Drink Cheap: Beer for a penny at El Rayo

EL RAYO CANTINA, PORTLAND

BUY A SHOT OF TEQUILA, GET A SOL BEER FOR 1 CENT (ANYTIME) & $5 FISH TACO WITH SOL BEER WHEN THE CASCO BAY BRIDGE IS UP (SATURDAYS)

Nine out of ten economists agree: A 1-cent beer is bargain for drinkers on a budget. (The tenth economist is a curmudgeonly teetotaler who struggles to understand the plight of the drinking poor. Luckily no one pays much attention to him.)

But El Rayo Cantina understands. Buy a shot of any tequila – from the $12 Don Julio (it’s “the original Patron,” according to the bartender) to the $7 Familia Camarena – and get a Sol beer for just a penny. Any time.

Even better, tequilas are half off on Saturdays, so you can cheaply acquire a shot of tequila and a bottle of Sol for $3.51.

El Rayo Cantina has also just launched a new bridge-related special: When the Casco Bay Bridge is up (it’s viewable from El Rayo), patrons can get a fish taco and Sol beer for $5 – Saturdays only. It won’t much help the people who are actually stuck on the bridge at the time, but it should still help alleviate that lingering bridge-up animosity that can accumulate after a few unanticipated pit stops over Casco Bay. Besides, just knowing that someone out there is getting a cheap meal and beer while they’re paused in time should make every South Portland commuter feel better about life.

If thoughts of drink specials don’t warm your heart, try the open flame on the Cantina’s deck. There’s no charge to loiter there amid the fire pit, Airstream, and twinkle lights. And despite the snow, you might actually feel like it’s summer again. Just for a second.

More specials!

• El Rayo Cantina 85 York St. Portland, ME 04101 elrayocantina.com Get Directions