The place: Cyclone Anaya's Midtown 309 Gray Street 713-520-6969

The hours: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

The deals: $1 off bottled beer, $4.75 small house margaritas, $8 jumbo house margaritas, 1/2 off all wine bottles all day Monday and Tuesday

The scene: Since Cyclone Anaya's is close to downtown, it's no surprise there were a lot of suit-clad men with loosened ties, the international sign of a long day's end. It was pretty lively for a Tuesday evening -- I guess drinking happens even when I'm at home watching American Idol.

I got there with 30 minutes to spare for happy hour, so it was going to be a power half hour. My companion for the evening was already halfway into a jumbo margarita. I think my jumbo days are over, so I ordered the small, which was a good call on my part.

The happy hour food menu features appetizers ranging from $4 to $6, aptly titled the 4-5-6 menu. A mini version of the ceviche is on the menu, and you can't go wrong there. Cyclone's ceviche is one my favorites. I ordered it and discovered what they mean by "mini" -- I think they just take the usual size order and put it in a smaller bowl.

I also ordered the pulled beef short rib sliders with spicy coleslaw and ancho honey barbecue sauce. When the sliders arrived, I got the "Are you going to eat all that?" look from my companion. Yes, I was. But one bite into the sliders, and I started thinking I might end up hungry. I wasn't sure what went wrong there, but the short rib beef wasn't just soft, but also mushy. There was something a little off with the sauce, too -- it was a sour taste that just didn't work for me. I should have gotten the wings.

My companion had ordered another jumbo margarita, right before 6 p.m. I was still nursing my small one and getting a little light-headed. While I was starting to feel ready for bed, he was wanted to hit up the happy hour down the street that wasn't over yet.