Chili's Happy Hour. Off-Strip

The smart order at this Chili's is a $3 select 16-ounce beer next to a plate of chips and queso. A pint that size for three dollars undercuts almost anything you will find on the Strip, and it leaves room in the budget for a second round or a margarita. If you would rather drink tequila, the $6 Margarita of the Month is the better grab.

Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, 3 to 6pm. Beer specials step up in tiers: $3 for the 16-ounce selects, $4 for 22-ounce domestics and select 16-ounce pours, and $5 for the bigger Modelo and Michelob plus house wine, so you can drink cheap or trade up a dollar at a time. The Margarita of the Month lands at $6.

This is the Arroyo Crossing location off the 215 in the southwest valley at 7335 Arroyo Crossing Pkwy, well off the Strip, which means a real parking lot and none of the resort chaos. It suits families, mixed groups who cannot agree on a cuisine, and anyone staying off-Strip for a longer trip who needs a reliable, low-stakes lunch or early dinner.

Go in the back half of the window, after the lunch rush thins out, grab a booth, and order apps to share. You know exactly what you are getting, and at these prices that predictability is the point.