Last night I finally made it to Happy Hour at the Daily Grill in the Westin, and was very, very impressed. As I had been told, they have a happy hour mini-appetizer menu consisting of smaller portions of their regular menu items for $2.95 each. I ordered two of the items, pictured below.
This is what they call their “miniature” chicken pot pie – it sure didn’t look miniature to me! I stretched all the fingers of my hand out and it just about covered the pot pie, to give you an idea of its size. This thing is a meal in itself. I’ve heard that the full-sized version of the pot pie is about the size of Big Foot’s Sasquatch burger. My food took about 20 minutes to arrive, and at first I thought, “What’s taking them so long,” but then I remembered that I ordered a chicken pot pie, and realized that was a sign that they were preparing it from scratch and baking it in a real oven, not reheating it in a microwave. Very, very good.
The other appetizer I ordered was the seared ahi tuna sashimi, encrusted in black and white sesame seeds and served with wasabi, ginger and soy sauce. Again, delicious and just unbelievable that this cost less than three bucks.
- Fried calamari
- Popcorn shrimp
- Spinach artichoke dip
- Chicken quesadilla
- Queso Fundido with various ingredients including ground sirloin
- Hummus with flatbread and cucumbers
- Side Kicks – two mini cheeseburgers with melted cheddar, Thousand Island, lettuce and tomato
- Crab cake Side Kicks with remoulade sauce
- Onion rings with blue cheese
I was delighted with my meal, but as I ate, I thought, “How can they possibly be making any money on this?” I got my answer when my bill arrived – the two apps were $2.95 each, but the pint of Blue Moon I had with dinner was an astronomical $5.75!!! For comparison, a pint of Blue Moon at the Saucer is $4. I had expected to pay more, considering I was dining at a very nice hotel, but I was thinking it would be more in the range of 5 bucks, rather than almost 6.
With that taken into consideration, would I still call it a good value overall? Yes. Those two apps still would have been a great deal at a dollar more apiece, and that would have brought the Blue Moon down to regular price as compared to other bars in the area.
Do I plan to go back? Absolutely, and often. Next time I think I’ll go with the crab cake Side Kicks, and either the queso or the hummus.