30 Under 30: Happy Hour at American Sector

This past week I finally experienced one of the food and drink specials I’d been eyeing for months: Happy hour at the American Sector.

From 3-6 p.m. every day (yep, seven days a week) this John Besh Restaurant, located at 945 Magazine Street in the National World War II Museum, offers an incredible deal – 75-cent barbeque sliders and half-priced select beverages.

Sipping on the $4 house wine (Chardonnay, my fave) and the delicious sloppy joe sliders (generously sized), I spent a pleasant afternoon at the restaurant’s impressive modern bar surrounded by WWII photos. Like the restaurant’s other retro-but-reinvented dishes, the sliders are one of a kind, a spin on the old Sloppy Joe: short-rib meat, dressed on a small roll, sprinkled with fried onions, four to an order.

The drinks skew to the vintage as well — where else do menus list Tom Collins and Pink Squirrels? Other regular happy hour drink specials include $2.50 pints of draft beer, $3.50 well drinks, and $4 mint juleps. Patrons enjoy free parking after 3 p.m. in the lot on Magazine Street between Andrew Higgins and Poeyfarre.

If you haven’t yet been to the World War II Museum, it’s well worth the visit. Blending personal accounts, artifacts, photographs and documents from the beaches of Normandy to Iwo Jima, the museum’s exhibitions provide an unforgettable story. The American Sector’s happy hour provides the perfect reward after an afternoon of intellectual stimulation.

Note to self for September: In cooler weather, the outdoor umbrella tables draw a crowd.