Union Square Grill

Finally! Someone's rewarding me the earlier I start drinking. At Union Square, I only have to look at the clock's little hand during the progressive weekday happy hour to tabulate the bill: 3 p.m. = $3 food and drink specials; 4 p.m. = $4; 5 p.m. = $5. (The Grill has a late happy hour, too, from 9 p.m. to close; fortunately, the price/time correspondence doesn't apply then, with food and drink specials set at $4.) My standard discount cocktail is a pulpy pink prickly pear martini, and until recently, I dug in my claws like a cat facing a bath when my friends pushed me toward ordering anything else. Then—Zang! Pow!—came Union Square's "Yazikazi" with Yazi ginger vodka, house-made sweet and sour, and fresh limes ($4 when I downed it at 4:18). Now it's a complete toss-up: I love them both too much. As yazi as that Yazikazi is, however, the best thing about Union Square's happy hour is sitting at a tall wood table, surrounded by brass and shine in the dim mood lighting, anticipating the unwaveringly high steak house standards that will be applied to bar and fast-food classics too. Oh my God! There are quesadillas (with roasted chicken and smoked mozzarella!), tacos (grilled fish and tomatillo-avocado salsa!), calamari (served with sorrel aioli and lemongrass vinaigrette!), hamburgers (Kobe beef with caramelized onions and Gruyère cheese!), and fries (decked out with truffle sauce and parmesan cheese, served in a cool cone!). I might never go through a drive-through again. 621 Union St., 206-224-4321, www.unionsquaregrill.com. DOWNTOWN