Flanigan's Seafood Bar and Grill recently celebrated its 50th year in business, so I stopped by the Weston location (2460 Weston Rd.) in acknowledgment of the golden anniversary.

Upon entering, I noticed two remarkable things about this Flanigan's. First: Someone had had the nerve to choose an ABBA tune on the jukebox, which is borderline sacrilegious for a sports bar, so I filled the Touch Tunes machine with $5 worth of Rush, Bob Marley and the Allman Brothers. Then I was hit by sunlight. Walking into a Flanigan's for happy hour is usually like stepping into a deep dark cave -- the lights are dimmed, and the windows, if any, are covered.

But here, the wall of sliding glass doors allow for copious natural light to flood the bar area. The doors lead to a canopy-covered bar on the edge of a lake, which is surrounded by manicured landscaping.

Flanigan's traditionalists, however, will still feel comfortable because the bar hasn't been entirely Westonized. The Trivial Pursuit cards on the counter are stained with barbecue sauce. The walls are covered with photos of fisherman posing with their prehistoric-size fish. The dozen TVs are tuned to sports, and the old-school Galaga videogame boasts an unbeatable high score.

Happy hour is 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and drinks, including the 17 beers on tap and shots of Patron tequila, are half price. For weekend football games, Miller Lite drafts are $1.50 and served in souvenir University of Miami cups (which taste so much sweeter after the big win against FSU).

Matt Blizzard and Chris Goodman, who nodded to me in appreciation when Tom Sawyer replaced Dancing Queen on the jukebox, are pro bartenders. They never get flustered by a bar full of football fans with empty glasses, and they're as welcoming to new guests as they are to regulars.

Matt and Chris are quite capable of whipping up a mean martini, but if you're looking for a more upscale scene, head to Libation in Weston Town Center, 1722 Main St. The servers bring plates of tapas from the kitchen but glasses get filled from mechanized wine dispensers. You stick your prepaid, in-house debit card into a slot as if you're at the gas station, but instead of choosing an octane, you select a 1.5-ounce taste, a half glass or a full glass of wine. Average price per glass is about $10, but big spenders can splurge on a 2005 Opus One Red Wine Blend that costs $116.80 a glass.

Three varieties of Ed Hardy wine are available, but I didn't sample them because I was afraid they were going to taste as gaudy as the T-shirts.

UPCOMING

Stereoburn plays 10 p.m. Friday at Cheers, 941 E. Cypress Creek Rd., Fort Lauderdale; $5 cover.

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, see Reverend Horton Heat at the Culture Room. Tickets are $9.99.

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