Manhattan

Haru Happy Hour 

 
From: Haru (Gramercy) in New York City, NY 

Haru has multiple locations in Manhattan and the one I visited was in Gramercy. Their Happy Hour at this spot is from 3PM-7PM Monday through Friday and 3PM-6PM on Saturday. In order to get the deals, you must sit at the bar or high-top tables at the sushi bar. Regardless, it is still enjoyable and definitely worth it – IMO (which I just learned means in my opinion.) 🙂

On their happy hour menu, you get to choose from an assortment of beer, wine, specialty cocktails, and sake. They have various appetizers and three rolls: California, spicy tuna, and crunchy spicy salmon. It doesn’t have to stop at the happy hour, Haru is extremely affordable no matter what you get. Plus, you can access them from almost every area in the city since they are also located on the Upper West Side, Times Square, Upper East Side, and Wall Street.

What I loved the most? The vegetable spring rolls and the crunchy spicy salmon. Pictured above is their vegetable spring roll; it was a good-sized portion (came with four) and so full of flavor. The outside was moist and crunchy while the inside’s vegetables complimented each other well.

Otto’s Tacos

 
From: Otto’s Tacos in New York City, NY
If you are looking for a quick place to grab some freshly made-to-order tacos when in Manhattan, check out Otto’s Tacos. They are an LA-inspired taqueria that makes all of their salsas, tortillas, and marinades from scratch. They are located in both the East Village and the West Village, plus did I mention each of their items are only about $3? You could test a bunch of their tacos and it would be an affordable, plus satisfying meal.

I love having choices when I go to grab some food, because let’s face it, you get three shots in your day to have an awesome meal and you don’t want to waste it on a poor selection. At Otto’s you can choose between carne asada, carnitas, mushroom, chicken and shrimp tacos. So you can feel free to mix and match. Again… each for only three bucks! (Insert shock-faced emoji here.)

The above image is of their carnitas taco which includes a very spicy salsa verde. The pork is well-marinated, tender, and I kind of want to leave work to go there right now.

Red, White and Wings


From: Landsdowne Road in New York City, NY
First and foremost, a big congratulations to Team USA for winning the Women’s World Cup last night with a 5-2 victory over Japan. That was quite an exciting game with three goals scored by Team USA within the first 20 minutes. It helped me relax a bit while I sat and ate my wings.

If you are looking for a good sports bar, check out Landsdowne Road in Manhattan. It’s located on the corner of 44th Street and 10th Avenue. It is an Irish pub and sports bar with a great assortment of comfort food and wall-to-wall TVs for game-watching. Wherever we sat last night we had a prime view of Carli Lloyd scoring goal after goal.

I would highly recommend the mild buffalo wings. They are crunchy, fresh, and not overly-doused in sauce. I also had their avocado salad, which came with avocados, toasted almonds, tomatoes, and crumbled blue cheese over mixed greens that was served with a house balsamic vinaigrette. I also was told the pulled pork was good, so at this point, I am sure that whatever you go for will be delicious!