Blanco

La Encantada
2905 E Skyline Drive #246
Tucson AZ 85718
(520) 232-1007
www.foxrc.com/blanco.html

Parking: Big Ole Free Lot!
Days: Daily
Times: 4-6pm
Drink Deals: ½ off Margaritas & Mexican Beers
Food Deals: ½ off Starters & Ceviche

Over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, I ventured to Tucson for a little Happy Hour Tour with my favorite out-of-town Happy Hour Tourist, AP of Lake Tahoe Happy Hour Tour fame)! During my short stay, we visited 3 distinct Happy Hours and quite a few other local bars. This is my story.

I landed on Friday afternoon and AP already had four Happy Hours picked out – all at La Encantada, an upscale shopping mall near the suburbs. Feeling in the mood for a Friday afternoon margarita, our first stop was Blanco, with their excellent Happy Hour selections of ½ off Margaritas, Mexican Beers, Appetizers, and Ceviche.

I immediately liked the atmosphere – the restaurant used its natural light well with its white and light wood walls and dark wood wood tables. We chose a cozy seat at the bar and the things got even cozier as the Happy Hour crowd rolled in – there wasn’t a free seat to be found by 5:45pm! Worth noting – Blanco is part of the Fox Restaurant Concepts, a neat boutique restaurant group with 13 “progressive, on-trend restaurant concepts” in AZ, CA, CO, TX, and KS. AP’s taken me to some of their other restaurants and I have to say, I’ve liked all them all and that Blanco’s vibe definitely fits into the company’s repertoire.

Round 1: Blood Orange & White Peach & Hibiscus Margaritas ($4.50 each)

Round 2: Dos Equis ($2.50) & Vanilla Margarita ($4.50)

For our first round of drinks, we ordered the Blood Orange Margarita and the White Peach & Hibiscus Margarita – both $4.50 and tasty as can be! We also snacked on the complimentary chips and ordered their house-made Guacamole and Shrimp & Crab Ceviche (both $4.50) as dippers for the chips. Again, delicious. And delicious enough to keep us around for our next round of drinks, a Vanilla Margarita ($4.50) for AP and a Dos Equis ($2.50!) for me. The Vanilla Margarita was terrific and unlike anything I’d had before, though the idea of it reminded me of my favorite Amaretto Margarita at Maggiano’s.

Shrimp & Crab Ceviche ($5)


Complimentary Chips & Salsa & Guacamole ($4.50)

Being an Angeleno Happy Hour Tourist, I’m always happy when a Happy Hour dinner runs $20/person – so I was way excited when the bill came and it was only $28 pre-tip!! Like Herman’s Hermits once sang, “Something tells me I’m into something good!”

--JB

Rating: 4.5 Martinis