Kevin Smith

BUAD 878

Dr. Diane Ferry

10/26/04

Food and Lifestyle Research

Happy Hour

Definition and Event Specifics:

Happy Hour is an event in the United States. I do not know if this event is held in other cultures. It is not celebrated by everyone and it is not celebrated on specific days or occasions. Happy Hour is a certain amount of time in the early evening (5:00-7:00pm) where friends and/or co-workers meet at local taverns to drink alcohol and eat food. They are traditionally held on Thursday and Friday nights, but they can be celebrated any day of the week. At this time, usually the taverns have drinks that are reduced in price. Many of the taverns also have free food. These events are scheduled by co-workers where the team wants to meet socially outside of work. They can also be organized among friends that do or do not work together.

Where I work, we celebrate a Happy Hour once every three months. I usually do not attend them all because I do not like most of my co-workers. I go once a year to still be a member of the team. I do go to a Happy Hour event about once per month with a group of friends that my fiancée and I know. We go out for drinks and then stay at the tavern for a nice dinner. Usually we then go back to one person’s house to play cards and drink some more alcohol!!!

Food:

Happy Hours consist of traditional American food. Some nicer bars have better free food and some cheaper bars have no free food. Some food examples are “NACHOS” which are corn tortilla chips covered with tomatoes, hot peppers, cheese, sour cream, and spicy meat. They are served in a big basket or on a plate and everyone shares them. They are very messy but they are very good. Another food is “BUFFALO WINGS” which are hot chicken wings. These are named Buffalo wings because they were originated in Buffalo, New York. These are also served on a plate that everyone shares. People dip them in a blue cheese salad dressing. Also, they are made in different degrees of spiciness. A third type of food is “MOZARELLA STICKS”. These are cheese sticks that are covered in a breading and then fried in oil. They are very good when they are dipped in tomato sauce.

Drinks:

Most people drink alcoholic drinks at happy hour. Happy hours are an opportunity for people to relax and have a good time so they usually drink a lot of alcohol. The most popular drink is BEER. There are many kinds of beer and some are very light while others are dark and heavy. I do not like beer so I cannot tell you much more than that. Currently, drinks called MARTINIS are very popular. These are very strong drinks made of vodka or gin. They are mixed with flavored liquors and even olive juice. Many people can get drunk after drinking only two of these drinks. A popular martini that women like is called a COSMOPOLITAN. Another popular drink is the MARGARITA. This drink originated in Mexico but is now very popular in the United States. It is a mixture of Tequila, ice, lime juice, and salt. If you do not like these drinks you can have a SHOT, which is a little glass of undiluted alcohol. Most guys have shots of whiskey or rum. Some final drink choices are a RUM AND COKE, a CRANBERRY AND VODKA, or a SCREWDRIVER, which is orange juice and vodka.

Usually there are some people that do not drink because they are responsible for driving home the people that have too much alcohol in their bodies. When you are in the condition you are called DRUNK. Other names for this condition are HAMMERED, SOUCED, or BLITZED. People in the US are not allowed to drink alcohol and drive.