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.

I’m going to tell you about a blind date I recently had. It was with a guy named Charley O’s. His opening line of $5 Long Island ice teas, margaritas and cosmos, featured all day, was enticing enough and the word on the block was that Charley had been satisfying various lush needs since 1950. While some ladies might find this off-putting, some of us can appreciate what a more mature gentleman has to offer. I daintily ascended my stool with an open mind and heart. Little did I know the disappointment that awaited me. Some age like fine wine and some just…age.

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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.

I’ve never been to Montana. I don’t know anyone named Ted and most of all I tend to avoid places with gimmicky “take ya’ll back home” themes. They tend to disappoint. So why would I visit Ted’s Montana Grill? Could it be that I secretly wished to be where the buffalo roam? Could it be that deep within myself I yearned for a place where a woman can truly live free? Could it be that there was a massive void in my soul that only Big Sky Country could fill? Naah, it was probably the sign that advertised $5 signature margaritas and $3 draft beers from 4 to 7pm.

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Once again Mamacita is off this week, so our man Ultraclay steps in to tell us about a friendly Times Square option with some fiery wings.

I try to avoid the Times Square area as much as possible. The tourists, the crowds, the crappy food all make it exactly where I don’t want to be. But, an off-site meeting earlier this week took me to 45th Street, right in the heart of it all and after wading through the crowd just to get out of the building, I needed a drink.

Enter The Perfect Pint. A friend who used to work in the area recommended it highly a while back, so this was my chance to check it out.

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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 out of town so this week our man Ultraclay is taking over drinking duties…

Over the last week, the weather has gone from 70 degree sunshine to snow and sleet. The ridiculous swings in weather have driven Mamacita a little wonky (she’s curled up in a corner begging for winter to end already) so, this week, I’ll be subbing for her.

We all cope with weather in different ways and I’ve decided that I’m just going to act like the weather doesn’t suck and tell you about drinking outdoors at Me Bar on the roof of the La Quinta hotel in Koreatown. Because the best way to get through this is to plan for the inevitable arrival of warmth (however far off it may seem.)

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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.

When I heard Bierhaus was opening this past weekend (on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th), I was stoked to slip on my Gretel dress, tie some blue ribbons in my pigtails and have some lederhosen clad Kraut slap some wurst on my plate. Biergartens, once all but extinct in the city, have been enjoying a resurgence as of late. It used to be you had to travel all the way to Astoria to find the real deal. Since we are talking Midtown, Bierhaus doesn’t have seating for 800 people and there is no garden to speak of, but hey, we’ll take what we can get.

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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.

If you’re not as drunk as this guy, then you’re just not trying hard enough

As the good Catholic girl I am… or was raised to be (sorry mom)… I feel an obligation to inform those of you whom are unaware that Carnival is the traditional celebration before Lent. A brief window of time where excess and ecstasy are allowed to take center stage before yielding to a period of self-induced sacrifice, spiritual reflection, and …and wait, I’m writing for Midtown Lunch, screw that.

Ok you filthy philistines here’s what you need to know so listen up!

It’s Mardi Gras time. Fat Tuesday will soon be upon us, and the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost demand that you party hard enough that the hangover lasts until sometime in April. I know it’s rough, but don’t blame me, I’m only a humble messenger. The following are some establishments that have endeavored to help you in this divine mission.

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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.

NYC’s own prognosticating groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, might have predicted we’re in for an early spring, but the cacophony of clanking from my radiators say otherwise. In any case, I hope he’s right because tornados, blizzards, and howling winds have had me dreaming of sipping a wheat lager as I brown in the sun at my favorite watering hole as opposed to seeking cover in the winterized bunker I call my apartment at the end of day. So this installment of ML Happy Hour is a bit more PSA then AA, with a look at Irish Exit and some booze news for spring.

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Posted to the Midtown Lunch Flickr Photo Pool by Pabo76:

Passed by Arang today and noticed their new Happy Hour specials, which include a delicious dish of “Chicken Asshole House + Soju,” for $25. Actually the Korean name of the dish “Dak Dhong Chip BokKum” literally translates to “Fried Chicken Shit House,” which is perhaps even worse. However, I’m sure they really meant to say “Fried Chicken Gizzards.”

Personally I’ve never been too big a fan of the dish myself, despite the fact that my mother and others have always told me that the “Dhong Chip” was the best the part of the chicken. It certainly won’t kill you, and after enough soju you’ll never know the difference anyway. Besides, it tastes just like chicken.

Arang, 9 W 32nd St. (btw. B’way+5th)

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.

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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.

The Stag’s Head has been a great location for a happy hour with friends for a while. ML regulars even did a meet up there last year. The thoughtful beer selection features a seasonal rotation of microbrews, many of which, if you time it right, meet the $5 mark. Stag’s also has a delicious and indecently early happy hour beginning at 11am. In summertime the roof deck provides the opportunity to bask in the warm sun with a drink in hand. So why haven’t we ever written about Stag’s Head? Maybe it’s that the location is too far east and not in Midtown proper. Maybe because we’d like to keep the tourists away. Maybe because there are too few bar stools at Stag’s and I like to keep my bartender to myself. Whatever the case, it was time, so I decided to stop by this week and grab a pint.

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