Living life by the half rack

The other night my new roommates (which reminds me: I recently got a couple of new roommates!), suggested we go to happy hour at the restaurant below our apartment. The restaurant, Ovelia, is a great one. I made it a brunch staple for the first few months I lived in my apartment until such point as I realized it was probably not healthy (physically or financially) to eat french toast stuffed with Greek yogurt absolutely every Sunday morning. Instead, I've now replaced that habit with eating waffles I make at home as often as possible, but that's really neither here nor there.

Despite being a frequently patron of Ovelia's brunch, I'd only been there once at night and never for happy hour. On the one hand, because it's a good place and right under where I sleep, you'd think I'd be a frequent visitor. However, usually if I'm going to go out, I do so in Manhattan right after work or meet someone elsewhere. By the time I get back to my apartment, I'm usually just heading home to chill with Dinah. Still, as the roommates are new to the neighborhood and thus imbued with the enthusiasm for Astoria that I really ought to have considering I write a blog theoretically about it, they are eager to try the local spots. And as happy hour is nearly always a good idea, and I liked the fact that I could wear sandals even though it was 30 degrees out because I wouldn't be outside for more than 10 steps, I said yes.

An Astorian hot spot. I've always enjoyed their music selection, which I can hear from my living room, except when it's playing loudly at 2 am. It's peppy and fun, with just the right amount of Billy Joel.

The only problem with the timing of happy hour was that I'd been about to eat dinner. Going to a restaurant and hoping to save money by just buying one happy hour beverage is like going to the grocery store when you're hungry. Especially if the grocery store smells delicious and specializes in awesome Greek food that keeps coming out and being given to other grocery store shoppers. Okay, forget that analogy: going to a restaurant when you're hungry is so much stupider than going to the grocery store hungry. So yes, surviving on just my $5 happy hour sangria would have been very difficult (despite my eating the fruit garnishes for sustenance), but what made it officially impossible was that at Ovelia on Wednesdays it's apparently Rib Night.

On Wednesday Rib Night at Ovelia, you can get a half rack of ribs with two sides and cornbread for $14.95. Maybe I've just been living in New York too long, but that seems like a great price! Especially given that you can easily split it between two people OR have the leftovers for lunch. We pledged to make Wednesday rib night a regular thing. I'm secretly thankful I hadn't heard of this until right before I'm planning to move. That's right, readers, I'm moving! Luckily not too far from where I live now (and certainly close enough to still indulge in some ribbage, although far enough that I'd probably have to put on weather appropriate footwear).

Details on my new apartment to come soon! But rest assured, it will still be in Astoria. I refused to look outside this neighborhood in part because I love it and in part because it would be too taxing to have to come up with a new blog name.