TWIS Happy Hour Guide: Eat Here

As a Chicago-transplant, I get plenty of grief from my family and friends back home about how lucky I am to be living on the beach — I must be LOVING this weather! We’ve had a few really beautiful days here in Sarasota recently, even by our own standards. But when you’re working in an office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,

there’s not always an abundance of chances to take advantage.

So, here’s what I do when I’m done with the daily grind before the sun goes down: eat and drink things on rooftops. Specifically, Eat Here’s new rooftop bar at its downtown Sarasota location. And the new “3-4-5 Happy Hour,” which runs daily from 5 to 6:30 p.m., fits neatly into that little time frame.

The vibe: If you just need to relax after work, Eat Here's rooftop bar is the place for you. Lifted up above the downtown bustle, it’s quiet, breezy and peaceful. There are table accommodations for just about any size group – intimate tables for two, bar seating looking into the courtyard below, and even a couple cozy little couch setups.

The drinks: Eat Here is calling it the “3-4-5 Happy Hour” – $3 drafts, $4 well cocktails and $5 house wines. On draft, they’ve got Yuengling, Amstel Light and Stella. Can’t think of another place I’ve seen Stella for $3. I went for a well margarita, which was pretty tasty, for well tequila. Light and refreshing, it was a great complement to watching the sun set over the palm trees and the downtown skyline. The rooftop also offers specialty cocktails (not on happy hour, though). My favorite is the pineapple pomegranate martini – the pineapple vodka is infused in-house.

The food: The rooftop bar offers a special menu you won’t find downstairs, with some great deals. When we passed through the indoor portion of the rooftop, we found a free spread of cheese and crackers. Can’t get a much better deal than free. For $3, you can get a decent-sized bowl of Eat Here’s signature carmel-bacon popcorn, aka “Rooftop Crack.” The carmel will get stuck in your teeth, but it’s totally worth it. You’ll find several pizza, sandwich and salad options on the rooftop menu, in addition to a special menu that changes. When I was there last week, that menu included “The Green Pig” – ham and mozzarella with pesto served as a quesadilla, “The Blu-Za” – ham, bacon, pineapple, fig and blueberries on a pizza, “The Half n’ Half” – half of Eat Here’s “killa” grilled cheese with “one helluva tomato soup” and “The Maria” – sliced ribeye “Philly style” open faced on a brioche bun.

The picks: I went for my tried and true Eat Here favorite: the grilled cheese. It really is “killa,” on thick, toasty bread with gooey cheese and carmelized onions. And at $9, the “Half n’ Half” meal with tomato soup served on the rooftop is actually cheaper than the same meal downstairs. Ethan went with the duckling pizza off the regular rooftop menu – duck sausage, goat cheese and fig. This was super yummy – the sweetness of the figs balanced great with the savoryness of the duck and the tart goat cheese. Ethan thought it could use some Sriracha... but, really, so could most things in life.

The bottom line: Eat Here offers some of my favorite amped-up comfort food in town. To enjoy that for lower prices, affordable margarita in hand, curled up on a cozy couch is a little slice of paradise in itself, before you add in the fact that, well, we actually do live in paradise.

Eat Here Sarasota is located at 1888 Main St. / 385-8700