The holidays are coming, and a lot of us have friends and family coming into town. It is always nice to be able to find a place that suits your wallet and feels comfortable for you and your company, and it is nice to have as much choice as we do locally. Below is a list of places (and their specials) you should consider going to for a night off during the busy holiday season. I know I plan to use it often after a day of shopping, baking or decorating. I hope you’ll find it useful too.

Acme: Tuesdays, all entrees are $12.95acme front entrance

Bistro Venable: Wednesdays, half-price bottles of wine

Carolina Brewery: Mondays, kids eat free off the kids menu when with a paying adult; Tuesdays, $3 pints; Thursdays, $1 off small batch beer pints & growlers

City Kitchen: Mondays, $2.50 drafts & half-price flatbreads; Tuesdays, half-price bottles of wine; Wednesdays, $5 glasses of wine; Thursdays, $5 martinis & specialty cocktails; Friday, bar snacks are buy one, get one free from 3pm-7pm

Glasshalfull: Mondays, half-price bottles of wine

Lucha Tigre: Mondays, half-price bottles of wine; Tuesdays, buy one, get one free empanadas; Wednesdays, $3 Latin American beers; Thursdays, $5 margaritas

IMG_7019Milltown: Sundays, $1 off NC drafts; Mondays, house wines $4 a glass; Tuesdays, house high balls $3; Wednesdays, $1 off the beer of the month; Thursdays, $1.50 PBR bottles.

Panzanella: Thursdays, $3 drafts – hurry before they close at the end of the year. This is a place that will be much missed by my family

Spanky’s: Mondays, half-price draft beers and 50 cent wings; Tuesdays, half-price house cocktails and martinis; Wednesdays, half-price bottles of wine; Thursdays, $2.00 Budweiser and Bud Light bottles; Fridays, $2.50 domestic long necks; Saturdays, $3.00 Fire ball and $4.00 glasses of wine; and Sundays, $4.00 Bloody Marys and Mimosas (after 12:00)

Squids: Oysters on the half shell half price every day 4pm-6pm; Mondays, 25% off lobsters; Tuesdays, half-price bottles of wine

Tobacco Road: For every $2.50 drink order you can get one of many happy hour specials for $2.95 (the list includes Bacon Cheese Fries, Quarter Pound Hot Dog, Fried Green Tomato Sandwich, Wolfpack Wings, East Carolina BBQ Sandwich, Half Pound Burger). This special may not run during major sporting events

Top of the Hill: Monday, half-price bottles of wine upstairs and at Back Bar; Tuesday, Drain the Tank- $3 Brewmaster’s Choice (16oz.); Thursday, $5 Kansas City Ice Waters, $4 Jim Beam singles, $3 Wheat Beers (16 oz.) topobrewery

Town Hall Grille: Mondays, kids under 7 eat free; Tuesday, $3 NC pints, $6 NC barbeque sandwiches; Wednesdays, $12 select pitchers and $7 for a dozen wings; Thursdays, $3 select pints and $6 burgers

Tyler’s: Mondays, $1.00 of all North Carolina beers on draft, bottles, or cans; Tuesdays, Pint Night – a different beer each week, buy the pint and keep the glass. Prices vary week to week, but the average is around $5.50; Wednesdays, $5.00 Imperial Pints of Guinness; Thursdays, $3.75 Pints of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale; Sundays, $3.75 Pints of Magic Hat #9

Tallulah’s: Selected wines specials every Wednesday and Sunday

Weathervane: Every Friday, Fridays Uncorked, during which you can try 8 different wines from one particular area for $15. They also have these daily specials: Mondays, $5 Martinis; Tuesdays, half-price cocktails; Wednesdays, half-price bottles of wine; Thursdays, $3 draft beers

426569_624392464241649_966527930_nWest End Wine Bar: If you’re looking for entertainment, this would be a good way to go. Every 3rd Wednesday of the month they have a comedy show with no cover; all other Wednesdays they offer 30% off selected wines by the glass. Thursdays and Fridays they have live jazz from 8-11 with no cover. And with the cold weather coming in, this is a place you can find hot buttered rum and warm mulled wine. And every Monday, they are offering $1 off seasonal drafts.