Like foreclosures, unemployment and pin-striped bankstas lugging home million-dollar bonuses, restaurant happy hours are a sign of these very unhappy economic times.
What you don't see much of--at least not yet, anyway--is an entire mall going happy for a few hours a night. But that is the deal at CityPlace, which beginning Wednesday, Feb. 24, and continuing every Wednesday until, well. . . who knows? is hosting "A Taste of CityPlace," a mall-wide happy hour from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Of course, you don't have to be happy to shop there, but shell out $15 and you get a wristband that entitles you to free food and booze from CP restaurants, who'll be setting up booths in the plaza. The inaugural Taste will feature munchies from B.B. King's Blue Club, City Cellar, Mamma Che Buono, Taverna Opa and Wild Olives Café, washed down with Yellowtail Reserve wines and mojitos made with Tommy Bahama rum. The B.B. King All-Star Band will also perform, the first of a series of bands to play each Wednesday.
More of what your 15 bucks gets you: 20-percent discounts at CP restaurants, among them Blue Martini, Brewzzi, Bellagio, Kona Grill, Sweet Ginger and Thai Jo; free cover and 25-percent off at B.B. King's; and deals at CP shops like Banana Republic, Fresh Produce, Lost City Cigars and Quicksilver Roxy. You'll also be entered in a sweepstakes to win gift cards and a grand prize of a free trip to Naples (that would be Naples, Florida, ingrate, not Italy).
Money may not buy you happiness, but at least it will purchase a couple of happy hours.