The Spot: Cheuvront Restaurant & Wine Bar, 1326 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, (602) 307-0022. cheuvronts.com
The Hours: 4 to 6 p.m. every day; Reverse Happy Hour is 9 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. to Midnight Friday and Saturday
The Details: A wide selection of martinis - from the classic Cosmo to the sweet Berry Pomegranate - are just $5, as are mojitos and the Prickly Pear margarita. Six choice wines are just $4 a glass, and all bottled beer is $1 off. But it's the apps that are the real draw: There are seven delectable choices for just $5 each, from the One Cheese Plate to the 2 for $5 Bruschetta. There is even a $5 Small Caesar Salad - yes, a salad on a happy hour menu! - so now is as good a time as any to revive that New Year's resolution.
The Interior: Inside, Cheuvront is a bright, open, and airy space, with large windows that look out on the always busy Central Avenue. Right across the street you can see Burton Barr Central Library, and down just a couple blocks is the Phoenix Art Museum. Wooden chairs cluster around clean wood tables, with a few plush teal lounge chairs for relaxing with a glass of wine. Speaking of which, you can't miss the honeycomb wall of wines: Cheuvront is nationally recognized for both its vino and fromage. Outside, there's a large patio area where you can sit and watch the light rail go by.
The Cost: The check is a list of five fives: Three apps and two lip-smackingly good martinis comes to $25 before tip and tax.
The Conclusion: This is one happy hour where we couldn't put a fork wrong: Every app that graced our table was full of flavor, sweet and savory alike, and every plate left the table again spotless (though only because we mistook the mustard on the paté plate for some kind of hummus - wow, was that a big bite of mustard). After sipping that first martini, we were chatting with the table next to us (a pair of white-haired gentlemen in biker-gang chic who confessed to not really being "duck people") and trying to justify sampling every martini on the happy hour menu ("you still have that free pen from Discount Cab in your purse, yeah?"). We didn't want to leave this one, and we're definitely going back.
Overall Grade: A+
