The City is one hectic place, you work entirely too hard and we drink entirely too much. We don’t stop to smell the roses and we definitely do not have time to think of anything else but our next destination. With a rising foodie community and a need for faster but still fresh food, upscale food courts have been taking over NYC. To be honest, at first I was kind of mad about it. I revel in the restaurant scene, the décor, the personalized service, the anticipation of the food coming to you and the recommendations for the wait staff. However, Hudson Eats has entirely altered my stance.
Hudson Eats is located in Brookfield Place, right next to Battery Park City directly across from America’s own Freedom Tower. The best part is you get to pass the tower and memorial on your way to Brookfield Place making the journey itself a treat. But, you may be asking, what is Brookfield Place? It’s one of NYC’s upscale malls with eateries, shops, events, and exhibitions taking place all around the very large venue (I did actually get lost there).
The new Food Court Hudson Eats is on the second floor of the mall and contains at least 8-9 different establishments, some are chains or some may not be.
The view from the dining room is perfect to watch a sunset or snap pictures of your food—but go early, it fills up pretty quickly.
What was my mission you ask? To take down a Happy Hour Crawl at Hudson Eats, and from the pain of my hangover the next morning, I would say I was pretty successful.
Here’s my roundup of my Happy Hour crawl @ Hudson Eats (in sequential order):
A farm-to-table Northern Chinese restaurant offering $10 Shao Bing wraps (available in chicken or beef) + a non-alcoholic beverage and $3 dollar draft beers starting at 3PM.
Sound off: The wrap was huge! Well worth the $10 and the taste was exemplary for that of Northern Chinese, it really felt like I was transported in China.
Photo from @notherntigernyc
A quality driven sushi restaurant run by the famous Blue Ribbon restaurant group, offering $5 hand rolls, 2 for $7 Beer, and 2 for $9 small sake starting at 4PM. Don’t tell anyone but the sake is really what sold me.
Sound off: The $5 dollar hand roll is the perfect size for a small snack in between drinks and I mean its also only $5 dollars. You can select yellowtail or tuna or spicy crab—any of those three can never steer you wrong. The real deal here for happy hour is for drinks. The sake servings were generous and they had about 5 types to choose from, which is great since sake can really vary for your own taste palate.
Photo credit: @placeinvaders
A stylish café with great service, gourmet sandwiches, and a healthy alcohol menu offering 2 for 1 on all alcoholic beverages from 5PM-7PM.
Sound off: By this point, I am two drinks in and start to catch a wind of extra ambition. With a happy hour offering of 2 for 1 Champagne (or beer, or wine, or anything on their libation menu), I took that very seriously. Four champagnes ordered (served in plastic cups so you can shop, walk, and sip) and shared amongst my friends got me feeling goooooood.
Photo credit: @tartinery
Amada
Chef Jose Garces finally breaks into NYC with Amada, a Spanish restaurant for all things delectable: tapas and Spanish wines offering drink specials and an $8 tapas menu from 5-7 PM.
Sound off: Now this is the final stop and the one I was most excited about due to the fact that tapas are discounted. Now a disclaimer: this restaurant is not in the main food court but has its own entrance on one of the other sides of the mall). My recommendation? The Chorizo slices were beyond amazing and patatas bravas are usually always a hit. The patatas were shaped like tater tots and had the spicy sauce dolloped on top of each tot, a presentation I had never seen before and is much more creative than the standard way of serving potatoes. I had the sangria (my last drink of the night), which was not watered down at all and carried the sweetness of the fruit without losing the taste of the red wine. All thumbs up! A must go when you’re at Hudson Eats.
Photo credit: @NYCAmada
My final words–If you have time to explore a new area in NYC, take the time and take advantage of happy hour because there are deals for some great food. There are even more restaurants at Hudson Eats that offer happy hour, unfortunately I didn’t have time for all of them. But I’LL BE BACK (in my Terminator voice).
If you have anywhere you would like me to visit, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at Francesca@coutureinthesuburbs.com.
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