NIGHTLIFE

Happy Hour on Pratt Street

Unwinding at Vaughan's, Joe Black's, The Fish Tank and Sweet Jane's

March 27, 2007
By DAVE MORAN, Special to ctnow.com

Two words for you: Happy Hour. The venerable bastion of the work week has been helping nine-to-fivers of all shapes, sizes, sorts and skill unwind and ascend "the hump" of their jobs since as far back as the 1920's.

Let's face it. Sometimes work can suck, and sometimes all you really want after a hard day of it is a place where you can just kick back and relax, a place where everybody knows your name - preferably one offering moderately priced sprits and free or heavily discounted food.

Here is the first in a series spotlighting the many and varied local establishments, eateries and wateringholes that offer something in the way of a Happy Hour to thirsty and hungry patrons fresh off the job in the capital region. And what better place to start than on Pratt Street in the heart of downtown Hartford.

Vaughan's Public House
59 Pratt Street, Hartford
(860) 882-1560. www.irishpublichouse.com
Happy Hour: 2-6 p.m. Monday through Friday
Specials: $3 drafts Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday; $2 drafts Tuesdays; half-priced appetizers all days

There simply aren't enough good Irish pubs in my world. But I can't fault Vaughan's Public House for that fact, because they happen to be one of the good ones. And they know how to host a good Happy Hour, too.

Vaughan's likes to begin the festivities earlier than most places, at 2 p.m., by offering a selection of 13 draft beers all for only 3 bucks. And we're talking about the good and the imported stuff here--Guinness, Smithwicks Irish Red, Stella Artois, Boddingtons Ale -- not just Miller, Coors or Bud Light. Heck, Vaughan's doesn't even keep light or domestic beer on tap. It seems to offend the place's finely tuned Irish sensibilities, apparently.

If you go on Tuesdays, dubbed Thirsty Tuesdays, you'll get an even better deal, with all drafts going for only $2 apiece all day long.

Appetizers are half price Monday through Friday during Happy Hour as well, and include such standard barroom staples as buffalo wings, chicken tenders and fried calamari rings, but also a few uniquely Irish offerings such as Cieli Spuds (crisp potato skins filled with cheddar and bacon, and topped with sour cream) and bacon, garlic and cheese topped Broiled Oysters.

Vaughan's doesn't offer much in the way of live entertainment, but simply mingling with the diverse and rambunctious crowd barside can sometimes be all the amusement you need. And if that doesn't do it for you, there's usually a football (soccer) match playing on the big screen in the rear.

Joe Black's
31 Pratt Street, Hartford
(860) 524-0796, www.joeblacksbar.com
Happy Hour: None
Specials: None

Stately and sedate, Joe Black's does not technically even categorize into the Happy Hour set -- they offer no food or drink specials or live entertainment of any sort -- but that didn't seem to deter the very large crowd of people crammed around the main bar when I visited the place at 5 o'clock on a Thursday afternoon.

I very quickly noticed something about that crowd as well: everyone in it was dressed nicer than I myself was. A lot nicer.

And most seemed to be discussing the net worth of their stock portfolios, the elaborate details of a particularly tricky law case, or politics, and holding drinks in their hands that I knew had been poured out of some bottle pulled down from the very top shelf above the bar, the one that I can't even afford to look at most days.

So, sheepish, and tieless, I quickly retreated back outside to the cobbled sanctity of Pratt Street once more. Joe Black's was definitely not my type of scene.

I don't know, maybe it's the type of place I'll appreciate more when I'm older, or when I make more money.

Woody's Fish Tank
915 Main Street, Hartford
(860) 278-5499, www.woodyshotdog.com
Happy Hour: 4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
Specials: $2 draft beers all days; various food specials

Not technically "on" Pratt Street, but easily accessible from it through a rear door on Pratt Street located directly across from the entrance to Joe Black's, I found Woody's Fish Tank to be much more laid back and down-to-earth than the high-end atmosphere of Joe Blacks.

And, really, how can you fault a Connecticut restaurant that is positively glutted with Miami Dolphin memorabilia?

I certainly can't, especially not after I discovered that Woody's offers all six of its draft beers for the bargain-basement price of just $2 for the duration of its Happy Hour festivities, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Food specials vary from day to day, but in the past have include twenty-five cent buffalo wings, fried dough pizza, or, if you're really lucky that particular afternoon, maybe even some variety of Woody's famous footlong all-beef hotdogs.

And, really, if you go to Woody's you have to at least try one of its footlong dogs. They've been named to a number of Connecticut's "Best of…" lists. Regardless of the toppings you may elect to pile on top of one (and there certainly is a long list to choose from), won't set you back much more than 3 bucks.

Monday and Tuesday afternoons Woody's also plays host to an event called Guitar Hero, where they basically just allow regular old Joes to get up on the small stage in the rear and wail away on their guitars.

The Chess Club also assembles for a few matches and a few more beers Monday afternoons…although, apparently, the Chess Club only consists of about 4 or 5 members at this point…but is growing, the manager (who was also a member), assured me.

Fridays are also a good day to show up, but more because of the fact that it's Friday than for any special offerings or live entertainment.

Woody's also serves wine, but not liquor. Oh yeah, and all the free peanuts you can eat!

Sweet Jane's Rock & Roll Eatery
88 Pratt Street, Hartford
(860) 882-6754
Happy Hour: 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday
Specials: $2.50 draft beers all days; free buffet Fridays

Sort of a sports bar, sort of a bar that caterers to the live music set, Sweet Jane's Rock & Roll Eatery seems to be filling an interesting niche in the Hartford area of late: that of a post-college bar for working professional who aren't quite ready to abandon their co-ed and carefree roots just yet for a place like Joe Black's, but who are a little too old or mature to still be seen hanging in those same old college joints.

Sweet Jane's runs its Happy Hour from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays, with $2.50 drafts each day that include the standard domestic offerings, a few imported selections, a couple of nice microbrews (Sierra Nevada, Harpoon), and even a local offering (Hooker Ale).

On Fridays, they provide a free Happy Hour buffet, mostly standard bar food like pizza, wings, chicken tenders, French fries, etc. But it's been my experience that you can't really ever complain about free food (nor should you).

Thursdays and Fridays Sweet Jane's also hosts a number of live acts on the stage at the rear of the spacious dining area, which to my surprise was the only place out of all the establishments that I visited on Pratt Street that actually did so. And was a bit of a welcome change of pace after the radio that I'd heard at all three of my other stops…particularly when Thursday's performer launched into an acoustic rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" that seemed to go over pretty well with the already upbeat crowd.

Big screen TV's tuned into a game of some sort scattered about the downstairs area, and several pool tables upstairs, offer additional entertainment if the music and cheap beer alone isn't enough to do it for you. Or the Journey cover tunes.

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