Happy Hour Scene: Bodega's

​The Place: Bodega's Taco Shop
1200 Binz St.
713-528-6102
www.bodegastacoshop.com

The Hours: Monday through Friday 3-8 p.m.

The Deals: Margaritas and draft beers, as well as some mixed drinks, are $1 cheaper than normal. The margaritas, for example, cost $3.75 during happy hour.

The Scene: Bodega's Taco Shop is kind of like a big Chipotle with a full bar and better food. And the bar is better than a lot of places, too.

"This place is kind of like my Cheers. People here know me, and it's like a family," Adam Benjamin, the director of education at The Health Museum, told us on Wednesday night. "I don't know any other way to put it."

That might seem like an odd sentiment for a place like Bodega's. It's not the dark, neighborhood dive that's typically compared to Cheers. But Bodega's has a set of regulars who swear by the place, and we've never been there when the bar wasn't full.

"I feel comfortable enough here that if a couple patrons are getting into a fight or something, I'll walk over and tell them, 'You need to take this trash somewhere else,'" Benjamin said. "You don't bring trash into my house."

A big draw at Bodega's seems to be bartender Marco, who, according to Benjamin, makes the best "ultra premium" margarita in Houston. He calls it the Marco-rita.

Marco told us that Bodega's, like most places, is busiest on Thursday and Friday nights.

He also said that the bar is celebrating the World Cup, offering happy hour specials all day Saturday for the U.S. game.

The real party at Bodega's, however, is Sunday for the Mexico/Argentina match. Along with the happy hour specials, Marco said, Bodega's will have a band, some free food and complimentary shots during the game.

Drink here? Of course. If a place offers free shots during a soccer match, how can you afford not to?

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