Midtown Lunch

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. 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.

Who doesn’t love a burger and a beer? Well maybe a Vegan Teetotaler… but I digress. A burger is a lunch staple as well as a late night greasy-sponge after a good booze-up. In this regard Blarney Stone has occupied the most prominent spot on the ML radar screen for lunch and happy hour, but there must be other contenders, right? In my wanderings around town I came across Coppersmith’s bar. It looks like your average pub and grill, however a look at their weekly specials produced this tantalizing snippet: Tuesdays is two for one burgers and $3 Bud Lite Draft night from 3 to 10pm. Until 10pm??? Get out. I am so there! Needless to say I cleared my Tuesday night calendar and waited with eager anticipation.

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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.

Ever get a case of the Mondays? You know, that feeling you get when facing the beginning of a long workweek or just staring into the never-ending list of projects and errands for the day? Well, I had it bad on Monday and found a wonderful solution. Of course it involved beer and procrastination. Now I’m not condoning drinking liberally at the beginning of the week… oh heck, who am I fooling, you need it, get your drink on people! Here’s how I did it up this past Monday…

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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.

This week I checked out Chef Yu in order to try their happy hour, but I was also really hungry so this wasn’t going to be just a liquid dinner. I showed up on the early side as their happy hour starts at 4pm (ends at 8pm). This isn’t your dirty Chinese take out joint. There are two levels of dining with a large back dining room for private parties. Seating is strictly table service and the lighting is dimmed down in the late afternoon to create a lounge feel.

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I’ve been a big fan of the just out of bounds Manchester Pub (on 2nd Ave. & 49th St.) ever since their stellar Midtown Lunch Sandwich Challenge entry. Our Happy Hour correspondent Mamacita hit up the place a few weeks ago, and had a different impression.  She liked the food and the atmosphere, although wasn’t a huge fan of the fried chicken and waffles (we had high expectations) and apparently the bathrooms are less than ideal.  Well, the Manchester Pub heard her cry- and are on the case!

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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.

You know, all my single friends are always complaining that there isn’t a good place to meet men. They keep hitting these clubs, and fancy bars, when all along burly men were right under their noses at Bravest on 38th. It’s testosterone heavy and the bar maids are sharp tongued and quick to put you in your place, even if that place is a seat at the bar where you get treated like family. Open since 1978 in various incarnations, Bravest has been owned and patronized by New York’s local firemen. From their website:

Its early start was as Suspenders, owned by New York Firefighter Larry Fitzpatrick who died while on duty. It then became the internationally popular Full Moon Saloon whose owner honored and preserved his memory and it still remains a favorite gathering place for New York’s bravest. Today’s Bravest on 38th continues in that same spirit, and is owned by a retired FDNY Fire Marshall.

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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.  Because it’s Halloween on Saturday, Mamacita figured she would give you a list of all the Happy Hours and Halloween parties going on tonight and tomorrow night.

All Hallows’ Eve may rival St Paddy’s for the most lubricated holiday of the year, that is, unless you spend Christmas with the in-laws. There’s a parade, revelers dressed in ghoulish costumes, and drunken masses hitting the bars. To top it all off this year it lands on a weekend. Who could ask for anything more? Here is the round up of local haunts for tonight and Halloween:

NYC’s biggest drunken stumble of them all starts tonight with a three-day bar crawl engulfing many a Midtown staple. More than 100 New York City bars are participating. Your ticket includes cover charges and drink specials at each and every bar on the trip. The official “Midtown bar crawl” is tonight, October 30th and continues to November 1st. Tickets are $15 for a single night of crawling, or $30 for all three nights, although you can get discounted tickets here .

Registration begins at TG Whitneys (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd), and lasts from 5-10pm. There will be drink specials including $2 Bud Light, 2-for-1 Pumpkin Ales and 2-for-1 Halloween Cocktails (Drink Specials May Vary at Each Bar.) For more info, and a list of participating venues go to Halloween Now.

But wait, there’s more…

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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.

Zach has written about Manchester Pub’s sandwich challenge entry, and Lunch’er Sir-Eats-a-Lot emailed us about a few of their newer menu items, but I thought it was about time this pub received an official once over from this lush. Manchester is pretty small on the inside and there are 3 seating options: the bar, the wobbly cocktail tables or a few long wooden tables set off to the left. On my latest visit I arrived at 5:30pm and I was lucky to snag one of the long tables.

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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. This week she hits up her second all you can eat happy hour in a row!!! (Very exciting…)

Koreatown has its fair share of fried chicken places. One thing they all have in common is the price. We’re not talking KFC here, and when you factor in drinks not only are you out of the ML price range but you are also putting a dent in your wallet that these days no one can afford. Then I read about Third Floor Café’s unlimited fried chicken and beer special on Tuesdays on Serious Eats. For $18 bucks (and with the right hearty eaters) this could easily be the deal of the year. It took me a while, but I finally made it out this past Tuesday.

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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.

International Food House recently began promoting its $5 happy hour drinks and evening all-you-can-eat buffet for $5.95. There are many doubts that come to mind when a lunch buffet transforms into an all you can eat feast after 5pm. Are they just trying to get rid of leftovers? Are there different or cheaper food offerings at night? Do they really have a full bar, or am I getting a can of Coke here? I was determined to find out… so I rounded up a few victims volunteers to check it out.

IFH was mostly empty when I arrived and the bright front seating contrasted starkly against the darkening street at sunset. In the far back was a dimly lit section that hosted a full bar loaded with liquor and there was techno-dance music playing. That’s where our troops settled in before laying siege to the buffet.

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so I thought maybe it was time to introduce a happy hour column to the site. Every week, 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.

I’ve walked by Dalton’s Bar and Grill plenty of times and never thought about going in. At first glance, there are too many flat screens behind the bar, the food is overpriced and the crowd leans towards the corporate side. It feels out of place for this stretch of 9th Avenue that includes the sordid Port 41, rowdy Rudy’s, derelict Holland’s and raunchy Blue Ruin. However, on one night I wandered in to take advantage of their slightly later then average happy hour. It was then that I realized that this watering hole actually had something to offer.

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