Thursday, July 10, 2008

McCormick & Schmick's

Visited on Tuesday, July 1st

McCormick & Schmick's Happy Hour

Erin's Review
We haven't really gone out to eat since Sea Salt, but we did go out for a quick happy hour drink last Tuesday. We've been cooking a lot more, since we are doing a CSA this summer. Good for us, sad for this blog.

Anyway, we decided that we'd try out McCormick & Schmick's because we'd both heard they have a pretty cheap happy hour. The food deals are pretty much the same at McCormick & Schmick's as they are at M&S Grill which is 2 blocks away, but McCormick & Schmick's has a better patio, in my opinion.

I've been to both restaurants a few times before for lunch, and they are pretty good, but nothing that I thought was outstanding. I wouldn't really recommend going there over any of the other options in downtown. They are both fairly pricey and nothing that special. I haven't been disappointed necessarily, just not as impressed as I have been with other places in the area.

McCormick & Schmick's Happy Hour

The happy hour really is a great deal here - there are about 5 or 6 things you can get for $1.95, and a few things for $3.95 and $4.95 that are more substantial. I got the queso dip, which I have had at M&S Grill before, but I remember it being different. This dip was almost too spicy - the spice overpowered the flavor of the cheese. It was still a good amount for $1.95 though, and came with a lot of chips.

McCormick & Schmick's Happy Hour

McCormick & Schmick's Happy Hour

I'm not really sure I'd go back - there are places that have both food and drink deals at happy hour, so I'd probably go there instead. This got us dinner and 2 drinks for $15 though, which really can't be beat unless you go to Drink on Thursdays or Fridays for the free buffet.

Ben's Review

Erin and I made a snap decision last week to go out for happy hour after work. It was a nice day so we wanted to sit outside and my co-worker Mike raves about the great happy hour deals at McCormick & Schmick's (referred to as M&S for the the rest of this post) so we headed over to 8th and Nicollet to get a drink and some food.

I arrived first and got a table outside on the patio. Nicollet Mall is a great place to people watch on a nice evening when everyone is leaving work. Even by yourself you can stay amused for quite awhile by just observing people, it's funny.

McCormick & Schmick's Happy Hour

After scoping out the menu, Mike was right - the food deals are excellent. Cheeseburger and fries for $1.95. I don't care how shitty the cheeseburger and fries are, they're worth $1.95 to fill me up. There aren't any specials on drinks at happy hour, and you need to spend at least $2.50 on drinks to get the food deals, which isn't a problem since a beer was $4.50. I'm happy to pay that for a beer in order to get a ridiculously cheap dinner.

M&S has a good beer selection, I had a Surly Furious, but they had a variety of beers on tap. I feel kind of like a broken record whenever I write a review that involves me drinking a Surly, but I don't really care - I love that beer and I don't apologize for it. They also had Miller Lite so Erin was happy too.

McCormick & Schmick's Happy Hour

The cheeseburger and fries were both pretty good, especially considering the price (i.e. the only reason we went there). There weren't as many fries as I would have liked, but that's just me being overindulgent, I certainly didn't go home hungry.

We only stayed for our food and one drink so we were outta there within forty-five minutes I suppose, and for $15 with tip I can't complain.
  • Service: Our service was fine, we were pretty low maintenance that day anyways.
  • Food: My cheeseburger was pretty standard, (probably a frozen burger thrown on a grill). I liked Erin's dip too - it was spicy.
  • Drinks: Full bar with a good tap beer selection. No happy hour on drinks.
  • Ambiance: It was nice to enjoy a summer evening outside on Nicollet watching some of the crazies walk by.
  • Price: This is THE selling point of M&S at happy hour, you can't beat it.
  • Convenience: If you work downtown, this is pretty convenient, otherwise not so much.
Deets

McCormick & Schmick's
800 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis

Recommended
for happy hour specials