This year for my birthday, all I wanted to do was launch this blog, spend time with my hubby and eat! Hubby knows how much of a foodie I am, so he decided to celebrate my birthday by taking me happy hour hopping! Like seriously, what did I do to deserve a man who knows how to solve my “I don’t know what I want to eat” problems?!
I began the day by relaxing in the bed, enjoying the unfamiliar feeling of taking a day off of being a business owner, putting the finishing touches on this blog (which still isn’t up to my standards yet; help I think I’m a perfectionist!), got dressed and headed out with hubby. He took me to my newest favorite addiction, Pinecrest. I LOVE everything about Pinecrest! Seriously. My goal is to try every restaurant and visit every storefront there. I think it’s only right because it’s where intentional date nights started and where the vision for this blog came to life. So I thought it was the perfect place to celebrate my 33rd birthday.
Our first stop was a place that I’ve been excited to try for quite a while, and that was 3 Palms. In my past life, I’m pretty sure I was Italian because I love authentic Italian food.
Let me start by saying:
ALL HAPPY HOURS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL
Everyone knows I love a great happy hour and I’ve been to quite a few, but I haven’t been to anybody’s happy hour that compares to 3 Palms. First off, the service was great. I had mixed feelings while walking in because there was no one there to greet us. So we went to the bathroom to wash our hands and sat at one of the bar top tables when we came back. A young lady was sitting there as well who appeared to be a customer until she gave us menus, took our drink order and brought over a server, after about 3 minutes of no one coming over to serve us. We learned that she was one of the team members whose shift had already ended, but she still didn’t want us to have to wait. Unfortunately, my family and I have been to plenty of restaurants where no one bothered to give us menus, let alone serve us when they weren’t “on the clock.” So I was very appreciative of her.
Now typically happy hours consist of smaller portions at lower prices, right? Well, 3 Palms gives you regular-sized portions at lower prices (on some stuff)! Yes, you read that right. So since hubby and I aren’t accustomed to that, and we were hungry, we ordered 2 pizzas, thinking they would be more along the lines of individualized pizzas. WRONG!
We also ordered calamari, mussels and 2 half salads.
When our waiter brought our food to the table, we realized we had ordered way too much food, especially if we thought we were going to another happy hour place afterward, but nonetheless we still enjoyed our meal and took a few slices from both pizzas home.
Tacos. Tequila. Margaritas. Enough said, right? Condado is my new favorite taco place and I’m so disappointed that I wasn’t able to save room for more tacos. Their happy hour included drink specials and was $1 off all tacos. With the tacos ranging from $3.50-$4.50 on a normal day, this was a great inexpensive happy hour. Condado has a variety of taco suggestions to choose from, but I loved the fact that I could build my own. I ordered a peach/mango Margherita and 2 Sweet Lucys (hardshell inside of a softshell with queso and guac). I packed both tacos with chicken, lettuce, cilantro/onion, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro lime aioli sauce. THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!
With our stomachs full and our bodies tired, hubby and I finished our tacos and headed home. My birthday continued with a home-cooked meal from hubby and fun-filled night with laughter, presents, and love from my family. This was definitely the best birthday yet.
Do you know of any great happy hour locations here in Ohio or out of the state? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to try them!