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. Mamacita is taking this week off, so Clay has stepped up to the plate.

This week’s midtown happy hour breaks some rules. First, it’s pretty clearly not in Midtown and firmly in my Flatiron Lunch coverage area, secondly, it’s not really a bargain. What it is is awesome and worth a little rule breaking to try out. When La Birreria, the new rooftop beergarden and brewery at Italian megamarket, Eataly, opened a few weeks ago, I knew I had to check it out. Beer, pork and more 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 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.

Father’s Day is a time to give righteous props to the guy that got lucky with your mom and how better to celebrate your dad then in the way it probably all started -over a drink. Now we all have our family traditions; some like a serene family dinner, some a picnic with the relatives and uncles, others, well others might like to take pops’ away from it all and remind him of his bygone youth. Yes, friends, I’ll start off these father’s day suggestions with this year’s winner: Rick’s Cabaret, just tell mum you went to the MET.

Rick’s Cabaret has 2 for 1 Sunday’s: Bottles and appetizers are buy one get one free (4pm-4am) and admission is gratis till 7pm. Of course, if that’s too rich for your blood or your dad has a bad heart maybe Hooters is a better choice?

Looking for something that won’t get you disowned? Check out some other local picks and some great old man bars 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 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 taking this week off, so Blondie has stepped up to the plate.

It’s hard to imagine that after all these years, and all of Mamacita’s Happy Hour posts, we’ve never visited Tequilaville (Vanderbilt btw 42nd+43rd). It has become an old standby, especially for those going through Grand Central Terminal with it’s florescent curtains and colorful faux Mexican interior. And it has some pretty decent happy hour specials. With Brownie in tow, I stopped by to final give Tequilaville the write-up it deserves.

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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 taking this week off, so Clay has stepped up to the plate.

Steakhouses don’t often make the pages of Midtown Lunch. There are plenty of them in the area, but few are ever what you’d call a bargain – unless you count Tad’s Steak, which I don’t. (Sorry Zach!) But, when Mamacita told me she’d be out of town and needed a sub for this week’s column, she mentioned that she heard Keen’s gave out freebies during happy hour that might be worth investigating. I was skeptical – not because I didn’t want an excuse to go to Keen’s, but because I’ve never thought of it as a place for a bargain. Still, I’m not one to turn down a chance to freeload, so I stopped in yesterday to take a look.

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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 taking this week off, so Clay has stepped up to the plate.

As you may have noticed by now, I’m an unapologetic booster of eating and drinking outdoors. That’s probably because I’m from Brooklyn, where backyards, gardens, patios and any patch of land big enough to fit two tables outside is enjoyed from the moment the mercury breaks 60 degrees. So, clearly, I was excited about BeerParc, the new beer garden in the back of FoodParc in the Eventi Hotel.

Given the soggy weather, its opening enjoyed much less fanfare than they’d hoped, I’m sure, but that doesn’t mean that some of us weren’t there right away to check it out. See what it’s all about 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 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 taking this week off, so Clay has stepped up to the plate.

Ok, I’ve had enough of this rain. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to go outside and have a drink. It’s May already, I need some fresh air, sunshine and beer, preferably all at the same time. Lacking that, I went for two out of three and have taken a little time to check out roof bars of late. Earlier this week, I stopped in at Me Bar and last night after work, I decided to check out the often overlooked Metro Grill roof bar.

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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.

L’ybane restaurant and wine bar moved last year from their location on the UES to new digs on 8th Ave. just off the Times Square lights. The menu is a fusion of French and Lebanese with dishes like moules frites and kefta harissa. The look is warm, candle lit and ‘simple et accueillant’ (let’s hope that high school French class does me justice here.) The dinner menu favors small dishes that mostly fall just out of the ML $10 buck chuck, but what doesn’t is their happy hour. At the bar they serve $5 glasses of house wine, including mimosas, sake, sangria and chocolate martinis from 4pm till 7.

Check out the bar and my Friday the 13th drink picks 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 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 handed over the reigns to Blondie, who hit up The Ginger Man with a bunch of ML regulars.

The Ginger Man (36th btw 5th+Park) became a Midtown landmark quite soon after its opening, as any place with 70 taps in the heart of New York would. Even though I’ve passed the age where I stop drinking swill and started drinking good beer, I’m still a bit intimidated by the beer bars. Then it was announced that the April Midtown Lunch Happy Hour was going to meet up there. Here was the chance to conquer my fear of a 70 tap/160 draft menu in the company of a few people who really know beer.

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If our favorite Mexican dishes were not enough for you, there are always happy hour specials tonight to fill the void. Almost every bar will have some drink specials but here are two that caught my eye.

Wharf Bar will have a large list of Mexican food and drink specials all night, but I’d head straight for their fish tacos. As close to Baja on a budget as you can get in Manhattan, their battered and fried fish fillets wrapped in a steamy corn tortilla and topped with cheese, pico de gallo, and tomatillo salsa really hit the spot during happy hour.Want to avoid the drunken crowds today? Just visit on any Wednesday for $1 chicken, beef or fish tacos from 4pm-2am with $3 shot specials.

Over on the Westside, Blue Ruin will have $2 tequila shots, plus free chips & salsa. Owner Michelle promises not to slap anyone who asks for a margarita during happy hour. Ain’t she sweet.  ¡Salud!

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.

Like many great journalistic endeavors, ML began with a mission statement, “Finding Lunch in the Food Wasteland that is NYC’s Midtown.” This being the case I dare you to find me a better example of all we stand against then the flashing, glittering, craptastic nexus of overpriced tourist eye candy mediocrity that is Times Square. Seriously, it’s enough to drive a girl to drink. And drink I did! The new TSQ caught my eye and so did their happy hour, so I dived in.

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