Festering economy be damned. Dining high on the cheap these days is easier than losing your 401(k). To enjoy outrageously low prices, drop into the bar at a top restaurant during happy hour. Granted, one must usually sit at the actual bar area to get the deals – enemy territory to the unenlightened – but bypass the barstool and you miss out in more ways than one: Instead of waiting on some waiter type, you can shout out your needs at will. You’ll find out a good bartender is like an indulgent mommy.

I visited three tasty happy hours, offering a little sumpin sumpin for everyone: Eddie V’s in North Scottsdale, Ra in the East Valley and the Bungalow, also in Scottsdale. I ate the divine, the mediocre and the nasty so Times readers could make fabulous menu choices. I went up two tent sizes. You owe me.

Ra Sushi

At Ra, expect an electric atmosphere with music pumping and cool kids hanging. If you have a sushi hankering between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., this may be the spot to gobble some raw deals, such as half-off salmon, shrimp, tuna and yellowtail nigiri (about $2.50 for two pieces).

I’ve never exactly swooned over the quality of Ra’s food, but it’s pretty tasty, always looks great and is dead cheap at HH. How many of us can say the same?

Nine rolls are also offered half price, including the Shrimp Tempura Roll ($3.90 HH), and Viva Las Vegas Roll ($5.90 HH). The tempura roll had a nice crunch and taste, though you’ll get more of a generic “tempura” essence than a definite shrimp flavor. In fact, we had to ask the bartender what we were eating—the flamboyant asparagus and avocado elements threw us off. The decadent Vegas roll features chopped spicy tuna drizzled with a sweet sauce heaped over a fried cream cheese-and-crab roll.

A new happy hour menu was introduced in August, switching up a couple of dishes. You can still get the crowd favorite of baked Scallop Dynamite ($3.65 HH), which freaked me out with its slippery mushroom pieces and bay scallops the size and texture of pencil erasers. Yet people swear by this appetizer. No accounting.

One of the fresh additions to the menu is Shrimp Shumai ($3.40 HH), worth the price just for its dramatic presentation—the delicate dumplings of fried shumai suspended on sticks impaled in a lemon, and set in a circle of sauces that look like an exploding sun. Shumai is supposed to be steamed, and wouldn’t that have been great? But these guys fried it, and the result isn’t bad. It sure is different.

If you like cocktails, the new menu has two fabulous additions, I kid you not: Palmatini ($4 HH) with great vodka and a palm liquor, and a shockingly refreshing Sake Sangria ($4 HH).

But caveat eator: Sit out the Lobster Spring Rolls ($4.90 HH), a fried tube of cream cheese and allegedly lobster, which could have been shredded goldfish for all we could tell flavor-wise.

Eddie V’s Edgewater Grill

This happy hour (HH) food is so amazing you might think you’re on Culinary Candid Camera. Nearly all the appetizers are half off, despite lavish portion sizes. A must-order is the Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp ($6.50 HH), wok fried in delicate crumbly seasoning and served with a soy dipping sauce that heightens every nuance of flavor. And be sure to eat the “garnish,” shitake mushrooms, ginger strips and greens packing a musty acidic kick.

Crab cakes, anyone? I say these are the best in town. Don’t shrink at the $7 half-price cost. Each cake proudly measures an inch high. Rather than just a softball of matted meat, lumps of crab are mixed with a light concoction of herbs and a dab of mayo, then rolled in Saltine crackers and lightly pan seared. You don’t even need the decadent remoulade sauce studded with ruby bits of onion, but, oh, you will want it.

Kung Pao-Style Calamari ($6 HH) is a fresh and spicy take on the traditional squid dish, woked with fine-cut vegetables, ginger, soy and roasted peanuts. Gulf Oysters, flown in daily, are 50 cents each (no limit on how few or how many). Try the “atomic horseradish” that bursts through your nose like a herd of mustangs. Also, all the appetizer salads (about $4 HH) rank 800 notches above average and are large enough to fill a bathtub. Eddie V will split these monsters for you at no extra charge, so go ahead and share that mound of spring greens, Fuji apple, blue cheese, yellow beets and candied walnuts.

Here’s the caveat eator: Skip the balls of tiny rock shrimp breaded with mushroom pieces Shrimp Fritters, ($5.50), unless you love gamey and oily. Also, our Wok-Seared Tuna with noodles ($6.50) tasted of nothing but burnt charcoal, although I had a terrific broth version at sister restaurant Wildfish.

As far as I’m concerned, these ultimate foodstuffs could be served by wild monkeys. But the staff at upscale Eddie V’s epitomizes class and service. Live music is part of the deal, with the likes of Valley legend Margo Reed warbling jazz classics in the crypt-dark bar. Finally, don’t pass up the $5 mojito menu (try the not-so-sweet champagne version) and $5 selection of Smirnoff martinis.

Bungalow Bar & Grille

There is something that feels so good about just being at the Bungalow. Even though it’s not patio weather, the owners have committed to keeping the deck misted, and the huge patio window remains open with a terrific A/C system to keep everybody comfy, indoors and out. Service is great. And they serve up some truly mouthwatering appetizers at a moderate HH discount.

Leading the list of contenders are the Bungalow Bites ($6 HH), four juicy, sirloin mini-burgers topped with cheese, cradled in fluffy potato-bread buns, and served with a steaming bowl of au jus.

And the Spinach Artichoke Dip ($6 HH), spitting parmesan tang and sour-creaminess, gives you every reason to consume 800 grams of fat in one sitting. Grilled pita triangles and crisp, whole, huge tortilla chips accompany the dip. It’s enough for a family of four.

I thought the Thai Chicken Wings ($6 HH for a dozen) were an amusing deviation from traditional hot or BBQ versions, which you can also get. They didn’t bowl me over, but dining companion Lebo fairly foamed at the mouth at the tomato-ginger hot seasoning, plus the fresh ranch dressing hid a secret tantalizing ingredient.

You will love it here. I’ve brought three diverse parties to the Bungalow, and before we left, each was already trying to plan a next visit. It’s a wildly mixed crowd, a great feel and luxurious service. Try it. In the cocktail department, the bar offers Red Diamond chardonnay and other selections for only $4, zeroing in on the most quaffable low-end wines around. Also, the house vodka is Skyy, meaning your $4 HH well drinks, cosmos and fruity Bungalow Juice are screaming deals.