🍻 Longfellow happy hour rundown

On a gloomy Tuesday morning such as this, you may find yourself daydreaming of a brief release. Maybe, say, with an appetizer and beverage. At a moderate discount. In the company of friends – or at least strangers.

You can see where this is headed. Today we're talkin' happy hours, those time-tested ways to add a dab of color to a weekday while keeping a bar busy during otherwise slow times.

In the past few years, it seemed like these specials might become a relic of the pre-COVID era. But, anecdotally at least, they appear to be on the comeback. Longfellow-dwelling food writer (and breakfast burrito ranking collaborator) James Norton, who keeps a close eye on the price of dining in his Heavy Table publication, says he's noticed an uptick in such deals and other specials in the past year and a half.

"We've gotten to a point now where inflation of prices is hitting diners in a way they're feeling, and there's a newfound understanding among restaurants and bars that they have to compete on price," he says. "And that you can't, in the same way you could in 2020 or 2021, price things however you want and expect people will pay it."

Right now there are at least 16 such happy hour options in the neighborhood. Most include some kind of food deals, too, and a few offer discounts on NA beverages for those who don't drink – or at least not before dinner. Here's a rundown of each, ordered very loosely by the breadth of the offering and depth of the discount.

Parkway Pizza

Daily, 2-5 & 8-close; all day Wednesday

• 2-for-1 taps
• 2-for-1 wine
• $7 apps (pizza fries, artichoke dip, pepperoni bread, six-piece wings)