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 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.

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.

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Call me naïve or call me boring, but for some reason, I never think to organize a happy hour in K-town. Hidden above the packed sidewalks of Korea Way, est. 1986 Wine Bar & Lounge is the sort of speakeasy I wish I wasn’t telling you about. By the time this review publishes, I will have already endured pleas from my coworkers, imploring me not to share est. 1986 with you.

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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…

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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 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 our new Happy Hour correspondent Jackie hits up an old restaurant row standby.

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.

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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 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, instead of our usual bar review, we decided to offer a special video for St. Patty’s Day!

In anticipation of every beer drinkers favorite holiday this Saturday, I convinced Clay and Blondie to join me at one of the Irish pubs in Midtown that doesn’t have chicken picatta or lobster ravioli on the menu. Mulligan’s Pub is a good old fashioned Irish bar on Madison and 39th that’s been serving Grand Central commuters for almost two decades.

Clay captured it all on video and so we present our first video special to all our readers after the jump. Please drink, eat, and be merry tomorrow. Enjoy and sláinte!

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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 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 we’re excited to welcome a new contributor ML fold… Jackie.  Make her feel welcome.

Ladies, if you’re going out to happy hour looking to get hit on, Whiskey Trader is not for you. That said, if you’re going out to throw down some (CHEAP!) beers, watch Jeremy Lin defy all Asian and Ivy Leaguer stereotypes, and enjoy the company of your friends and coworkers, Whiskey Trader is for you!

As a self-proclaimed scotch drinker and Ron Burgundy (“I love scotch. Scotchy, scotch, scotch. Here it goes down, down into my belly…”) groupie, there was no way I’d feel comfortable not pushing Zach to let me review a whisky bar for my first Midtown Lunch post. Unlike Mamacita who originally discovered this gem by (a happy) accident two years ago, I used Google as my discovery method at choice. Type in midtown whiskey bar and this place will be found at the top of the list.

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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.

It’s February and you know what that means. VD is lurking around the corner waiting to turn couples and singles alike into its candy colored prey. Scarlet Valentine hearts are splattered on storefronts and insipid bare butted cupids are riding any and all conceivable forms of advertising like a jockey on derby day. Sure, on Tuesday you could go home and hide out after work or you can take cupid by the balls and twist some fun outta a Hallmark holiday usually meant for lovers. Grab some co-workers (not literally) and enjoy a buzzed night out at these single or couples friendly events.

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so it seems only natural to have a happy hour column on the site. 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.

You know, even when you’re drinking solo you’re never really drinking alone. No, I’m not talking about that crazy dude muttering to himself three stools down, I’m talking about your oldest drinking buddy. The one who’s been there with you from dia numero uno. The one that you’ve dragged through the muck and the gutters to the worst dingy, derelict back alley dives. That’s right! I’m talking about your liver. So I’m proposing that in 2012 you make it a New Year’s resolution to take it out to a watering hole with some class, distinction, and pedigree. Here’s to a historic NYC speakeasy and a realistic resolution you’ll be happy to keep. Ladies and gents I give you Bill’s Gay Nineties.

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If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so it seems only natural to have a happy hour column on the site. 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.

Sunday marks the 77th birthday of the one and only king of Rock n’ Roll: Elvis!  So slip on your blue suede shoes because it’s time to take care of business (TCB baby!) at these local bars:

• Rodeo Bar is having a Elvis Birthday Bash featuring live rockabilly music by The Lustre Kings. Happy hour is 4-9pm with $7 lime and strawberry margaritas, $4 drafts, and $4 wine specials. Plus check out their free happy hour food and all day Recession Special (A can of PBR and shot of House Whiskey) for $7.
• Bierhaus will get their jailhouse rock on this Monday, Jan 9th. Highlights include a three piece band and celebrity keg tapping at 8pm.
• Live Bait was closed for renovations, but with their nip/tuck finished it’s time to channel your inner King Creole and welcome them back over some $5 peel and eat shrimp with $5 drafts.
• Le Poisson Rouge is out of bounds but their “Oh! You Pretty Things:
  David Bowie + Elvis Presley Birthday Bash” this Sunday is worth the trip. Get your tickets here.

It’s now or never folks, go forth and make Elvis proud -just don’t pass out in the bathroom.

If you like to eat, chances are you like to drink (read: a lot of you are freakin’ lushes), so it seems only natural to have a happy hour column on the site. 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.

For the final Happy Hour installment of 2011 we shall not descend into a dingy, dirty, vermin infested dive. No! This week we shall visit one of the most respectable and venerable bastions of boozing to be found in Midtown: P.J. Clarke’s. “But why?” You may ask. The answer is simple ‘tis the season’ and in that vein we might find ourselves this holiday anxiously looking for a storied pub with character to divert out of towners with touristy intentions. The menu will cost ya, drinks specials are hardly that, but steering away Uncle Tommy from the bar at Applebees by saying “I know a place where Sinatra used to drink?” Priceless.

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