Barney's Beanery -- Bar, Bar, BAR food (cheap, tho)

Barney's Beanery
8447 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 654-2287

Happy Hour 4:00-7:00, M-F

Food - 5
Prices - 9
Service - 8
Total - 22

Barney's Beanery has a lot of great things on the menu. Unfortunately, most of them are not on the Happy Hour menu (which is a pretty good deal). There are only five items on the HH menu, all for half price, so even though there were only 3 of us, we still tried all of them -- because that's just how dedicated we are to the cause! The food on that table could have easily satisfied five (mildly) hungry people, so this place would be a good bargain for a group.

The hot wings were the best thing we had, although they were a tad overcooked. The sauce was great - spicy, but not painful, and blue cheese dressing was given on request. Next best was the Irish nachos - nacho cheese and chili over potato chunks. Tasty, but gut-bustingly fattening. That was followed by the "trio of overfried" (mozzarella sticks, fried zucchini and chicken fingers) which was okay, but nothing special -- the chicken fingers were overcooked and the mozzarella was undercooked.

The atmosphere here is great -- good music, pool tables, plenty crowded with groups and singles, and if there is a game on somewhere, this is a great place to catch it. The wait staff was fine - kept our drinks filled and was neither absent nor intrusive.

We had another event that night, so weren't drinking, but the beer seemed to be a good deal. Three of us ate heartily, ice tea and water all around, and got out of there for under $40, big tip included. Again, five peeps could easily meet here, split the apps, have a beer and go home for under $10 each. It won't be great food, but it's good fun and a bargain in these tough economic times.

So tonight, off to the Getty for the Illuminated Manuscripts exhibit, followed by a trip to the Luxe to check out what looks to be the best Happy Hour, yet. A reader sent me a pic of the menu that she snapped with her cell phone, and I gotta say, this one appears mighty tempting. Will report back soon.

And, as always, if you've sampled any of the HHs reviewed here, feel free to add your two cents in the comments section.