LoHi Steakbar is a convincing home away from home

Happy Place: LoHi Steakbar, 3200 Tejon Street, 303-927-6334

The Hours: Daily from 4 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight.

The Deals: $2 Budweiser drafts, PBR, and Coors bottles; $3 house margaritas and well drinks; $5 wines by the glass; $5 sliders.

Were we happy? Flip the page to find out.

The Digs: Sometimes the joy of taking a break, no matter how long or how well-deserved, is all we need to gather our wits and realize that life really isn't that bad. Sometimes we get the hell out of town; other times we find ourselves collapsing on the couch, on the bed, or into the arms of a friend we haven't seen in awhile. When we feel like collapsing and not getting up for a long time -- not even to go to the fridge for a beer -- we head to LoHi Steakbar, where the beer and food comes directly to us.

Located in Highland, LoHi opened in the summer of 2009 and quickly became a favorite watering hole for locals. The large room, split in half by the bar, features a spacious dining room, in addition to a long community table and two-person booths lining the bar and lounge. The room is accented with red lights, big windows, and a ledge in the bar that opens up to the patio when temperatures soar. It's a cozy and inviting space, where guests can tune into a sports event on one of the televisions placed unobtrusively above the bar, drink a beer while flipping through one of the magazines from the rack, play a board game or drag out a deck of cards begging to be pawns in a friendly drinking competition. The staff is friendly, the music is good, and an afternoon at LoHi is an afternoon well spent.

The Verdict: The relentless wind had squashed yet another opportunity to drink outside on a warm spring day, and after choosing an issue of the Mountain Gazette over Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, we snuggled up in a booth and waited for a friend. Foreigner blared through the speakers and the bartenders joked around with the waitstaff.

The only downfall of LoHi's happy hour is that the happy hour food menu is limited to sliders. The regular menu is available, but the prices are standard, so if you're looking for cheap eats, plan on filling up on sliders, chips and pickles. But fear not: The micro sammies and their accouterments are marvelous. Our favorite is the French dip: juicy roast beef, sliced thin, heaped on warm, fresh baked roll and plated with a tiny ramekin of au jus and homemade potato chips that we could eat by the truckload. A little sandwich, a schooner of beer, a fantastic bar that feels like home and good company -- what more could you want?

Overall Grade: B+