See also: Sierra Bonita Grill: Happy Hour Report Card See also: Los Olivos Mexican Patio: Happy Hour Report Card The Spot: Humble Pie, 21050 N. Tatum Blvd., 480-502-2121, www.humblepieusa. There are three other Humble locations in metro Phoenix (the newest in Kierland Commons) with more to follow.
The Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Happy Hour: 3 to 6 p.m. every day.
The Interior: This humble neighborhood restaurant, specializing in not-so-humble wood-fired pizza, is suitably casual with just the slightest veneer of sophistication. Expect lots of cafe tables and chairs crammed together in a small dining room whose most salient features are the wood-burning oven at the back and the looping indoor-outdoor bar that holds center stage.
Happy hour isn't limited to the bar, but it's the most fun place to be for people-watching -- especially if you grab a stool on the outside looking in. Patio misters keep things reasonably cool, but that's a pre-monsoon assessment.
The Food: Although Humble is popular for its creative pizza-topping combos, there's precious little imagination at work on the no-frills happy hour selection, which includes six items from the regular menu offered at lower prices.
Hot wings are always a crowd-pleaser, but Humble's Spicy Chicken Drumettes are average, at best -- no exterior crunch, no interior moisture, no lip-smacking coating of sauce, no carrots, no celery, and no blue cheese ($5).
Accompaniments here are jicama sticks and ranch dressing, a misguided (and unnecessary) attempt to take the original idea upscale.
Crispy French Fries, topped with parsley, garlic, lemon zest, Pecorino cheese and chile flakes and served with garlic aioli are as good as ever ($4), while crunchy, tempura-fried green beans, sided with whole grain mustard aioli ($4) let us delude ourselves about taking the healthy route.
Both make perfect snacks with beer.
Happy hour pies are nine-inchers (as opposed to the regular menu's 11-inch models) that may be topped with cheese, pepperoni or the tomato-mozzarella-basil combo that designates a Margherita ($6.50).
Puffy and blistered around the edges, it's a good pizza, but I find myself longing for Humble's more exotic toppings.
The Drink: Designated wines, beers and cocktails are discounted all day long, which means wines by the glass ($5), specialty cocktails ($4), well cocktails ($3) and draft beers ($2.50) are available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Specialty cocktails are fairly prosaic (pomegranate martini, spicy Bloody Mary). Then again, what do you want for four bucks?
The Conclusion: Humble's happy hour is of the get-'er-done variety: you will eat and drink, chill out and get full for an extremely reasonable price. But you won't leave saying, "Wow, that was amazing!"
Grade: B-
