Midtown Lunch

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so every week our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” will post about a different bar in Midtown that fits the Midtown Lunch mentality: unhealthy food, not lame (unless it’s lame in a cool way), and most importantly… cheap.

A couple of friends invited me to Blackstones this week to shoot some pool and grab a beer. There are plenty of places to caress a cue on the Westside, like my divey favorites Daves, Blue Ruin, and Bullmoose, but it was good to know there are Eastside options as well –albeit less clad in taxidermy and lingerie.

Blackstones has an expansive mahogany bar all outlined with clean, shiny brass rails and long enough to satisfy a large group of drinkers. There is also an atrium with a fireplace. It’s fairly easy to get dibs on the pool tables during the weekday, especially if you come in straight after work.

Happy hour is 11am to 7pm, with $3 Buds, $4 Sam Adams lagers and seasonal ales, Sierra Nevada, and Yuengling. If you rather sip a cocktail, apple martinis and cosmos are half price.

The menu sticks to general pub grub basics: stuffed spuds, steaks, burgers etc… plus the service is reliable and friendly. What Blackstones lacks is pretentiousness and a tarted up bartender trying to score an extra tip from a lonely executive. All in all Blackstones is an average neighborhood pub and that’s why it’s a good place to escape to.

The + (What someone who likes this place would say)

• Decent price on domestic beers
• Friendly staff and during NFL games you’ll find specials on wings and free shots (mark your calendars for next season)
• “They got pool dammit!”

The – (What someone who dislikes this place would say)

• Not a destination bar, this is just your local pub –and that’s the charm I suppose
• This place would be 10 times cooler with more then just two pool tables
• Most dinner entrees are out of the ML price range

Blackstones, 245 E.55th (btw. 2nd/3rd ave.) 1-212-355-4474