Happy Hour at Alessandro's

This week I got to pick the Happy Hour spot for our happy little group. I always walk by Alessandro's, look at the menu posted beside the door, and think about stopping in to try it, but until this week I never actually made that happen.

The Alessandro's building holds a lot of good memories for me, but from a very different era. My father used to work for Commercial Business Supply when it was located in the same building and he would often take us with him when he went in on weekends to finish up work. While he worked, my sisters and I would play in an upstairs storeroom which housed all kinds of extra office furniture. It was a quiet, creepy, old building in those days with none of the warmth of the current Alessandro's Restaurant.

We waited for the doors to open for the 5:00 Happy Hour as more of our party showed up. Happy Hour is only in the lounge, which has smallish tables. Since there were six of us, we decided to shove some tables together and make one large table for our party. It worked, but it's not ideal for large groups.

The atmosphere at Alessandro's is quiet, elegant, and artistic. I say artistic because of the gallery of art they have hanging on the walls of the restaurant. The art is a nice addition to the space and definitely worked as a conversation starter for our group (as if we needed it!).

Our server let us know which of the appetizers were half price. There were five appetizers on the Happy Hour menu and the rest were available for full price. I assumed that the portions would be small, so I ordered the Thin Crust Flatbread, topped with blue cheese and carmelized onions, and the Insalata Caprese. Others at the table ordered Chicken Strips, Coconut Shrimp, and Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus.

We also ordered drinks. Ah yes, the heart of the happiest of hours: martinis! Alessandro's has an A-Z martini list which includes classics, such as the Lemon Drop (which I tried), and things I'd never heard of before like the Orangetini (which I also tried) and the Italian. Someday, I'm going to have to go back and try the rest of the 26 martinis. If you're looking for something a little lighter, one of our party also ordered hot tea which was served in a cute little french press.

The bread that came out before our food was absolutely addicting. It was a soft bread with olives in it and was served with a dipping oil. When our food arrived I was quite surprised with the portion sizes of the two items I had ordered. They were quite generous, and I was especially happy about this when I tasted the caprese salad. The flatbread was good, but would be better shared with a group as the flavor of the blue cheese gets a little strong after the first piece or two. Everyone else seemed happy with their food choices and the bites I tasted were definitely tasty.

I had a good experience at Alessandro's for my first Happy Hour there. The service was good, but a little slow at times due to the fact that they were pretty busy (and understaffed according to the bartender). She was very helpful though and did a good job for the number of people she was serving. I would definitely return for Happy Hour here again. Now, if only they still had that dark, upstairs room filled with ominous looking office furniture...it would be perfect!