Midtown Lunch

Found out via Eater today that Rudy’s, home of Midtown Lunch’s favorite free hot dog, might shut down. Our Happy Hour correspondent Mamacita waxed poetic about Rudy’s back in October, when things  were still ok.  But according to Living Liberally, things went downhill in December when the Department of Buildings shut down Rudy’s ultra popular backyard due to a fire escape issue.  Rudy’s tried to fix the problem, and obtained the proper permits, but a short time later the DOB intervened once again issuing a stop work order to conduct a “routine audit”.  Long story short, this pile of red tape has kept the incredibly popular Rudy’s backyard closed for almost 7 months now- putting the bar into a pretty bad place financially.  Living Liberally has put together a petition for the Department of Buildings that everybody should go sign now. The future of free hot dogs depends on it!  [Living Liberally via Eater]

Related:
Midtown Happy Hour: Cheap Beer and Free Porcine Pleasures at Rudy’s

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.

Apparently today is National Tequila Day (who knew!?!), but that’s not what brought me to Ta Cocina (on 9th Ave. btw. 48+49th) this week. I went there because my ideal happy hour in the summertime is sipping on a tangy margarita and rounding that out with a big bowl of salty tortilla chips and salsa. So when commenter Wayne mentioned that T.C. looked like they had a good happy hour I thought it was about time for my first frozen margarita of the summer.

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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” 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. This week she hits up Wakamba, a dive bar that should be right up her alley.  Only it wasn’t…

The Distinguished Wakamba Cocktail Lounge cemented its roots in the seamy stretch of 8th Avenue when in 2000 an unarmed Brooklyn man was shot and killed in a fracas with three undercover narcotics detectives on the bar’s doorsteps. This is now the unsavory reputation that has publicly followed Wakamba, but this is not the reason tourists or professional don’t want to be caught dead there (no pun intended).

You see at first look Wakamba has all the makings of a great dive. It has a memorable and quirky name (it’s distinguished after all), plus a Hawaiian meets nautical theme. It’s fully equipped with fish netting, Hawaiian leis, bamboo, paper lanterns, life savers, plastic fish and flowers. It even has a small Catholic altar perched on the side of the front windows, Mets and Yankees jerseys, and a ceiling that looks like the dingy whipped peaks of a frosted cake.

Sounds awesome right?

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There are few things worse then stepping out of the N train stop at 49th Street and getting bombarded by lumbering tourists and fast talking theater sales men in Times Square. It was enough to turn my usually patient, well-tempered friend into a cranky malcontent within the short block from TGI Fridays to Olive Garden. However, with a quick turn onto W 47th Street the hellacious chaos turned down a notch and we ducked for cover at the Mean Fiddler.

The Mean Fiddler is a restaurant and pub with a late night dance club in its lower level- but this isn’t a night club review so let’s stick the brass tacks. Zach had tipped me off on this place and despite its typical Irish bar façade it had one deal that caught both our eyes. Happy hour is 12pm to 7pm with 4 sliders for $4 dollars. Given that sliders are usually $10 on the regular menu this was quite a deal. 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” 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.

Foley’s pub is just across the street from the Empire State Building and has a storied history. The building is over a century old, and the decorative Tiffany glass in the back and the men’s room urinals claim to have come from the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Not only do they proudly assert to have one of the oldest men’s restrooms (why this is a good thing I can’t fathom) but they also have the largest professional sports collection I have ever seen, which includes over 2,000s signed baseballs, jerseys and enough autographed pictures to make a killing on Ebay.

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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” 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.

You’d have to be a blind drunk not to notice the multitude of Irish pubs in Midtown. There’s practically one on every corner and most of them do not rise up above the fray to distinguish themselves as a great ML hangout. This week we continue the Irish theme with Clancy’s Pub and Restaurant. Though I will make no claims that this is not just another generic pub, what did lure us in was a good happy hour that lasted till 8pm, where most on this block ended at 7pm.

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Before you get all excited about having lunch at the new ‘wichcraft pop up bar thing opening in Bryant Park on Friday, you should probably know this: 1) It’s more a bar than a restaurant. 2) Even though it is open all the time for anybody to lounge, the only time they’re serving food and beverages during lunch will be Fridays and 3) the sandwiches being served are smaller and more expensive ($9) than the regular ‘wichcraft sandwiches (aka snacks, not lunch.) If you have always dreamed of drinking in Bryant Park after work (while enjoying snacks made by ‘wichcraft) well that’s a different story. Drinks and the sandwich snacks will be served Monday through Thursdays from 5-9pm, Fridays from Noon to 4pm through September.  [Grub Street;Blondie and Brownie]

Photo coutesy of Blondie and Brownie

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.

The Blarney Stone (on 3rd Ave. btw. 44+45th) is already well known among Midtown Lunchers for their great burger and onion rings during lunchtime. But I thought it was about time the other side of this hidden gem got its due. Blarney is also one of the best happy hour pubs in the area. If you are tired of the typical upscale Irish pub with expensive drinks, obnoxious corporate head honchos and overpriced pub-grub, then Blarney is where you can go and feel like you’ve stepped into your own neighborhood bar, where everyone slurs your name.

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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” 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. This week she files a little mini-review of Black Sheep.

You know, sometimes you just end up in that late night bar. The one after you’ve had a few but still want to burn the midnight oil with friends before heading home. That’s when we found ourselves at Black Sheep: a pretty average Irish pub on the East side. It has cozy booths, art deco lighting, back-lit stained glass windows and a few big TV screens. On this particular late night the bartender decided to play the Victoria’s Secret runway show on the tube. It was a bit odd, but hey, to each her own. No one seemed to care and most were buried deep in their drinks or conversation.
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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” 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.

After I wrote about Opal, a couple of commenters said that Metro 53 (a few blocks away) had a great happy hour. After having some strong 2 for 1 drinks at Opal I was excited to see if Metro could take on my liver and beat it in to submission. I was even more surprised to have showed up on “Detention Night: School is out but detention has just begun.” All the bartenders were dolled up in tiny pleated plaid skirts, curve hugging buttoned down shirts and the inevitable perky pigtails.

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