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.
We’ve had a ton of Broadway giveaways lately (shameless reminder to enter our Leap of Faith giveaway here) but where’s a cheap place to grab a quick bite?
Sometimes, I don’t have a time to eat before the show, and am just looking for a place where I can grab a few drinks and snacks and be out the door in 30 minutes or less. Plus, I don’t want to hit a tourist trap and drop $5 on a slice of pizza. And that’s why I love Rudy’s on 9th Ave near 44th Street. For $7, I can get a pitcher of their house brew, Rudy’s Blonde, and enjoy free hot dogs. Unlike Crocodile Lounge where you can get a free pizza per drink, you can pretty much get as many hot dogs as you want here. For $7, I’ve gotten a pitcher before and two hot dogs (don’t judge, I was hungry) and let’s be honest, that’s cheaper than a dirty water dog on the street.
I will warn you, seating can be pretty tight and while there are booths, you’ll probably end up standing. But if you are rushing to make an 8pm show, and want to grab a quick bite, Rudy’s is definitely worth checking out.
The Basics
Name: Rudy’s
Location: 627 9th Ave near 44th Street
Who to bring: Friends
Price: $ Great value
Overall: 4 stars. In my rotation in Hell’s Kitchen.
Remember a few months back when I told you about getting $29 tickets to see Broadway’s Leap of Faith? Well, I saw the show and it was fantastic! Four-time Tony Award® nominee Raúl Esparza stars in this show as Jonas Nightingale, who is a “religious” performer who comes to a small town, ready to take the town’s money as he convinces them he can perform miracles, but then, a sheriff – who happens to be an attractive lady with a PHENOMENAL voice – makes him think twice about his little scheme. While the story line was a tad predictable, it kept me entertained for 2 hours. What was fabulous however was the dancing and music. The big company numbers had great choreography, and I could have listened to the lead, Jessica Phillips, sing all night. Raul Esparza was fabulous as well, and had a strong solo performance towards the end of the second act that left me speechless. Overall, I was a big fan – I didn’t check the program once to count how many songs were left (a sign that I don’t like a show).
So even though I’m telling you the show was great, it’s probably best that you check it out for yourself, right? If you want to see it you can:
Get $29 balcony tickets (before service fees) for any performance before April 25. Tickets can be purchased at www.BroadwayOffers.com and use code: LFFNF301 or at the St. James Theatre box office (246 West 44th Street) from 10 AM- 8 PM and mention code LFFNF301.
This same code will also get you orchestra/front mezzanine rows A-P tickets to performances on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for $79 (regularly $122/$132) or Friday, Saturday, and Sunday performances for $89 (regularly $137). This is good for performances through May 13.
Or you can win tickets right here on our blog!
How to Enter:
To win a pair of tickets to Leap of Faith (performance date will be of your choosing), simply comment and share your favorite Broadway song of all time with us. You can only enter once, and contest ends on Tuesday, April 17 at 11:59 pm EST. Good luck! (Please note: sometimes I need to approve comments and I’ll be traveling, so your comment may not be posted until Monday, but I assure you it went through).
What better way to spend Saturday than on a bar crawl? The 17th annual Greenwich Village Spring Bar Tour kicks off Saturday, April 14th from 1-9pm. Throughout the day, bars like The Red Lion, Amity Hall, Triona’s, The Half Pint, Slane, Thunder Jackson’s, Wicked Willy’s, The
Some of my favorites to bar crawl with!
Grisly Pear, Village Lantern and more will offer $2 Domestic Light draft pints, food and shot specials, beads, giveaways and more.
Right now, tickets cost $10 (and price will go up to $15 day of event), but with the code 89th, you can save $3. You can buy tickets for the event here. If you aren’t ready to buy your tickets and want to check the event out the day of, tickets are available from 1-6pm at The Red Lion (Bleecker & Thompson St.) and are $10 with 2 canned goods (Benefiting City Harvest) and $15 without donation.
Giveaway
We have TEN tickets to giveaway to ONE lucky 89th and Broke reader. Entering is easy! Comment below with your favorite happy hour special by 9:59 PM EST tonight. We’ll then pick one winner and send you the tickets tonight. Good luck!
I’ve been dying to tell you guys about Kangoo for awhile, but now that there is a Groupon, I feel like since I can combine my love for Kangoo and my love for deals, this is worth a post.
While I love to eat, I’d probably be a good 20lbs heavier if I didn’t work out. I got into the zumba dance craze last year, but Caryn and I stumbled across a video of an old boss jumping up and down in what looked like moon shoes back in the fall. We learned she was wearing Kangoos. Flash forward to January, when we saw a deal on CBS Local Offers for Kangoo classes. We were so intrigued by our old boss Deb (and Steve), that we decided to give it a try with hip hop Kangoo classes.
Here are the five reasons why I like Kangoo:
1). Kangoo is like wearing moonshoes: Kangoo look like rollerblades but allow you to bounce. It may look like you’d fall when wearing them, but it’s actually pretty easy to keep your balance – once you have them on, you won’t think twice. Whether you decide to run in a pair of Kangoos, or take a hip hop dance class, it’s like you are working out on your very own trampoline. Plus, you can consider yourself a trendsetter – very few people know about kangoo!
2). Kangoo is a great workout: Imagine taking a dance class. Now imagine dancing while jumping the entire time. You get the picture – you’ll sweat a lot and be out of breath, meaning your body is moving. Best of all, studies show that using Kangoos burn over 25% (up to 50%) more calories than working out while wearing sneakers – burning between 750-1500 calories an hour while reducing the impact to your knees, joints and spine.
3). Mario the Trainer: Mario teaches these classes and has a fabulous personality. You’ll want to be best friends with him by the end of your first class, I guarantee it. In fact, he creates classes that offer a community atmosphere. Where I’ve gone to fitness classes and barely said hi to the girl sitting on the spin bike next to me (granted spin is at 6:30 am), at Kangoo, folks will help the newbies put on their shoes, ask if it is their first time taking a class, etc. It is really welcoming! Plus, if you like Mario on Facebook, he’ll post different events going on around town. For example, I helped him out at a Fitness Expo in exchange for some free Kangoo time (which all the Kangooers I volunteered with by the way, were extremely nice and chatty – perfect if you are looking to make friends).
4). Mario Offers Deals!: You can’t help but like someone who offers a deal – and let’s those who have taken Kangoo before sign up and get the voucher too. On Groupon right now, Mario is offering
$10 for one Kangoo fitness class including boot rental (up to a $25 value)
$19 for three of the above classes (up to a $75 value)
$35 for six of the above classes (up to a $125 value)
$99 for one private Kangoo class for up to five people (up to a $250 value)
Needless to say, I bought the six classes. Kangoos are typically $179 a pair, so the boot rental is definitely appreciated. Once you buy your classes, you can check Mario’s schedule and sign up for the ones you are interested in.
5). It’s fun!: If you still need convincing to try Kangoo, I’ll leave you with this video of me in action. I’m the one in sorority letters whose hair falls down halfway through from all the jumping.
Every time I pass Aroma 31 a block away from me, the restaurant is absolutely empty. After hearing that the place had a brunch special
for $12, we decided to check it out – and now I’m wondering how this place is empty.
For $12, you get your choice of a mimosa or sangria with any entree. Our waiter was attentive (after all, we were the only two people in
the place at noon on a Saturday), making sure our water glasses were constantly filled. It’s a shame the place wasn’t busier – it was cute
with outdoor seating and beautiful wooden tables throughout the place.
I was in the mood for something savory and sweet so we decided to split the spicy omelette – with pepper jack, pico de gallo, and
chorizo – and stuffed nutella french toast. The omelette came with potatoes and your choice of white or wheat toast.
The omelette wasn’t overly spicy, but the bits of chorizo were fantastic. It was all the right ratio of eggs to add-ins and one wasn’t overpowering the others. As far as the nutella French toast, it was like eating a dessert. It was sweet where you didn’t need to add any extra syrup. It was the perfect thing to split – I would have been on a sugar overload after.
Honestly, brunch was fantastic and I could not beat the price. Plus, I was happy there was only one drink included so I could still have a
productive afternoon – sometimes I go overboard at AYCD brunch…
While I hate making repeat visits to the same restaurants when there are so many places to try, Aroma 31 is making it to the top of my
brunch list.
The Basics
Name: Aroma 31
Location: 33-20 31st Ave
Who to Bring: Friends, Date
Price: $$
Overall: One of my favorite brunches. 5 stars.
I’m going to be honest – I haven’t used LevelUp, but when I saw this email fly into my inbox last night, I figured it was worth sharing with you all.
LevelUp is an iPhone/Android app, where you sync your debit/credit card to the app and you receive a unique QSR code. When at a participating merchant, you can pay simply by scanning your phone. There are incentive to scan while using your phone – some restaurants will give you $1 to $4 off, just by paying via phone. And at the end of the day, you are still getting points on your credit card – so double win. I also noticed the more you use LevelUp, the more credits you get – so if you spend $50 over time, you’ll receive a $5 credit.
So why am I telling you about LevelUp? Well, I received an email saying “Getting a free meal at 4food when using LevelUp.” The code 4food will get you a $10 credit to the site, when you sign up on LevelUp. However, what I noticed in my account settings that the promo code 4food got me $10 to any participating LevelUp merchants, not just to LevelUp. Not sure if this is a fluke or what, but regardless, $10 to 4food for free is a great deal – and $10 to any restaurant is even better! Here’s a copy of the email I received.
Have you tried LevelUp? Let us know what you think!
