Jaunted

My pal Marty commutes to Mineola on the LIRR every day, so I convinced him to meet me for an after-work drink at the absolute closest bar to his train. As we took our seats at the T.G.I. Friday's bar and a manager swooped in to check our ID's, I surveyed the room to see an eclectic assortment of rush hour commuters tossing back happy hour cocktails in the precious, fleeting moments between their work and domestic lives.

And what a happy hour it was. Until 7:00 p.m., domestic draft beers were $2.50, but we opted for the $3.50 margaritas, which, not surprisingly, were made with cheap tequila and margarita mix. The half-priced appetizers arrived shortly thereafter, and we dipped meaty Buffalo wings into bleu cheese dressing and scooped guacamole onto nachos with cheerful readiness.

We had a good time in spite of ourselves, swapping tales about our soul-crushing workloads and fear of imminent unemployment just like everybody else in the joint. We got in our order for another round of margaritas just under the wire, and switched to full-priced 23-ounce beers for a 7:15 p.m. "nightcap". The place emptied out around us as people hustled to their trains.

The beauty of the after-work drink is its brevity, and we departed before things turned sour, with three minutes for Marty to get to his train - plenty of time. Overall, the drinks and food were mediocre, but the service was good and the candy-striped atmosphere was perfectly acceptable. We enjoyed our T.G.I. Friday's experience, even though it was Monday. The best part: the check came out to just forty bucks for six drinks and two appetizers, astonishingly cheap for a Midtown Manhattan pub. I doubt we'll hit the Penn Station drinking scene again in the near future, but we did come away with a renewed appreciation for the cheap, efficient delivery of food and drink that are just good enough.

[Photo: Victor Ozols]

Related Stories
· T.G.I. Friday's [Official Site]
· Manhattan Restaurants [Jaunted]