89th And Broke I'm a young professional living in Astoria (formerly of Williamsburg, the UES and Murray Hill - I move a lot!). I'm always looking for something fun to do or the best place to grab a drink and dinner at an affordable price around the city.
Have a suggestion? Email me at Laura AT 89thandbroke DOT com.
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By Laura, on January 20, 2012, 5:06 am
By Laura, on January 19, 2012, 7:45 am
Our reader Laurie shared two free cycling classes with us last week, after we wrote about free fitness classes on Friday at Athleta. If you  have a flexible Friday or Wednesday schedule, you may want to check these out!
- Flywheel on 67th and 3rd offers a free cycling class every Friday at 12:30 pm. Laurie tells us bikes are first come, first serve. She arrived at 11:30 am last Friday, and was able to snag a bike. Each week, there is also a new instructor.
- SoulCycle in Tribeca does a free class every Wednesday at 1pm. You can reserve a spot for the class starting at noon on Monday.
Have a fitness freebie? Share it with us, and thanks to Laurie for the tip!
By Caryn, on January 19, 2012, 4:37 am
By Laura, on January 18, 2012, 7:59 am
Stop what you are doing right now, and put up a calendar reminder. At noon today, tickets to the Village Voice’s Choice Eats go on sale, an  event that will be held on Tuesday, March 13. For $50 – and yes, it is TOTALLY worth it – you’ll enjoy samples from 50 different restaurants, complimentary alcoholic beverages (beer and wine) and a dessert sampling. The event is hosted at the 69th Armory on Lexington Avenue on 25th Street from 6:30 – 9:30 pm. I guess in a nutshell, the way I describe this event is free samples from Costco, on crack.
If you’d like to get a head start on the snacking – as some samples do run out – we recommend buying the VIP ticket, for $80. This gives you an additional hour of snacking, access to a different room filled with samples from different restaurants, and a goody bag. If eating events are your favorite thing in the whole world, consider this. For the first time ever, Village Voice will also be selling combo tickets to get you access to Choice Eats and the 1st Annual Village Voice Choice Streets Food Truck Tasting Event on April 24. These tickets are $70 for a general admission combo, and $110 for VIP.
Caryn and I are veterans – in fact, we’ve been the last few years. Here are a few tips on getting the most out of the tasty event:
- Pair off: Try to do it with more people and you’ll get lost and have disagreements on where to go next. Keep it simple and have just one partner in crime. With this partner in crime, you’ll want to split every sample with them. I’m not kidding – usually I take a bite, and then Caryn takes a bite. If you don’t do the one bite method, you will be stuffed rather quickly and need a cab to take you home, like I did in 2009.
- Two bites max: Unless it is likely to be one of your 5 top favorite dishes of the whole night, keep it to two bites only. Either share the rest (see above) or throw it out. I’m sorry to say this, I hate wasting food but you simply won’t make it if you eat most of each sample.
- Plan ahead: Know which restaurants are “must trys” so that you can prioritize correctly. Sometimes you’ll notice the same restaurants year after year, so here are our favorites from last year.
- Arrive early: Even as someone who is always 10 minutes late, I recommend getting in line early. And there will be a line. Getting there early ensures that you’ll get to sample your “must trys” before they run out. Most stations (especially the popular ones) run out of food early, some within the first hour, so going in right at the start is just a smart idea (this is also where a VIP ticket comes in handy).
- Loose clothing: Don’t wear anything form fitting. You won’t fit into it by the end of the night! Leggings that go under your stomach are preferably and a flowy top. Elastic waist is a safe bet.
- Come hungry: Need we even say that?
- Tackle the Food First: Free beer is always tempting to us ladies, but not when we’re comparing it to lobster roll samples or tres leches cake. Therefore, our strategy is hit up the food first, and then go for the drinks at the end. Then you won’t have to worry about spilling anything while you’re managing plates!
- Take Time to Enjoy It: At Choice Eats, I’m so busy stuffing my face with food that I often forget to enjoy my bite, as I’m so concerned where to next. Take a moment, breathe and enjoy what’s in your mouth before rushing over to that next table.
- Spring for a Cab Home: We know $50 can be a lot, and for some of our readers, that’s what you’d normally spend on 4 meals or so. Go all out though and take that cab home. You’re full, you are in a food coma, and the last thing you want is a long, delaying ride on the R train to ruin your night. While you may be 89th and Broke, you deserve to be 89th and Fabulous(ly Full) this evening.
By Laura, on January 18, 2012, 7:55 am
It’s Restaurant Week time of year, which means that 20at20 is back through February 6. Arrive at the theater 20 minutes before showtime  at these participating theaters, and you’ll get $20 tickets to an off-Broadway show. We tried this promotion a few years back (and we’ve detailed the worst audience member we’ve ever encountered in this review) and yes, it truly works. Keep in mind though you may want to pick a show that has a couple theaters nearby just so you can have a back-up plan should your show get sold out. Another thought may be to call in advance to make sure there are tickets available that day. From our experience, we found that we had better luck seeing a show during the week than on a weekend.
One other thought before buying your tickets is to check with sites like Goldstar to make sure you are getting the best deal. For example, I’m seeing Psycho Therapy for $10, thanks to a Goldstar deal, but you can buy tickets for $20 at 20at20. Just take a few moments to look at a few sites and make sure you are getting the best price before planning a night out with your friends.
My three picks for shows – Rent or Million Dollar Quartet if you like musicals, and if you simply would love to dance, check out Fuerza Bruta. You can’t beat the price for $20!
By Laura, on January 18, 2012, 6:03 am
By Caryn, on January 17, 2012, 6:09 am
 There are two promos at different Johnny Rockets locations in Manhattan. To start, in honor of its 25th anniversary, Johnny Rockets Restaurant & Sports Lounge on 1st Ave. and 62nd St. is offering 5 different meals for $6 each, including a Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich Plate and the Original Hamburger Plate (this deal is ongoing until further notice).
Also, the 56th St. and 3rd Ave. location has a movie promo: buy discounted movie tickets to participating AMC or Regal theaters with the purchase of any entree and soda or shake. Enjoy!
By Caryn, on January 17, 2012, 5:01 am
By Laura, on January 13, 2012, 7:42 am
Last weekend, I organized a group of about 30 of my friends and we headed to Down the Hatch down in the West Village for a day of drinking. Why do we day drink at Down the Hatch? Well the deal is phenomenal – $21 gets you 3 pitchers of beer and all you can eat wings, fries and onion rings from 1-6 pm.
We’ve made a tradition to visit Down the Hatch every January. Why early January? Well NYU is out of school, so this bar is a little bit more empty than during the school year. I will warn you – day drinking can be pretty rough, especially if you marathon all day long, starting at 1pm. You may be in bed by 10pm on a Saturday night.
Caryn and I know we reviewed this place a few years back, but since some of you may be new to the blog – thought we’d revisit the review.
This review was originally posted January 8, 2010.
I recently fell back in love with daytime drinking. There’s really nothing better than having a few beers midday, going to bed by midnight, and having all of Sunday hangover-free to tackle whatever projects you wanted to finish over the weekend.
Last weekend, I headed over to Down the Hatch to indulge in some beers and wings. Down the Hatch, located in the West Village, has a pretty sweet deal on Saturday and Sundays – pay $21, and you’ll have unlimited wings, fries and onion rings from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Need something to wash down those wings? You’ll also get 3 pitchers of beer. Don’t worry, you don’t have to juggle several pitchers. Instead, you get tickets, and you can redeem each ticket for a beer or use four tickets and get a pitcher. You can select any of the beers on tap – I believe I was drinking Michelob Ultra for most of the afternoon (gotta cut those calories somewhere).
The bar had plenty of tables and counters to eat wings off of, and unlike a night bar scene, everyone was friendly. People were sharing tables, chatting it up, pouring you some beer, etc. Granted, I was in NYU territory and may have been about 4 years older than some of the patrons, but everyone was getting along fine – to the point where I may have screamed out “Coll-ege.”
Now on to the beer – when I heard 1-6 p.m., I knew there was no reason for me to get there at 1, given that I was not 100% on Friday after
 Down the Hatch, Circa 2011 the New Year activities. Instead, we got there at 3. At first I was a little upset because back in the day, Saturday activities were all you can drink and now I was limited to 3 pitchers (this coming from the girl who only needs 3 beers). But, we didn’t come close to redeeming all our drink tickets – not even the guys. As a heads up, at 5:30 the bartenders stop serving pitchers, but you can still get cups of beer. The bartenders are fine with you stocking up with beer at your table – I believe once it became 6 p.m., we may have had 2 pitchers left and stayed for another hour. Some bartenders didn’t even collect tickets, which was great.
As far as the food went, it was your typical bar food and was perfect for accompanying a pint. Wings came with fries and you could order onion rings too if you wanted. Our favorite Atomic Wings provides the wings at Down the Hatch, and they have the 89thandbroke.com seal of approval.
If you are looking to grab a few drinks during the day, check out Down the Hatch. It’s a much more affordable option than sitting in any other bar in this city and ordering drinks and food.
The Basics
Name: Down the Hatch
Location: 179 W. 4th St between Jones St and Barrow St
Who to bring: Friends
Price: If you go the whole time, less than $5 to drink and eat per hour! $
Overall: Is it bad I think I may swing by tomorrow? 4 stars (rating based on daytime drinking)
By Laura, on January 13, 2012, 6:05 am
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