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” 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 Midtown Happy Hour front is providing some good and some bad news this week. Let’s get the bad out of the way. Bull Moose Saloon (on 44th btw. 8+9th) is currently closed, so their crispy hot wings and cheap burgers are off the happy hour menu until later next week. I spoke with one of the staff and they are in the midst of ‘renovations,’ not sure if this is DOH related but lets hope that when they come back the moose and Cigar Indian are still around.

In other sad news, Katsuhama’s (45 West 55th St.) special on unlimited drinks that “hightemp” posted to the forums has been pulled. I also talked with one the staff and she nonchalantly stated that they ran it for a few months and just decided it wasn’t worth it anymore. However, to ease the pain, they are now offering an order of edamame for only $1.99 with every draft Japanese beer . Still need your unlimited drinks? 3rd Floor Café is a sure bet.

Now on to the good news for beer drinkers. Peter Dillon’s (on 40th btw. Lex+Park) caught my eye this month and I stopped by to grab a quick one. A full +/- is to come in the future, but seeing happy hours have been a bit West Side heavy I wanted to give you a quick heads up on this beer deal for the East Siders.

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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 Friday afternoon 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.

Father’s Day is this Sunday and perhaps you’ll be hanging with dad in Midtown, maybe showing him your office or showing him the sights (if he’s in from out of town.) We also have the Subway Series (Mets vs Yankees) and the World Cup going this weekend making it the perfect chance for some father-son bonding over a beer. After all your dad doesn’t need a silk tie for Father’s Day, instead ‘tie one on’ with him at these approved ML watering holes…

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The World Cup begins this Friday with Mexico vs. South Africa at 10am and Uruguay vs. France at 2:30. If you’re a fútbol fan you might want to take an extended lubricated lunch, just make sure you grab some Altoids before heading back to work because most bars with a TV screen will be broadcasting the games and offering drink specials. I saw this poster at P.J. Carney’s Pub on 7th ave near 57th street. They’re starting drink specials at 10am… yea you read that right. There’s probably way better soccer bars in the Village but hey Midtown needs to represent yo! So the question is, if you plan on watching any of the World Cup games, where are you going in Midtown? Not everyone is going to be able to keep up with the ESPN/Kogi truck (although the ML Twitter Tracker is certainly going to try). To help you out I’ve put together a list of possible pubs for lunch or happy hour World Cup viewing.

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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 Friday afternoon 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 good cheese steak is a many splendored thing. The perfect bread, the finely sliced, glistening grilled steak, the peppers, the mushrooms, and, of course, the cheese. Shorty’s, previously Tony Luke’s, has been mentioned numerous times by ML, yet a proper +/- has never been bestowed. Clearly it’s my obligation to fill that void (It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.)

Shorty’s claims to offer the only “authentic” south Philly style sandwiches in NYC. Rather then being a divey lunch counter they have adapted to Hells Kitchen’s unique flavor stepping up their game with a full bar, 22 beers on tap, and a focus on local breweries, craft beers, and cask ales. What caught my eye was their daily cheesesteak and pint special. Now I’ve gone on and on about burger and beer specials in town, but a cheesesteak happy hour? Now you’re speaking my language!

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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 Friday afternoon 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 found myself at Mr. Biggs this week desperately seeking the identity of the filthy no-good bastard that drank my pitcher of beer. Then turning to my friend I realized, to quote Walt Kelly, “We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us!” As the next pitcher of Sam Adams was poured I continued a strange and occasionally incomprehensible conversation with a gray haired Cuban gentleman who apparently bartends in St. Martin. He told me all about his new job making a documentary on Marijuana production in Sacramento and punctuated each new fact by pointing to what he said was his Harvard ring. He also enlightened me on the lack of DUI regulations on the island while my date talked sports with the guy next to him… So the evening progressed and to the relief of my long suffering liver, appetizers were included, thus I’ve survived to tell the tale.

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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 Friday afternoon 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 good thing can sometimes be found in an unexpected place. Commenter Adam told me about Pasta Lovers’  1/2 off special over a month ago (on 49th btw. 6+7th), but I hesitated because it smacked of an over priced, generic red-sauce Italian joint. However Pasta Lovers’ time has finally come and this week I spent a lazy afternoon taking full advantage of their happy hour, enjoying some conversation with strangers -and a cute bartender!

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We all know ML loves Rudy’s. A landmark pub since 1933 they also rank in the rare files of the few old dive bars that haven’t sold out and become a tourist trap and preppy tar pit of pretentiousness. The pig still has their cheap drinks, free food, and as of late has even added more hometown comfort with fried chicken and chili. While their $7 pitchers have surely facilitated many late night hook ups, it’s not the first place that springs to mind when I’m asked, “Where do I go to meet hot chicks?”

And yet this week Rachael Finch, Miss Australia and 4th in the Miss Universe pageant, was seen placing a wiener between her buns and having a few pints at our very own Rudy’s! That’s right, it’s the TMZ edition of Midtown Lunch happy hour! Want more? Check out this video of Rachael blowing the beejesus out of the worlds luckiest latex at the Condom Olympics (fast forward to 4:49 minutes for the big moment).

Sorry… no “official” happy hour this week due to other obligations. If the photo of Rachel wasn’t enough to make up for it, let me also clue you in to maybe the most eye popping happy hour since I hit Rick’s Cabaret!! The sneak peak is after the jump…

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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 Friday afternoon 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.

57 Napoli Pizza e Vino made some news as the novel “speakeasy” pizzeria from chef Salvatore Olivella, formerly of L’asso and No. 28. ML was eager to check out their wallet friendly $6 personal pizza during lunch, but due to opening week hiccups that slice didn’t go over so well. Yet, 57 Napoli hasn’t been reviewed for their new happy hour so this intrepid reporter went out to have a post-work tipple and bite the bullet by buying the –a bit pricey- brick oven pizza with hand pulled mozzarella on the dinner menu. Read more »

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” 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.

Two exciting news items came through the wire from Hell’s Kitchen best dive bar, Rudy’s. First was “There’s new duct tape on the booths!” Sweet! The old tape was getting mighty gummy. Then, the true shocker, “We’re serving food!” Rudy’s bar? Serving something other then greasy wieners?

Let me give you a moment to let that percolate in your mind… Think historic old watering hole… Seats mummified in red duct tape… The fat of a thousand free hotdogs seasoning the rollers of a 7-11 style flat grill… A bar with the thick patina of sweat, tears and stale beers…. Floors that have shuffled in the best of NYC sidewalk effluvia and taint… Now consider a barman cooking you some grub behind this bar, tantalizing isn’t it? Well, thankfully that’s not what you should expect. No cooking is involved here, instead Rudy’s now brings in a pocket-change meal that ideally quells the momentous wrath of a prodigious binge: $1 Fried chicken and a $2.50 bowl of chili with cheese. It’s not healthy but lord knows you’ll need it after a few $7 pitchers of Rudy’s blonde ale.

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