Upper West

With over four hundred reviews on Yelp and a solid four star rating, it was time for Dr. Drinks and the Veggie Vixen to head over to Upper West in Santa Monica and see what all the fuss was about. It was all about the dog.

This is the BIGGEST hot dog on happy hour we've ever had and worth every penny of the $8 you'll pay. It's a grilled kielbasa with celery seed, shaved fennel, tomato-red pepper relish, caramelized onion, and classic stadium mustard. Pair it with a $4 Tangerine Wheat on tap and you'll be at Upper West once a week for some serious happiness. Then you'll need a personal trainer, but you'll be REALLY happy on the way to your personal trainer.

Upper West provides two gluten free items on happy hour and that's something we don't often see. The Vegetable Flatbread is delish with grilled eggplant, black olive tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and truffled paquillo-arugula salad. Dr. Drinks had two. The Mini Shells and Cheese (Macaroni & Cheese for those who grew up on Kraft) is also gluten free and packs a cheesy punch. The portion size is small, which is good because it can easily cross-over from cheesy goodness to bloated badness.

Although the food is the champion of this happy hour, the drinks are worth mentioning. Upper West drinks include three beers on tap, a few different wines, and six specialty cocktails. The Mango Mojito wasn't mango at all, but rasberry. How dare those mangos go out of season! The rasberry version was delicious. It's refreshing, but stick to the beer and hot dog combo. It's not refreshing as much as it's gut bustingly fantastic.