Happy Are They Who Drink For Cheap
by Audrey Ference
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Blue Owl 196 Second Ave.
Lure Fish Bar 142 Mercer St.
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The idea of happy hour evokes a wealth of different images: frat boy-like iBankers pounding beers and yelling, frat boy-like actual frat boys pounding beers and yelling, or sad drunks who get to the bar before it even opens and sit and wait on the curb until the bartender arrives to unlock the place. Oh, and you and your pals squeezing in a few cut-rate drinks after work.
If you hit up happy hour with any regularity, it’s easy to start worrying that maybe you fall into one of the first three categories. Don’t fret. You don’t. But the worries are not entirely unfounded — many of the venues with the best happy hour deals are pushy, depressing holes that stink like that disinfectant that all bars use to clean up beer/puke residue. Wasn’t it Nietzsche who said that if you stare long enough into the $2 pint of Bud Ice, the $2 pint of Bud Ice stares also into you?
Which is to say that maybe it’s time to class it up a little, junior. You could try Blue Owl, for example. All of their “signature cocktails” — we’re talking fruit-infused sweet vermouth and Maker’s Mark, not some shitty appletini — are five bucks until 8pm. The space is below street level, and has that faux-speakeasy décor that people like nowadays: beaten copper, low, loungey seating, and dark wood. It’s not overrun by idiots, and there are even a few tables out front for the smoking types. They pull off quasi-retro lounge without any cheesy-ness, and the drinks are right tasty.
Another good option is Lure Fish Bar. Though most of the time it’s a pricey restaurant, until 7pm on weekdays they offer $4 beer, $5 wine, $6 cocktails, and, most importantly, $1 oysters. I know that normally eating discount oysters is a poor choice, but Lure is trustworthy. The whole place is done up like a cruise ship, with “porthole” windows, a curved wood ceiling, and brass accents. Off to the side of the restaurant area is a bar and nook area suitable for happy houring. There’s even a discounted small plates menu for that friend who’s always bitching about being hungry because they eat dinner like an old person.
So turn that frown upside down and get excited about being broke. Happy hour is happy again!
Blue Owl 196 Second Ave.
Lure Fish Bar 142 Mercer St.
……………………………………………………………………………
The idea of happy hour evokes a wealth of different images: frat boy-like iBankers pounding beers and yelling, frat boy-like actual frat boys pounding beers and yelling, or sad drunks who get to the bar before it even opens and sit and wait on the curb until the bartender arrives to unlock the place. Oh, and you and your pals squeezing in a few cut-rate drinks after work.
If you hit up happy hour with any regularity, it’s easy to start worrying that maybe you fall into one of the first three categories. Don’t fret. You don’t. But the worries are not entirely unfounded — many of the venues with the best happy hour deals are pushy, depressing holes that stink like that disinfectant that all bars use to clean up beer/puke residue. Wasn’t it Nietzsche who said that if you stare long enough into the $2 pint of Bud Ice, the $2 pint of Bud Ice stares also into you?
Which is to say that maybe it’s time to class it up a little, junior. You could try Blue Owl, for example. All of their “signature cocktails” — we’re talking fruit-infused sweet vermouth and Maker’s Mark, not some shitty appletini — are five bucks until 8pm. The space is below street level, and has that faux-speakeasy décor that people like nowadays: beaten copper, low, loungey seating, and dark wood. It’s not overrun by idiots, and there are even a few tables out front for the smoking types. They pull off quasi-retro lounge without any cheesy-ness, and the drinks are right tasty.
Another good option is Lure Fish Bar. Though most of the time it’s a pricey restaurant, until 7pm on weekdays they offer $4 beer, $5 wine, $6 cocktails, and, most importantly, $1 oysters. I know that normally eating discount oysters is a poor choice, but Lure is trustworthy. The whole place is done up like a cruise ship, with “porthole” windows, a curved wood ceiling, and brass accents. Off to the side of the restaurant area is a bar and nook area suitable for happy houring. There’s even a discounted small plates menu for that friend who’s always bitching about being hungry because they eat dinner like an old person.
So turn that frown upside down and get excited about being broke. Happy hour is happy again!
