Temple Bar--North Scottsdale

First up for Happy Hour-izona is Temple Bar Sports Grill, located in the Wingate Crossing Shopping Center in North Scottsdale, right off the 101. This bar is easy to miss, tucked behind a Bank of America and CVS pharmacy, but if you know it's there, you'll be rewarded.

Temple Bar is an advocate of the double happy hour, offering its specials during the regular weekday hours of 3 and 7 and Sunday through Wednesday late-night from 10 to 1. It also runs daily specials, such as half off bottles of wine from 8 o'clock onward on Mondays and Wednesdays, "Three Olives Wednesdays," and Thursday Ladies' Night. If you wanted to, you could spend a whole hazy Wednesday at Temple Bar...

Besides its 12 beers on tap (good Irish staples including Guinness, Smithwicks and Harp, all served in a 20 oz. pint glass), Temple Bar features roughly 20 more beers in the bottle (or can, for Boddington's). The martini list leans more toward the ladies (although if a gentleman enjoys a French martini, who am I to judge?), and the bar is stocked

with all the expected labels.

If your stomach rumbles during the earlier happy hour, Temple Bar offers 9 of its 14 starters at half off. Besides pub grub staples such as Buffalo Wings ($5) and Chicken Quesadillas ($4), there's heartier fare such as BBQ Ribs ($4.50) and Sauteed Cajun Shrimp (a steal at $6). The Smothered Tater Tots ($4) are plenty big for sharing, or can be an artery-clogging meal all on their own.

If the weather isn't too blazing, try to take your drinks outside to the spacious patio, and if luck is on your side you might even snag a seat by the impressive fire pit. Peek around the corner to find the Cornhole setup, or watch the 3 HDTV's (pretty much always tuned to ESPN or The Game). Twenty more TV's are inside, as well as live music Fridays and a DJ on Saturdays.

The Important Stuff:

Hours: 11am--2am everyday. Full menu served until 10pm; late-night menu offered until 1am

Happy Hour: 3pm--7pm weekdays AND 10pm--1am Sunday--Wednesday

What's included: $3 draft beers, $1 off bottle beers, $5 glasses of house wine, half off well drinks and half off most appetizers

Location: 17050 N. Thompson Peak Parkway, Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Contact: 480-429-4520 or http://www.templebaraz.com/