Midtown Lunch

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so every Friday afternoon our Happy Hour Correspondent “Mamacita” posts 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.

We all know the allegory of “The Boy That Cried Wolf.” It’s on my mind right now, because I just don’t know what to believe. We were just subjected to a non-stop media blitz of “OMG! Earthquake!” which amounted to basically nothing but one lawn chair tipping over. Now we are looking at headlines of “OMG! Hurricane!” Should I be in a panic? Or is this just a creation the ‘disaster porn’ industry that is the local media? Such a conundrum, it’s enough to drive a lass to drink, I tell you.

So, I’ve decided to take preventive measures and take the hurricane down before it can do the same to me. Here are some places you can go if you’d like to follow this course of action…

Bourbon Street Bar & Grille, 346 w. 46th St. (btw. 8+9th), 212-245-2030
I know Zach has a soft spot for Bourbon St., they bring a bit of New Orleans to Midtown. Specials include $5 hurricanes everyday and 2 for 1 local drafts till 8pm.

Delta Grill, 700 9th Ave. at W 48th St., (212) 956-0934
Happy Hour is 4:00pm-8:00pm with half priced house hurricanes and draft and bottled beer specials. Though their crawfish boil specials are over, you can still enjoy their regular menu including jambalaya.

Duke’s, 560 3rd Ave. at 37th St., (212) 949-5400
If hurricanes aren’t up your alley, then try another down south favorite: Firefly vodka. Duke’s offers Firefly sweat tea flavored vodka & lemonade for $5 a mason jar or $20 for a big pitcher.

Live Bait, 14 E. 23rd St., near Madison Ave., 212-353-2400
Happy hour is 4:30-6:30pm and their fully stocked bar can keep you drowned in hurricanes or you can opt for $5 draft beers and $5 meals including peel and eat shrimp, clams, oysters, calamari and more.

169 Bar, 169 East Broadway,(btw. Rutgers St & E. Broadway)
If you don’t mind going out of bounds, check out 169 and I’m sure owner Charles Hanson can tell you a few New Orleans stories while you listen to some jazz. Happy hour is 1pm-7:30pm with 12oz beer & shots for $3, $1 off beer and $2 off everything else.

Hurricane Hunker Down 2011 is on! Where are you going?