northern Territory News said, quoting his defense lawyer as telling a court in Australia's remote, tropical north.

The magistrate declined to jail the father of four, Michael Leary, noting he had quit drinking since his latest arrest, but he banned Leary from buying or even holding a beer for 12 months.

The magistrate also poked fun at Leary's favorite beer, Melbourne Bitter, in a part of the country where drinkers can be as loyal to beer brands as they are to football teams.

''(That is) poor judgment on two counts there -- drinking that much and drinking Melbourne Bitter,'' magistrate Vince Luppino was quoted as saying.



Article

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Starbucks Happy Hour




Starbucks is launching a nationwide promotion that offers customers any iced grande beverage for $2 after 2 p.m.

But, there's a catch: you must present a receipt from a morning Starbucks visit to get the discount.

The normal price of most grande-sized iced drinks is around $4.

The company said the afternoon drink deal is an answer consumers' calls for more value at the chain, which has seen traffic drop as gas prices rise and consumer spending falters.

The promotion runs through September 2, 2008.

Article

Sunday, August 3, 2008

UB40 - Red Red Wine - Song & Lyrics

UB40 did a great job with this song (well it is really their only good song). This has been around since 83 or so and people still love listening to it. I say this deserves a look at:



Red, red wine
Go to my head
Make me forget that i
Still need her so

Red, red wine
It`s up to you
All I can do, i`ve done
But mem`ries won`t go
No, mem`ries won`t go

I`d have thought
That with time
Thoughts of her
Would leave my head
I was wrong
And I find
Just one thing makes me forget

Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don`t let me be alone
It`s tearin` apart
My blue, blue heart

---red red wine rap section---

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time

Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when your just in my hand

Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it makes me feel bad

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line

Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing mek me do me own thing

Redred wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above

Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart

Red red wine in a 80`s style
Red red wine in a modern beat style, yeah

(chorus)

Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind

Give me red wine because it make me feel fine
Mek me feel fine all of the time

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla on the sweet dep line

The line broke, the monkey get choke
Burn bad rizla pon him little rowing boat


Red red wine i`m gonna hold to you
Hold on to you cause I know you love true

Red red wine i`m gonna love you till I die
Love you till I die and that`s no lie

Red red wine can`t get you out my mind
Where ever you maybe i`ll surely find
I`ll surely find make no fuss jus` stick with us.

(chorus)

Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above

Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart

Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above

Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing mek me do me own thing

Red red wine in a 80`s style

Red red wine in a modern beat style, yeah.