The Spot: BLT Steak, 5402 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley, 480-905-7979, /www.bltscottsdale.com.
See Also:
- Ten Favorite Phoenix Happy Hours
- Gruyere Popovers from BLT Steak
The Hours: Happy Hour is offered daily from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Interior: BLT Steak, which is located in the Camelback Inn, is expectedly swanky on the inside. It's not the kind of place you'd go with just anyone, but if you have some picky in-laws in town, you're sure to impress them at BLT Steak's happy hour without going broke doing so. While the digs are pretty classy, it still has the relaxed resort atmosphere so it's easy to lose yourself in a few drinks, share some great food and have a happy hour or two.
The Food: With all of their amazing "Indulge" menu items priced somewhere between $5 and $8, it's hard to choose just one... So we didn't. We ordered their insanely popular popovers, hamachi, steak tartar, calamari, escargot, grilled asparagus salad and rib sliders. While other places are giving you chicken fingers and French fries for that price, BLT Steak serves up some truly gourmet items for happy hour patrons. Everything was absolutely delicious, aside from the sliders and grilled asparagus salad, which we can only assume are good because they never showed up.
The Drink: Since their pints are priced for happy hour at $5, which is the regular price of pints at most other bars, we decided to go the signature cocktail route. At most happy hours, you'll find a $3 well on menu, but usually specialty cocktails are kept from us thirsty deal finders so it was refreshing to see a full menu of drinks with special pricing.
We tried out the mango mule kick, their tropical twist on our gingery favorite: the Moscow mule. The sweet, spicy and deceptively alcoholic drink is one of the best variations we've had. Plan on cabbing it to BLT Steak's happy hour because you'll definitely want more than one of their tasty cocktails. Other options include a fig-infused old fashioned, a tequila bramble that's heavy on its namesake and an almost dessert-like apricot pie sidecar.
The Conclusion: Classy apps and cocktails for an affordable price, along with a mellow, relaxing environment with a great view make BLT Steak a great escape for happy hour. This would have easily been an A+ if it weren't for the fact that we never got out sliders or grilled asparagus salad.
Grade: A
