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Cool Stuff About Business and Entertainment in the Greater Harrisburg, PA Area. |
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Cool Stuff About Business and Entertainment in the Greater Harrisburg, PA Area. |
| Friday's @ 5:01 A Review Of The Best Happy Hours In Central PA T.G.I.Friday’s
Just walk in Friday’s door at 6:00p on a Friday, and you’ll understand completely why MODE chose this namesake as our first-ever Friday’s@5:01 Happy Hour review.
Everything you would have expected from a great Happy Hour was in place and running at just the right speed. As you walk in the front door, you’re greeted by several Friday’s employees — complete with suspenders, buttons galore, and ear-to-ear grins. The music is contemporary and playing appropriately loud. TVs strategically adorn the bar area, and the crowd seemed to be in a very good mood. Mention the Happy Hour to any server, and all fingers pointed to the terraced bar, a well-stocked wrap-around bar with comfy stools and plenty of elbow room. Drinks are discounted during happy hour, $1.00 off drafts, and 50˘ off mixed drinks and wine, but only at the bar. We ordered a myriad of beverages, including perfectly made margaritas of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic renditions, and towering 23oz. draft beers. Off to the right of the bar is the FREE food! Friday’s offers hand-carved turkey and roast beef, served on fresh, soft rolls. The wait was short, and the server, Chef Greg Lownes, quite attentive. The sandwiches were fresh, and worthy of a regular lunch or dinner plate. The MODE Happy Hour Review Crew decided to move the party to a table up on the balcony. Our “speechless” server, Sonia Bixler (hoarse from a football game), catered to our every need, taking drink and appetizer orders faithfully. She made regular visits to our table, and was easily flag-able from her momentary resting places. We ordered several appetizers, ranging
from the crispy, whole-onion, onion rings ($3.59) to the NOTABLES: The bartenders are on the ball; they were spotted several times making sure that the drinks they served wound up in the hands of proper-aged patrons. The moral: bring ID. For you vodka fans, Absolut is kept on ice. Also, get there early if you want the FREE food. Finally, while both the Ladies’ and Mens’ bathrooms were cleaner than average, the mens’ room floor was flooded when I went to check it out. A great test, I thought, as I told a passing-by server of the problem. I planted myself next to the phone at the door to the mens’ room, figuring on a reasonable wait for someone to come and fix the problem would be about five minutes. Less than a minute later, Manager Ed Wright sped by, scoped out the bathroom, and headed off for a mop and bucket. Impressive. CONCLUSION: Friday’s is one well-oiled Happy Hour machine. The experience was painless and clearly maintained with professionalism and flair. For those of you that would discount Friday’s because they’re a chain, tsk, tsk, tsk. The only one losing out is you. Friday’s will surely be a litmus test for Happy Hour Reviews to come.
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The
MODE Happy Hour Review Crew was pretty impressed by the entire Friday’s
experience. From the quality of the drinks and their prices to the
quantity of the food and its preparation, we could not find one negative
thing to say about Friday’s Happy Hour.
Tex-Mex tower ($9.29), which arrived piping hot on a three-tier tray
standing 18" tall. Although the food took over 30 minutes, we were
having such a good time that we never really noticed.