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Best Bar Food (Entrees)
Best Bar For A First Date
Best Bar For Live Entertainment
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Best Happy Hour Buffet

Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill
Three Locations


READERS' PICK: The selection of Applebee's as best happy hour buffet says more about the changing nature of Tucson than a dozen Skinnys saturated with no-growth venom. If you live downtown, around the University or even in what used to be "central," there's good chance you've never stepped inside any of Tucson's trio of Applebee's; all three are located in especially Phoenician parts of town--the northwest and east sides. The evening I visited the Wetmore Applebee's there was no "buffet" as such. Instead, a couple selections--wings, jalapeño poppers, etc.--were half-priced for the duration. With the WNBA on the screen and young professionals answering cell phones, I actually wondered if I'd taken a wrong turn off Oracle and wound up somewhere on Camelback Road. There's really nothing to distinguish Applebee's from any of the other family-friendly, Cheers clones out there: Service is professional and almost Disney-like in its courtesy, the food is good enough bar food and is as reasonably priced as one could expect. Those of us who live in what is increasingly "Old Tucson" who're interested in a peek into the future of public libation, need drive no further than Applebee's for a kinder, gentler happy hour.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Carlos Murphy's, 419 W. Congress St.

A REAL SCREAM: When the legendary Cushing Street Bar and Grill (Cushing Street at South Meyer Avenue) re-opened with a spectacular new menu, we never thought it could get any better--until this summer, when the staff introduced its new happy-hour menu, slashing prices on some mainstays and introducing a few new delights. For less than $4, you can treat yourself to red beans and rice, seafood gumbo, scallops and pasta, calimari, and tasty vegetable quesadillas. Best of all, happy hour comes twice a day, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the afternoon and 10 p.m. to midnight as your night draws to an end.


Case History

1998 Winner: Cushing Street Bar & Grill
1995 Winner: Carlos Murphy's Restaurant


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