McCormick & Schmick's
Seafood Restaurant
633 W. 5th St., 4th Flr.
L.A., CA
Hope Street
213-629-1929
888-344-6861

The downtown branch of this seafood chain that's based in Portland, Ore., boasts a great bar, a jam-packed happy hour and dinner in a clubby seafood house setting. The dinnertime seafood entrées are often excellent, but the real action happens earlier., when food at starving-artist prices draws hordes of hungry people, all there for the $1.95 menu, which includes cheeseburgers, fried calamari and jalapeño poppers. Also worth a visit: oysters on the half shell, the crab louie and the simpler grilled fish dishes.


Hours: Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 4:30-9 p.m.