Board shorts…check. Aquarium…check. Gaudy décor…check! A place where Dory and friends would happily call home, Réunion, a French surf bar marked by, you guessed it, a surfboard, was totally on my (very) short list of themed midtown places to check out.

True to its theme, this basement bar is friendly, comfortable, and lively. Adorned with Christmas lights, surf boards, swim trunks, and photos of real surfers, Reunion is definitely not short on character.

All through the night, the bartenders remained attentive, even during the happy hour rush (5:30 pm – 8 pm Sunday to Friday). Our first drink, the Mermaid cocktail (rum, mint, and lime juice, garnished with a sugar cane swizzle stick…basically a frozen mojito) did not disappoint at $6 during happy hour. And even if it did, the bartenders would’ve fixed it. Following our initial sip, ours checked to see if our drinks were strong enough and offered extra liquor if they didn’t meet our expectations.

Additionally, Topher, Reunion’s general manager, quality checks EVERY drink that leaves his capable hands.

The crowd started off quiet and young, but quickly turned into a melting pot of personalities after 7. Tourists, locals, couples, singles, young and old seemed to all assemble here.

The happy hour specials seemed endless – from special cocktails for $5 or $6, shots for $3 and beer (Corona, Corona Light, Pacifico draft, Tona, Longboard, Session Lager, Session Black, Landshark, Full Sail Amber draftf, Full Sail IPA and Red Stripe) for $5 (with the exception of their Beach Bum house beer, reminiscent of a PBR, which was only $3) to $5 food short rib sliders and Dodo dogs (a hot dog topped with PORK BELLY!), Reunion has to chops to satisfy any happy hour-er.

Additional things to know: Tuesdays are Taco Tuesdays, featuring 2 for 1 tacos and Wednesdays are Ladies’ Night with 2 for 1 drinks for the gals.

Recommendation: Though pricey and out of the ML price range (and not on the happy hour list), you HAVE to try their spin on a Michelada for $12. Rimmed with a house-made rub of chilies and salt, the drink was made with their house Beach Bum beer mixed with homemade tomato/hot sauce.

Reunion Surf Bar, 357 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th), (212) 582-3200

I’m normally not one to host a happy hour in a bar and grill, but when you call yourself “Best Bar & Burgers” … well, this “fat kid” just can’t help herself. With a flashing “bar” sign hanging above its door and a hookah silhouette on its awning, you’d be amiss not to instantly spot this place.

Walking into the patron-less bar, I wondered if this would be a huge mistake. Curiously (and more selfishly, looking out for the future of my stomach), I asked the manager, David, if and when the restaurant would pick up. Being that the restaurant opened just four months ago (taking over what formerly was 36 West), and offers happy hour specials ($4 well drinks and $3 domestic bottles, which consisted of Bud/Bud Light and Coors/Coors Light) starting at 7 pm when most other bars end theirs, Best Bar & Burger lights up around 7:30.

The crowd at Best Bar is certainly an eclectic mix, consisting of friends of the people who work there, hungry burger lovers, hookah smokers ($25/hookah, which sounds expensive to me, but as I know absolutely nothing about hookah smoking, who am I to say?), and random passer-bys.

Accommodating a few tables both up front and in the back, the restaurant itself is narrow, but with its high ceilings and long bar, it can definitely accommodate a far larger crowd than was present without the feeling of being squished. Playing music from their individual iPods, the bartenders are friendly, accommodating and just as eclectic as their customers.

You won’t find frills with their food selection, but I can assure you the food here is pretty darn good (for a midtown burger and shakes joint anyway). Burgers are made with 100% beef and are 8.5 ounces each.

Combos seemed to be the “thing to get” within the group, with the winning combination being the Black Spice Cheeseburger, fries and soda, all for just 10 bucks. To quote my friend, “This baby definitely packs some heat,” unlike my choice of wings with “Death,” sauce ($4.50 for 5; $8 for 10 or combo it – $10.50 for 10 wings, fries and soda). Either I no longer have taste buds or Buffalo wing sauces are just no longer made the way they used to be.

Overall, I recommend coming to Best Bar when you’re down and in need of a few shots (their bar is well-stocked with liquor), if you want a quiet place to bond with your friends, or if you’re hungry and waiting for that next pay check to be deposited.

Best Bar & Burgers, 314 West 36th Street (between 8th and 9th), 212-582-2446

I don’t care how old you are or how much you make, hearing the word “free” is always music to the ears. As oftentimes “free” comes with a catch, this week’s post does carry a small stipulation. At No Idea Bar, each night is assigned a different first name, and anyone so named gets to drink for FREE from 5 PM – 11 PM. But make sure you bring friends, as you will not be eligible to receive free drinks if you show up alone. (They are a business, after all!). Ranging from Jen and John to Xizi and Aditi, No Idea’s Name Night allows for just about everyone to drink for free. There’s even a section on their site for you to pitch your (or a friend’s) name for Name Night.

Suggested by Sarah, our Flatiron Lunch correspondent, this place had to be explored both for you Flatiron/Gramercy folks, as well as my ever-dwindling wallet.

A standard-looking bar with an eclectically mixed twenty- to thirty-something crowd, No Idea isn’t striking at first.

Peep in a little more, you’ll find a fairly decent beer list (NO pints over $6), an up-to-date juke box, a back room with tables, a pool table and a pinball machine, and a special sure to melt your stressful day away.

Our first wave of happy hour-goers went with the “shot of whiskey and a 16 ounce can” special for $7. For those not needing the extra “boost,” $5 will get you a 16 ounce can of Schaefer, Miller High Life, Ballantine Ale, Tecate, Narragansett or Natty Light (yes, the same Natty Light we all, or at least I, remember a little too well from freshmen year of college).

Food is not served here, but they have a “holy book of a thousand menus” you are welcome to order from. Another option is to run across the street like my cousin did and return with a pie for your party, looking like a hero.

Below, check out the names for the remainder of the month. Are you on it?
•5/11/2012 SARAH
•5/12/2012 STEPHANIE
•5/13/2012 [closed]
•5/14/2012 MARY
•5/15/2012 XIZI
•5/16/2012 JEFF
•5/17/2012 DONNA
•5/18/2012 VERONICA
•5/19/2012 TONY
•5/20/2012 [closed]
•5/21/2012 JUSTIN
•5/22/2012 AMY
•5/23/2012 KIRSTIN
•5/24/2012 OPHIR
•5/25/2012 JENNIFER
•5/26/2012 DAN
•5/27/2012 [closed]
•5/28/2012 [closed]
•5/29/2012 ANDREW
•5/30/2012 LIANA
•5/31/2012 AMANDA

No Idea Bar, 30 E 20th St (nr. Broadway), 212.777.0100

Okay, I get it. No one enjoyed last week’s review of Player’s. But as life has it, you win some and then you lose some. This week, hopefully you’ll agree, my visit is a win. Every once in a while, or for most, once in a blue moon, you walk into an unassuming bar for the very first time, and realize instantly that you’ve found “home” (or at least, as home as you can get inside a Midtown bar). Not since my visit to Dublin’s Temple Bar years ago, have I been able to garner such instant camaraderie with a bartender as well as the bar’s patrons…that is, until my friends and I found Nelly Spillane’s.

Located next to Rattle ‘N Hum, there is definitely some friendly competition that must go on. That said, though I like Rattle (on days when I can move in it), my vote must go to Nelly.

Like Rattle, Nelly isn’t large. Though the bar is narrow, it is also very long. With tables up front and in the back, it can definitely hold a decent-sized happy hour crowd.

Nelly’s serves the best pint of Guinness I’ve ever had in the States, owing to the fact that the owners take great pride in ensuring the temperature of their Guinness served is roughly 44⁰F, which in my opinion, is superior to the colder temperatures other pubs serve it at. There is also delicious Irish American pub fare- we ordered wings (voted best wings in NYC), sliders and their sampler platter, which by the way, though not Irish-American, contained an extremely tasty spring roll dipping sauce.  And finally their amazingly attentive, humorous, and multi-tasking bartender, Emmet.

Almost instantly, he learned the names of me and a dozen of my closest friends, our drink preferences and more impressively, his other customers too. Our crowd had so much fun, most of us stayed well past happy hour, until nearby restaurant employees came in for night caps.

Happy hour specials are abundant and run Monday through Friday from 4-8 pm. Included are…ready? $5 Specialty Cocktails (Cosmo, Appletini, Nellytini, Jollytini, Mandarin Nectar Passion Fruitini); $5 wines (house red and white); and $4 Yuengling and Bud Light pints and domestic bottles.

Sidenote: Emmet is from across the pond and his visa expires soon, so make sure to visit him on Wednesdays (and his colleagues other nights) before it’s too late!

Nelly Spillane’s, 18 East 33rd St. (at Madison), 212.792.9673

My K-town excursion a few weeks ago got me thinking. Where there’s one hidden gem, there must be others…right? This week, I was determined to find another est. 1986 Wine Bar. You know, the kind of place that’s so good, it pains me to tell you about its existence.

Sadly, Players Sports Restaurant and Lounge (or Players Sports Lounge or Players Sports Bar & Lounge depending on which signage you’re looking at) is NOT it. That’s not to say that this place was bad or even not fun. First off, finding it was not that easy. Is it just me or do the numbers on 32nd Street just don’t make sense? In any case, make sure you look up to find Players, or you’ll be sure to miss it.

Located in the heart of K-town, I was skeptical that Players would actually be a “sports lounge.” I mean, having a sports anything in Koreatown just doesn’t make sense. Upon entering the second floor, however, I knew my skepticism would quickly fade.

Lined with seven flat screens, Players definitely had a sports bar feel, albeit it be more on the upscale side.

First impression – not too shabby. However, this place was d.a.r.k. Lit only by colored lights that seemed to be placed closer to the floor, it was difficult to make out the faces around me.

Nevertheless, I was able to spot the restaurant area hidden behind a glass beaded curtain, a couple of karaoke rooms on the other side of the bar, and a primarily Korean clientele.  After realizing happy hour specials exist only Mondays through Thursdays (we went on a Friday), my group and I were disappointed.

However, life was instantly better when our sampler platter of (LOADS of) wings, fries, onion rings and nachos and extra chicken wings (because they are delicious) came out. Accompanied with processed cheese sauce (which I LOVE), the sampler was a hit in our book. For less than $15, we filled four bellies.

Players Sports Restaurant, 25 W. 32nd St., 2nd Fl. (near Broadway), 212-868-2029

Last week, while drinking on Lucy’s rooftop and taking in the scenery that is TGI Friday’s, my friend Nina noticed an obnoxiously large ad on top of Roastown Coffee for Beer Town. A sports bar located on the second floor of a “healthy food bar?” Sounded like Midtown Lunch material to me!

Upon entering Roastown, it was not evident that a bar existed inside. In fact, I was so doubtful, I almost turned back around; that is, until I stumbled into a poster in the stairway alluding to beer upstairs.

Lined with flat screen televisions, tables for eating your downstairs deli grub and a decent-sized bar, I quickly became acquainted with a local – Chris. Apparently, just like my photos, this place is still hidden enough where it doesn’t get packed. Pro if you are like me and enjoy personal attention from the bartender (Jenny was mine), as well as quick, friendly service. Con, if you’re like some of my male and female companions who go to happy hour hoping to meet a love interest.

The only gripe I had with this place was the not-so-well-stocked bar.

Touting itself as a sports bar with a “dirty boy” special, I expected a larger beer selection (this place is called BEER Town, right?), and well, a “dirty boy” (which for those of you who don’t know know is Blue Moon topped with Guinness). Jenny did compromise though and created a comparable “dirty boy” utilizing Shock Top as a Blue Moon substitute – which ended up as a big win.

All in all, this is a great spot to come solo or with a crew. You’ve got inexpensive deli food downstairs, happy hour all day and room to breath, what more could you want with a happy hour spot?

Happy hour (subject o change) is all day, every day and includes $3 domestic and $5 imports.

Beer Town, 267 W 34th St. (btwn 7th & 8th Ave)

6:18. That was the train I used to always run, literally run, to catch. Working above the Manhattan Mall and living in the suburbs of New Jersey, I quickly learned that good, fast happy hour spots are not easy to find. Sure, there were the usual suspects, such as Stout, Feile and Blarney Stone, but oftentimes, those spots get so packed, I’d have to dart out almost as soon as I was able to (finally) get my drink. Oh, Penn Station, how I do not miss you and your time constraints. That said, all is not lost, my fellow Herald Square workerbees and Penn Station commuters. Lucy’s Cantina Royale, located steps from Penn, is a great spot to meet up with your friends and coworkers for some standard Tex-Mex fare, tequila, and every co-ed’s favorite – fishbowls.

Designed to replicate a Baja surf cantina, Lucy’s downstairs houses surfboard-shaped communal tables and a bamboo bar. In addition, a retractable rooftop tiki bar rounds out the upstairs.

Though the view from the rooftop is nowhere near the top of any New Yorker’s list (unless, of course, you fancy the look of TGI Friday’s), it does make for a great outdoor drinking getaway when the weather cooperates. The bamboo, flat screens, and wooden booths that line the walls of the rooftop certainly let you immerse yourself in the tiki bar-themed decor. Heat lamps placed throughout means a comfortable rooftop sitting even when it’s a little cold outside.

Sporting floral-printed mini skirts, the waitstaff serves up mediocre, but not bad, grub (with the exception of the guacamole, which was perfectly paired with house-made chips) and better-than-average margaritas.

Happy hour ($5 Frozen Lime Margaritas; $5 Red Wine Sangria; $3 Coors Light draft) is daily between 4 pm and 7 pm, with additional specials that vary day-by-day. But I suggest, if you’re going to a Tex-Mex joint, don’t get the Coors Light…

Lucy’s Cantina Royale, 1 Penn Plaza (btwn 7th & 8th), (212) 643-1270

Damask wallpaper covers the walls of this intimate hideout, while anomalous art, chandeliers, a self-playing piano and leather couches add some sass to an otherwise library/study-looking spot.

Located on the second floor of the slightly dingy Hotel Stanford, est. 1986 boasts “an extensive wine list sure to satisfy every palate, providing the perfect spot for the after work crowd or for guests to meet their friends for drinks before heading to a party or dinner.”

The vibe varied from group-to-group. There were couples seated to our right; a lone man to our left and a group of what seemed like colleagues in front of us. The swing jazz playing in the background seemed to perfectly compliment all conversations within the present crowd.

Along with an attentive wait staff, cheap wines (50% off all glasses), and delicious cheese plate (though impressive, this plate was exceptionally overpriced. If I’m going to pay $24 dollars for cheese, there better be more than six crackers on my plate!), the unprentiousness that is usually associated with wine bars is what makes this spot great.

Happy hour is daily from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and boasts 50% off ALL beer, house wines and well drinks.

Est. 1986 Wine Bar & Lounge, 43 West 32nd Street (btwn Broadway and 5th Ave.), 212-563-1500

Truffles – not your typical Midtown Lunch focus; but for this review, truffles are my star…well, truffle fries anyway. And Brickyard’s White Truffle Frites were so good, my fellow happy hour-ers and I ate every little crumb.  Check them out after the jump…

Not only were they fried to be perfectly crispy, but you can taste the parmesan cheese, “fine herbs” aka parsley (I’m guessing), and the truffle oil in every bite. Nine dollars may sound steep for fries, but you get a big giant bucket full of them – plenty to pass around to a group of four and plenty worth it.

Featuring a local, organic and sustainable menu, our food adventure at Brickyard didn’t end there.

We also tried the house potato chips (made in-house – also a win), the Trio of Kobe Beef Sliders (bacon, cheddar, and house BBQ sauce [win]; caramelized onions, NY state bleu cheese, and ketchup [win]; and avocado, goat cheese, pico de gallo, and chipotle ketchup[win]), as well as the hot-classic buffalo sauce-glazed wings [NOT a win – and I say this only because hot buffalo sauce should be exactly that…hot. These were so mild, a 2-year-old could stomach them.].

Now moving on to the scenery and the beer selection (this is a happy hour review, after all)…

Brickyard Gastropub serves extensive local, domestic and imported drafts (24 beers on tap, and 27 types of bottles) in its cozy, exposed-brick bar. As a craft beer lover (yes, I do love all things with an alcohol content greater than 4.2%), I found this place to be the “red headed stepchild” of the happy hour market. Overshadowed by more popular craft beer bars and restaurants, Brickyard can get lost in the hustle and bustle in Hell’s Kitchen’s Restaurant Row and Ninth Avenue.

With daily cocktails and draft specials, friendly staff and an even friendlier crowd (that seemed to fill up the place in the matter of seconds), Brickyard can become a perfect place for a fun, low-key, appetite-fulfilling happy hour.

Happy hour specials are daily from 4-8 PM and again from 11-2 AM; $5 craft beer of the day (which was Checkered Cab on Tuesday); $5 house wines; and $5 well drinks.

Brickyard Gastropub, 785 9th Ave (btw 52+53rd). 212-767-0077

Surveying my friends (out of pure curiosity, boredom, and the need for inspiration) regarding the top three things that come to mind when they think of New York state, I realized how UN-New-York-y, they are. That said, there were quite a few “sensical” things that overlapped, including pizza (we’ll tackle that one later), the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Buffalo wings, and Brooklyn. Inspired by New York and the “little towns” in it, Little Town Restaurant Row pays homage to the Empire State in its entirety, including the “New York-y” things mentioned above.

Taking design cues from its first location in Union Square, Little Town is dark (or as I call it, sexy-lights-lit), accented with detailed woodwork, hand built butcher block tables, and booths made from reclaimed and recycled materials including wood from Coney Island’s old boardwalk. Flat screen televisions line both of Little Town’s two floors, making this a good sit-down spot for sports fans. Good design and ambiance aside, the food, drinks, and service at Little Town aren’t too shabby either.

Kat, our bartender for the evening kept our group of 12+ glasses constantly full.

With over A HUNDRED NY beers in house (including libations from Cooperstown’s very own Ommegang Brewery and one of my personal favorites, Brooklyn Brewery), 24 of them on tap at a time (for $5 5PM-8PM daily), and solid grub ranging from Long Island oysters at 99 cents a pop (yes, CENTS) 5PM-8PM Monday – Wednesdays and 8PM-Midnight Thursday – Saturday, to pretzel-covered chicken fingers and beer-battered Buffalo wings, Little Town is a soon-to-be tourist trap to beat.

The only thing I’d suggest avoiding (UNFORTUNATELY) is Eddie’s NY Style Whole Wheat Pizza. The first time I tried it at Little Town, I was told it tasted the way it did (cardboard-y) because they didn’t have pizza stones yet. The second time I tried it, it still tasted the way I remembered it to be – cardboard-y and NOT like the real Eddie’s pizza, even though I was told the stones were in. In short, if you want an Eddies pizza, go visit their truck.

Weekly beer tasting dinners hosted by beer sommeliers (yes, apparently, they exist) might be too fancy for me, but could be of some interest to you “beer-oes” out there.

Other specials to note: Daily from 4PM – 7PM, Vision Vodkas are 2-for-1; Taste of Drafts are a measly 2 bucks until midnight and 3 bucks from 10PM until close daily.

Little Town NYC, 366 West 46th Street (btw 8+9th Ave). 212-677-6300