Night Life

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, March 8, HP Pavilion, San Jose

Whoa! Cars were lined up on S Street, waiting to get into the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op's jammed parking lot.

Entertainment events in the Sacramento region.

Get a taste of Ireland at Gallagher's Irish Pub, where the walls, ceiling, carpet and even chairs are green.

Overall, El Patrón has a casual atmosphere of friendliness and fun. Tables and booths line up against the windows of this laid-back restaurant.

If you are meeting up with friends after work but you still need to save room for dinner (either here in the dining room adjacent to the bar or waiting at home), this is the place to go for Morton's "bar bites" and the special Mortinis or beer and wine specials.

This French bohemian bistro has a delightful knickknack wall and friendly staff.

Snag a couch or plush, oversized chair to enjoy your glass of wine.

Located in a building that was once a firehouse, the restaurant keeps the music soft and relaxing to ensure guests can easily converse.

Enjoy a dollar off all 13 of its draft beers and $3 well drinks and house wines. If you're hungry, bring a large group and enjoy three appetizers for $10.

Depending on which night you choose to visit Shenanigans, you may get an entirely different experience.

All beer, well drinks and house wine are half off during happy hour in the bar.

Enjoy draft beers for $3, well drinks and wine by the glass for $4, and house margaritas for $4.50 during happy hour.

Traditional Mexican décor, including decorated pots and artifacts, surround you in this laid-back, relaxed restaurant.

You can only enjoy happy hour in the bar area, except Tuesday through Thursday, when it's available on the terrace.

Happy hour only works in the bar area, and the seats fill up quickly, especially on Thursday and Friday. Try to get a booth parallel to the bar. The red fabric and wooden tables and chairs are small and cozy, letting you have an intimate conversation with friends.

During the NFL happy hour you can get food such as garlic Parmesan fries for $4 or the ever popular Guinness brat for $5.

The real steal: All house wines, beers and appetizers are half-off. That discounted price is $3.50 for house wines, $2 for beers and $5 for all the cocktails.

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant

Legends Sports Bar and Grill at the Woodcreek Golf Course

Entertainment events in the Sacramento region.

There is a nice balance between the upscale and the casual at Source.

There's an Old Sacramento that exists even when famous jazz musicians and your relatives are not in town.

For just $9, enjoy a pitcher of beer plus a half order of knots for free.

For just $4, choose an appetizer such as tempura, deep-fried oysters, pot stickers or fried calamari.

Create a full meal with select rolls priced at $5, including Mikuni classics like the Fair Oaks, made with crispy fried shrimp for those who aren't fans of raw fish.

Gallagher's Irish Pub has turned that luck o' the Irish inside out for its customers. The longtime downtown favorite, located inside the Broiler restaurant, has centered its happy hour menu around a lucky 7-7-7 deal: seven combinations at $7 each until 7 p.m.

For just $4 each, try an appetizer such as the maple cider grilled chicken skewers or shredded beef street tacos along with select wine by the glass or cocktails such as a Meyer lemon drop or raspberry martini to name a few options.

Enjoy appetizers such as coconut shrimp or a dim sum basket for between $4 and $9.

Inside the brick restaurant, you'll find people smiling and talking over stacks of onion rings, half-yard beers and colorful cocktails.

For $10, enjoy a generous "small" three- topping pizza and draft beer from 4-10 p.m. on Wednesday.

Belly up for $3 draft beers or pay $5 for specialty drinks and select wine by the glass.

Select sushi rolls are $5 each. These aren't dinky, shrunken happy hour rolls, either.

Handformed sliders made fresh to order are a buck apiece, and well drinks and domestic pints are $2.

Get the Eat and Play combo so you can choose from one of nine entrees and get a $10 video game card for $15.99 or a $20 video game card for $23.99.

Entertainment events in the Sacramento region.

Whether it's after work or on a weekend afternoon, enjoy $3 house wines and well liquors, $2 spinach dip and garlic parmesan fries, and $1 sliders (beef or turkey mini burgers) and pico de gallo and chips.

Chickpea fritters and steamed mussels are happy hour treats at Lucca's.

This week's featured bars with good deals on drinks and food.

At the cozy Sheepherder Bar and Grille, there is a wealth of happy-hour foods and drinks on special. Freshly prepared bites like the chicken quesadilla ($4) and Thai chicken lettuce wraps ($5) are served in hefty portions perfect for sharing several family-style among a few friends.

The real steal: This establishment's long list of discount bar eats takes care of just about everyone.

Select from a list of eight small plates featuring some unexpected happy-hour munchies, such as cauliflower in XO sauce and spicy tuna spring rolls, all priced at $5.

The bar area of Macaroni Grill is a far quieter, mellower experience than the restaurant proper.

The Sturgeon, as the regulars lovingly call this floating Sacramento landmark, may not have the biggest happy hour menu in town – just two items are offered at special prices – but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in meticulous craftsmanship.

The real steal: La Casa is tossing around deals left and right – draft beers are $3.50, well drinks are $3 and house wines are $4 – but the true bargain is the food.

The Haines brothers up California-casual neighborhood dining with oomph at all of their locations: the Bistro 33 restaurants, Spin Burger Bar and Suzie Burger.

Entertainment events in the Sacramento region.

Signature drink: Bisla's Blonde Ale, brewed exclusively for the bar by Humboldt County's Lost Coast Brewery, is a light, mild beer with just a slight bite of hops at the finish. Very summery.

The real steal: At Cal Expo, deals abound. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, visitors are welcomed with different food and drink specials.