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. Mamacita is taking this week off, so Blondie has stepped up to the plate.

It’s hard to imagine that after all these years, and all of Mamacita’s Happy Hour posts, we’ve never visited Tequilaville (Vanderbilt btw 42nd+43rd). It has become an old standby, especially for those going through Grand Central Terminal with it’s florescent curtains and colorful faux Mexican interior. And it has some pretty decent happy hour specials. With Brownie in tow, I stopped by to final give Tequilaville the write-up it deserves.

During happy hour, 4pm to 7pm here, you can score Bud or Bud Light drafts for $3, but you can also get Presidente Light for $3.50. These aren’t the greatest craft beers around, but they’re under $4 so I’ll take it. As for mixed drinks you can get margaritas, mojitos, apple martinis, cosmos, and Long Island iced tea for $4, perfect for the ladies of your group. Brownie quite enjoyed her mojito and I think she was a little tipsy afterward. I will warn you that the happy hour specials are only available at the bar!

As for food, we went with the plate of nachos for $5. Here’s where their lack of exceptional customer service showed. As you can see, this plate of nachos isn’t very complex to make, we didn’t even ask for extra beans as we were advised, and yet it took close to a half hour before we were served.

Another problem arose when the jukebox was played. Bartenders, at 7:30 in the evening jukeboxes should never be so loud that you have to scream to the person next to you. When another group kindly asked for the volume to be lowered, the supervisor shrugged and turned it up even more. Did I mention it was Mariah Carey circa 1994?

Regardless, Tequilaville does fill a niche in the area, it’s not pretentious like most of the bars in and around Grand Central, and you can get a beer and pre-dinner snack before heading out.

The + (What people who like about this place would say)

• There’s beer for under $4, you can’t beat that.
• If you’re starving, you can get two plates and it’s still under $10.
• It’s like Mexico.

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I’m willing to pay another $3 for my favorite microbrewery craft beer.
• Why waste time outside of Grand Central? Let’s get soused on the bar car.
• I like being served before happy hour ends.

Tequilaville, 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, (212) 681-8441