Recently in Deal or No Deal? Category

Every Wednesday Via Emilia (47 E. 21st Street) has a Lambrusco flight deal that's quite a steal - $25 gets you pours of four Lambruscos (red sparkling wine) from the restaurant's home region of Emilia-Romagna plus 4 antipastos.

Last week we were actually in disbelief as we made our way through the deal. It is indeed a heckuva bargain - the wine pours were generous and the portions of the antipasti also sizable. Actually it was one antipasto followed by a clam dish, a pasta and a piece of steak! The only odd thing is they give you one glass so you need to finish the Lambrusco accompanying the previous course before getting the one for the next. But with a steal like this we won't complain about glassware stinginess.

One note to people planning a date here - a small sheet of paper with the deal and specials was attached to the menu - on the bottom it said "Great Cheap Date!! Reserve Today!" Guys, you may not want to show this to your date unless you want a rep as a cheapskate.

One note - the flight is available every Wednesday from 5pm - 8pm but tonight they are closed for a private party until 7pm. We highly recommend you check it out.

Verdict: DEAL!

When we look for happy hours, we're looking for a few things - long hours and real deals. Bar Artisanal (268 West Broadway) has one of the two components down - half-price drinks but the hours leave something to be desired.

First the drinks - beer and cocktails are 50% off. Cocktails run from $12 to $15 so this is a substantial savings. Meanwhile, the typically overpriced selection of boutique brews ($7 - $18) becomes merely affordable, not a great deal. Of course, we've lamented time and again that the high markups on trendy beers are nothing more than price gouging. There is no good financial reason a beer from Long Island or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is $7.

Now, as for the hours - we like late happy hours (10pm - 1am according to the restaurant's email but 11pm - 1am according to the menu) but 3pm - 6pm isn't much of a deal unless you're unemployed. And if you're unemployed, you're not going to be bellying up to the bar at a fancy restaurant.

So is it a deal? Kind of - especially if you're looking for a stop late at night for one last drink. But go for the hard stuff if you really want your money's worth.

With just two days left in the Bar Blanc Bistro (142 West 10th Street) opening week deal, we decided to pop in and see how they were doing. The bar was fairly busy but the restaurant mostly empty when we arrived. We grabbed a pair of empty seats at the bar and were handed the menus. The bartender clearly explained the half-off deal and the exclusions - no bottled beer, burger or oysters for half price. Fair enough, we thought, since the bar menu had a good bit of choice.

The half-off special applied to draft beer, wine by the glass and carafe, and house cocktails. (The not-included bottled beer is your typical rip-off with $7 Stellas, Leffe and Hoegaarden). There were lots of choices among the cocktails, normally $12, generally classics or riffs on them including a caipiroska, sidecar (very popular) and a grapefruit martinis. We stuck to beer and wine. The Grimbergen ale was new to us but quite good (normally $7) if a bit sweet at the bottom of the glass while Blue Moon is... Blue Moon. Wines were interesting but suffered from being too warm and open for a while. A Pinot Noir from France was good but neither the mundane Tempranillo nor the White Bordeaux excited us.

Food-wise, we enjoyed most everything - the chicken liver mousse was very good as were the beef croquettes, though the underlying mustard was way too hot. The burger was large and juicy while fries were perfectly crisped.

Overall, the space looks the same from its previous incarnation (pre-bistro). It certainly doesn't read bistro and it's way too dark - reading menus was only possible by candlelight. Will this incarnation make it? Certainly the bar is comfortable but beer and wine are a bit too expensive for it to be a regular stop. The restaurant itself is a tougher sell and they have their work cut out for them. The previous restaurants struggled in the same space so you have to wonder if it is cursed.

In the meantime, is it a deal? Heck yea! 50% off the entire check (tip on the whole amount fellow boozers). We suggest you hurry over before it expires tomorrow night at 8pm. Rumor has it they will have some type of happy hour after the deal is gone but it won't be nearly as good.