It's Christmastime in the City

I'm a big fan of Living Social.  (I'm a big fan of anything that's going to give me good deals on food and drinks!)  If you're not familiar with it, it's the website that sends tempting deals (for all kinds of things) to your email every single day.  I currently subscribe to several Manhattan neighborhoods, North and Central Jersey as well as Philly and Pittsburgh.  So my level of temptation by Living Social is quite high.
Last June, I bought a couple of great sounding deals in Manhattan hoping to increase my frequency of trips into the city.  Here it is 6 months later, and I was under the gun to use them before they expire.

This week, I thought, it's now or never.  It was a beautiful day and what's better than New York at Christmastime?  Eating and drinking through New York at Christmastime!

 

First stop Lime Jungle on 50th and 9th...just a few short blocks away from the infamous tree at Rockefeller Center.
Instead of avoiding the crowds during the height of Christmas season we decided to forge right through!

me, playing tourist...

Our deal at Lime Jungle was 2 flights of tequila (8 shots) and chips, salsa and guacamole.

Michelada: Mexican beer, lime juice and hot sauce
poured into ice-filled glass rimmed with spices.

Of course you can't have tequila with a beer chaser; in my case I went for a Michelada (which basically is spicy beer).











A couple of empanada's rounded out our stop and we were ready to be on our way.  The biggest drawback was the noise level, as we really could not hear our waitress as she described the tequilas that we were tasting.  Overall, Lime Jungle was a cute little place with inexpensive, authentic food and worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood.

Our second course was down in the East Village at a divey little place called Bento Burger.  Their website describes it as an "Asian Roadhouse future dive"and that's exactly what it felt like.  Once we got past the overwhelming odor of bleach as we walked in, the funky futuristic surroundings provided a great atmosphere.

Michael ordered a Korean Barbeque Pork Burger and I went with the Seafood Burger.

Burgers were served Bento style with Japanese Pickles, Papaya Mango Slaw and Bento chips.
The Japanese twist on the American classic is a novel idea, but the food really fell short.  But our Living Social deal of $40 worth of food for $20 made it easier to swallow!  Not a bad neighborhood place, but don't think I would go out of my way for this one.

Overall, a great night in the city. Sometimes dining out isn't about the best meal, but about the  experience.  Part of the adventure is exploring local neighborhood places, off the beaten path.  I will continue to look forward to my daily Living Social temptations to see where they may take me.

If you need a little help finding places to dine and drink, here's a list to get you started:

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/12/new-york-city-101-best-restaurants.html#comments