First Look: Parry's Kingwood Happy Hour

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The brand was founded in Parker, Colorado in 2007. Since my friend, Big Hair Kim, resides in Kingwood, I often have to make the trek from Cypress to her neck of the woods when it's my turn to drive. While we sometimes find places to go in her neighborhood, Kingwood is still in need of more restaurants and bars. And when a new spot opens, the good people of the "Livable Forest" flock to it. And it was no different at the recently-opened Parry's when I convinced my friend to accompany me for happy hour. Getting Big Hair Kim out of the house on a Sunday is never easy. She's always got laundry to do, dogs to bathe or Turner Classic Movies to binge. She also gets the Sunday "pre-Monday blues" like nobody's business. Fortunately, the next day was a federal holiday. Working for the government has its perks. She had mentioned that Parry's was packed every time she drove by and it was indeed busy that hot Sunday afternoon. We weren't the only guests seeking out Sunday fun but we were lucky enough to find seats at the bar. There are plenty of televisions for game viewing and the atmosphere was definitely more sports bar than pizzeria. There were a few families scattered about but there were also some rather raucous sports fans as well. One table had Detroit Lions fans who had no restraint when it came to applauding their team's thumping of the Dallas Cowboys. The staff at Parry's are young and our bartender seemed, at first, confused when we asked for the happy hour menu. He had forgotten it was Sunday. We understood. We forget what day it is, too. I mentioned to Kingwood Kim that Parry's has a selection of signature beers (HH $4) so she began with its Hudson River Bock. She liked it though it was much thinner than a Shiner Bock. Later, she had its Liberty Cerveza, which I personally found way too light. She, however, appreciated its lightness then followed it with a Guinness Stout. Sometimes, I cannot make any sense of her beer preferences. Our bartender did a great job pouring the stout but he lamented the fact that the bar didn't have the proper pint glasses for Guinness. Still, he attempted a shamrock on the top. We thought it looked more like a skeleton's face. 'Tis the season, anyway. When I ordered a $6 frozen happy hour margarita, there was an option to make it spicy for an extra dollar. How could I resist? Then I was given the choice of jalapeno spicy or firewater spicy. Intrigued, I asked what the firewater spicy entailed and it was basically the addition of firewater bitters. I enjoyed it, though the burn was at the base of my throat rather than in the mouth. I wished the margarita was a little more tart but it was nicely frozen and the spice and Tajin rim helped with the sweetness. And it was the size of most margaritas at local Tex-Mex restaurants. The frose I had next was sweet as well. I kept trying to place the flavor of the drink so I let my friend taste it. She said it was like a strawberry Starburst candy. Big Hair Kim had nailed it. That's exactly what it tasted like which was fine for one cocktail. I switched to La Marca prosecco after that for a mere $5 a glass. I did have to specify the happy hour size because there are 6-ounce and 9-ounce pours available. While my mission had been to try a number of happy hour food items, having my friend with me took me off task. We did get the HH parmesan fries ($3.99) and the HH cheese pizza ($5.99) to begin with. My dining companion was not as impressed. I liked the fries but she thought the grated parm on top tasted like cheese out of a can. I never eat parmesan out of a can but the fries were fine to me for what they were. I wasn't expecting Parmigiano-Reggiano. We were in even more disagreement about the pizza. It was thin New York-style, even bordering on New Haven-style. The cheese and sauce ratio were on point so I was happy with it. It was a 9-inch pie, so there were four even slices, perfect for a snack. My supposed happy hour companion turned her focus to the main menu. Our choice of beverages had already made us quite full so we opted to split a plate. That sent us in a spiral of calzones versus sandwiches. We finally landed on the Beef Dip ($13.99) because, as teens, we both loved the French Dip sandwiches at the now-defunct Bennigan's restaurant. Sadly, this did not meet our expectations. The bread was very soft which my friend preferred. I would have liked it toasted. I felt the was too salty, she thought it was too peppery. The fries on the side were also dusted with black pepper so maybe our taste buds were getting confused. The meat itself was shredded like Philly cheesesteaks often are and though it didn't blow us away, it was an okay rendition of a Beef Dip. The presentation itself could have used a little more love. We had asked for it without the pickled giardiniera so that would have probably given it some color. Big Hair Kim indulged in a couple more cocktails because she wasn't driving and she didn't have to work the next day. Again, going off happy hour task, she ordered a Syracuse Sunset which was made with grapefruit vodka, orange, lemon and cranberry juice. However, it tasted of bourbon. When we pointed it out to one of the bartenders, she dipped a straw in and realized it was the wrong liquor. She offered to remake it but my companion said it tasted fine and drank it anyway. Then she ordered the Syracuse Sunset again but made correctly. She was happy either way. She's easy like that. My friend had suggested earlier the Italian sandwich ($13.99) with capicola, salami, ham, lettuce tomatoes, mozzarella, Italian dressing and oregano but I had nixed that idea in favor of the Beef Dip. Since she had a teen son at home, she ordered the Italian to go. Once home, she took a few bites of it before calling him downstairs. As the oil and vinegar ran down her arm, she declared it delicious. So the Beef Dip lost even more points. While we didn't try as much of the happy hour food menu as I would have liked, there were plenty of options including Knickerbocker Cheesy Bread ($5.99), Pretzel & Beer Cheese ($7.99) and 6-Piece Boneless Wings ($6.99). We also saw a menu tent that offered Early Eats Entrees ($10.99) on select menu items Sunday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. There are $10.99 lunch combos, too. With the reasonably priced menu and the daily deals, it's both family-friendly and wallet-friendly. There's an outdoor patio separated from the bar by open windows which will be pleasant when the weather cools. Though sports bars aren't my typical hang-out choice, Parry's offers enough happy hour deals and dining options to draw us in for future visits to Kingwood. And Big Hair Kim still has 67 more beers to try.