Happy Hour | Bars and restaurants often run "Taco Tuesday." West Seattle's Avalon, though, went the "Tapas Tuesday" route, rolling out tempura bacon, prosciutto-wrapped figs and other $2 small plates.

Get a dozen of these bites, add a bottle of wine for $15, (some decent table wine, too), and you could feed four for under $40.

The deal has become so popular that Avalon restaurant and bar just started a modest $2 happy-hour menu on other weekdays to reduce the large crowd that comes for Tapas Tuesday.

But you should still come on Tuesday. It's a much better deal — more small plates, offered from opening to closing time and available in the lounge or dining area.

The food is hit and miss but notable because its price point, $2, makes it a good value. The shrimp ceviche was fresh. The steamed clams in white-wine sauce were not. The tempura bacon in maple sauce was burnt.

One of its best and more nuanced dishes was the smoked duck and figs on flatbread, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to cut into the rich smokiness. (The kitchen recently swapped out the figs for persimmon.)

You can get the usual bar snacks — chicken wings, deviled eggs and barbecue-pork sliders — all $2 each and all decent enough.

But Avalon also features a small $3 tapas menu that's a much better deal: meaty prawns in a buttery habanero sauce; mussels with chunks of chorizo served in a tomato-saffron broth that you will want more bread to dip with; and when it's offered, a crepe filled with oxtail with chanterelle cream sauce is a rich delight.

Avalon, 2940 S.W. Avalon Way, offers Tapas Tuesday with a large selection of $2 and $3 small plates from 4 to around 9 p.m. There are bottles of wine for $15. Tapas menu varies every week. On other weekdays, there is a modest $2 small-plate menu (about six to eight dishes) offered during happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. $1 off on wine, cocktails and beer (206-922-3606 or www.avalonws.com).

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com