As I’m getting ramped up in my new job, I have been traveling a lot and missing most weekends at home. Thankfully, that hasn’t stopped us from checking out some new spots for happy hour during the week. For those who are following along, I’ll keep all of the happy hour posts in one category for a quick-stop resource on days that you’re stressed and overwhelmed about deciding on the perfect happy hour spot. Does that happen a lot to other people too? No? Just me?
Batch Gastropub: 83%
Wine (20%): 9/10
Beer (20%): 10/10
Bites (20%): 8/10
Cocktails (15%): 9/10
Hours (15%): 10/10
Days (10%): 0/10
Up first is Batch Gastropub in Brickell (http://www.batchmiami.com/menu/happy-hour/). This spot is about as All-American as you can get and is a solid sports bar choice just a block away from the insanity at Mary Brickell Village. There is no shortage of TVs in this place, and the staff are super friendly. They’re also known for the in-table taps that you’re finding everywhere, which is always fun on football Saturday. Here are some highlights from their happy hour menu:
$4 select bottled beer
$5 14 craft draft beer
$5 Sangria/house wine
Various liquor specials
$6-$8 food selections
Drinks: I’ve been on a malbec kick lately; maybe the Spanish in this town is impacting my wine taste (yes, yes, I know malbec is a French wine, but when most of the local malbecs are Argentinian, you can’t help but ignore that little nugget of history). Batch’s house malbec is Diseño, which I order every time I see it on a menu and always end up switching to a cab by the end of the night to satisfy my desire for tannins. Someday I’ll learn my lesson. Batch’s happy hour wine list is actually pretty good with 6 wines for $5, but I did take away one point for the noticeably missing cabernet. Blogger’s prerogative. My friends all picked from the 14 craft beers for $5. Now is probably when I should tell you that I don’t know a lick about beer. I have this weird aversion to bubbles…I’ll go into it someday, but I don’t want you to think I’m too weird before we get to know each other. Before you shut your computer and storm off asking why you’ve wasted 4 minutes of your life reading a happy hour review written by someone who doesn’t like beer: I, Hailey, vow to take detailed notes and observations of my dining partners’ beer-drinking experiences and describe them in detail for your future enjoyment. I forgot this time. It won’t happen again.
Bites: Batch’s food menu has a pretty good variety of upscale bar staples. The Pretzel Bites ($6) were good; nothing special, but they didn’t need to be. The beer cheese sauce that they were served with was fantastic….pretty sure I could have eaten it with a spoon (no, of course I didn’t…when anyone was looking….). The actual pretzels were honestly a little dry and not very warm; they looked like someone took a soft pretzel and cut it into chunks, instead of actually baking bites.
Forgive the dark photos, a sports bar is not the prime location for a photo shoot.
Batch Gastropub: Pretzel Bites
The Truffle Fries were really tasty, until you got under the top layer, at which point they became solid, really expensive French fries. That may have been our fault; we could have mixed the cheese up a bit, but that’s a lot to ask of 4 hungry professionals at 7:30PM. I also didn’t notice much truffle flavor, but it seems that any French fries with extra olive oil and cheese can pass as “truffle fries” these days.
Batch Gastropub: Truffle Fries
Finally, we ordered the Batch Calzones (formerly known as “Batch Hot Pockets”…I’m sure there was a copyright infringement in there somewhere). The seasonal selection had fall vegetables, gruyere cheese and chicken. Ours came out slightly scorched on the crust, which actually gave them a nice rustic flavor. Our waiter never mentioned the chicken, and I personally think chicken in cheese or pizza is usually a little dry, so I think the calzone would have been fine without it. BUT…all was redeemed because the calzone was served with that awesome cheese sauce.
Batch Gastropub: Batch Calzones
Overall, this place is a great standby for happy hour. I see ourselves returning frequently, but it’s probably not the place that I HAVE to take people when they’re visiting. Unless I’m craving the cheese sauce…then maybe.
yummiami 