My wife and I have walked by this tapas bar that turns clubby at night a hundred times, and we have always wanted to go in. This time, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
Their $10 martini during happy hour was perfect.
We also tried some of their tapas menu, which was also discounted (basically two-for-one).
We will definitely be back to try more!
DA LI
37 Market St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
The Wayland is a nice bar at the corner of 9th Street and Avenue C that serves up some great deals at Happy Hour. Namely, $1.50 oysters, and a $12 “beer and burger” deal.
Both are top notch quality, and they really do a nice job with cocktails too, like this shallot infused gin gibson.
I can’t wait to go back and try more stuff. That “Lost Lady” burger was a killer double patty with American and a great special sauce. Nice and simple. Get here!
THE WAYLAND
700 E 9th St
New York, NY 10009
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
My wife and I went on a little food and bar crawl this past weekend, and The Hairy Lemon was our first stop for a bite. We tried two flavors of wings: spicy orange and ginger sauce, and mango habanero. We liked the mango habanero better, but neither were particularly as spicy as we had hoped.
We also tried their tots. These were nice, but just needed a hint of salt. A nice dipping sauce came with them.
I’d definitely go back to try the burger, and to hang for some UFC fights. It’s a big sports bar with tons of TVs, a pool table, a giant Connect Four game, etc.
THE HAIRY LEMON
28 Avenue B
New York, NY 10009
Connected to the Moxy hotel near Penn Station is a pretty cool bar and grill that serves up a great burger, named after my friend Dave from Golden Packing, their meat supplier. Check out my Ride & Review video HERE (second stop in the video):
You may think this doesn’t look too great. I thought so too. The cheese isn’t melted and the tomato is too thick. But it is DAMN GOOD! It’s made from ground prime NY strip steak. It’s more like a steakhouse burger than a standard bar burger. Go give it a shot! But skip the “wagyu” pigs in a blanket. They were dry!
LEGASEA BAR & GRILL
485 7th Ave
New York, NY 10018
Albert’s is a fancy bar that just opened up near Grand Central that features some really nice cocktails and a killer menu. I highly recommend the Salt & Pepper Martini, which is made with celery salt and sun dried tomato -infused vodka.
This joint is brought to you by the folks behind the great upper east side spot The Penrose, so I didn’t expect any slack!
I stopped by one Friday after work to meet my wife for a drink, but we ended up ordering their jojo fries, and their t-bone for two, which is a dry-aged 35oz beast that also comes with two sides for $150. What a deal!
We went with the lemon and walnut crispy Brussels and the spatzl “mac” and cheese. Both were incredible!
The steak itself was an easy 8/10. It had mild aged flavor, but it ws cooked to a perfect medium rare with a great, deep golden brown crust all over.
I’ll definitely be back to try the tartare, the strip steak frites, and the burger.
ALBERT’S BAR
140 E 41st St
New York, NY 10017
My wife and I went to Down and Out in the East Village to try their crazy “double dozens” oyster happy hour. They currently offer two varieties of oysters for $1.50ea, but when you order a dozen, you get a second dozen for free. Essentially, they’re $0.75ea, which is the cheapest I’ve seen them in town!
We tried both the Kusshi (small ones, west coast of Canada) and Glidden Point (pictured above). My wife preferred the Kusshi, and I liked the ones from Glidden Point.
We also tried their “oyster pan roast,” which is a really nice bisque-like oyster and potato soup. It might not be much to look at in the photo, but I assure you it was delicious!
We also got down on their blue claw crab cake sandwich, which was nice and tasty, topped with a home made slaw.
They also serve a lot of high end canned fish items, like these sardines.
Their deviled quail eggs are good too. These come eight pieces per order.
Lots of these food items are discounted at happy hour, like the oysters. The happy hour runs daily from 4pm-7pm, and they also offer two different beers for $3, as well as discounted cocktails.
Most notable about this place, however, is the great whiskey selection, which includes some very rare, vintage bottles that the owner/bartender Josh secured from various estate sales.
He gave us some samples of a few really nice old bottles, like that Canadian Club from 1940! Soon there will be an entire separate menu of vintage whiskeys here, which will nearly double the current selection of whiskey on the menu. Stay tuned!
DOWN AND OUT
503 E 6th Street
New York, NY 10009
This little spot on the lower east side specializes in what can best be described as Italian hot pockets or stuffed pita bread. The bread itself is actually pretty unique. It’s a toasty triangle of puffy yet crispy goodness, and inside is filled with something delicious – in this case, oxtail and tomato:
I also tried their chic pea salad, which is a pass. The peas were a little undercooked. Otherwise, fun spot. The fig negroni is great.
TRAPIZZINO
144 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
My wife and I tried this place for happy hour. They offer $1.50 oysters, lower priced starters and some drink specials as well.
The oysters were great (not pictured), and so was the scotch egg.
We also tried their fried chicken. This was pretty good. At $24 the price was a bit steep, but I really enjoyed the charred lemon and unique flavors in the batter. Worth a try for sure.
I would definitely go back for more, and to shoot some pool.
FLOWER SHOP
107 Eldridge St
New York, NY 10002
This joint opened recently and is connected to the 9 Orchard hotel. There’s a lot I want to try here, but on this first trip my wife and I just stopped in for a couple of cocktails and some snacks.
The cocktails are great. I had a Gibson that used basil syrup in the mix. Very herbal and unique.
I also tried their amari-based old fashioned, which was really strong at first. But as the ice mellowed it out, it was perfect.
We had the Oysters Rockefeller, which were quite expensive at $24 for four. They were delicious, however, and reminded us of the flavor profile of escargots.
We also had an order of their perfectly cooked fries, which come with ketchup, mayo, and dijon. I love that they give you dijon automatically. It’s my favorite condiment.
Based on this trip, we will definitely be back to try more of the menu. Stay tuned for updates!
UPDATE 10-15-2022
On a second trip, after a LOT of hype in the food media world, I noticed a decline here.
First off, the nice ice cube in the old fashioned is gone now, and they replaced it with a bunch of small regular ice cubes. Bad move!
We started with the steak tartare, which was fairly good although it was very heavy on the onion and vinegar. The parm crisp on top was nice though.
The burger is no longer on the menu. I was excited to try it but they had a steak on special, so I went with that.
$185! Get the fuck outta here for 32oz!
It was just okay. Cooked perfectly, nice crust. But the meat itself was pretty dense and tough in places, and a good amount of connective tissue that was inedible. The best parts were along the bone, and edges, where some aged flavor managed to creep in. 6/10.
My wife’s duck was better, but parts of the dish were insanely salty.
The bread and butter here is fantastic, and complimentary. Get it.
Fries were still great, so there’s that.
CORNER BAR
60 Canal St
New York, NY 10002
having gone to Haswell Green’s several times for cocktails over the years, I finally made it over there to try the food. I have to say: the burger matches the quality of the cocktails: AWESOME!
It’s a double smash patty burger on a potato bun with pickles, cheese and special sauce. Very simple, but really well executed. Go give it a shot. I actually think this might be my favorite burger in that part of town. Better than Black Tap, all the steakhouses nearby, and any other bar or fast food joint slinging burgers for theater patrons.
The boneless wings pork+veal meatballs are decent as well.
But make sure you try some of their cocktails. Really nicely crafted.
HASWELL’S GREEN
240 W 52nd St
New York, NY 10019
