On Memorial Day, most of your neighbors will be barbecuing (if they didn’t make plans to skip town).
And that means the city’s bars and restaurants will be roomier than usual: You won’t have to wait hours in line for brunch, or shadow a bartender until he finally takes your order.
Take advantage of the relatively tranquil holiday with these deals and specials:
$5 IPAs at Clinton Hall
The rapidly expanding burger and craft beer hall chain has launched its first custom brew in partnership with the Bronx Brewery: the Gigawatt IPA, a 7.8 percent ABV New England-style IPA with a tropical aroma and a slight biscuit flavor. At all five of Clinton Hall’s locations, including the newest outpost in Williamsburg, customers can try the beer for $5 all day Monday. Veterans with ID get the taste for free. (Multiple locations, clintonhallny.com)
Free lunch from Carl’s Jr.
Spot the burger chain’s mascot, Happy Star, on the beach at Coney Island on Monday, and you have the chance of winning a gift card for a free lunch at the Carl’s Jr. outpost at 1201 Surf Ave. (You have to feel bad for the guy playing Happy Star, spending his holiday in a heavy, star-shaped suit, but also, free Thickburgers.) For one day only, the restaurant will also be serving highly sustainable “candy straws,” which we’re told are like Sour Straws, but sturdier and thicker so you can use them for sipping your strawberry lemonade and eat them later.
Bottomless brunch at Boqueria
Celebrate Memorial Day the Spanish way. Tapas chain Boqueria is serving everyone’s favorite weekend meal on Monday at all four locations in Manhattan and at the Gotham Market at the Ashland in Fort Greene. You’ll want to go with a crew that likes sharing their food and a big appetite: for $39 per person, your whole table can dig into a two-hour feast that comes with a choice of four tapas, two brunch dishes or paella, one kind of churro and unlimited mimosas and sangria. Scope out the menu here. (Multiple locations, boquerianyc.com)
Funnel cake towers and other food and drink specials at Atwood Sports Bar
Our mouths are watering just describing this: The Memorial Tower Waffle Mountain, a collaboration with Stephanie Perez of @YeahFoodBeer, features a stack of red and blue funnel cakes so tall it has to be held together with marshmallow fluff and a kebab stick. It’s topped with housemade whipped cream and plated with a ton of rainbow sprinkles. If that strikes you as a bit too indulgent, you might opt for the Fruity Pebble pancakes drenched in syrup and powdered sugar. Add some patriotism to your meal with the Firecracker and Let Freedom Ring, $7 pina coladas sporting some bright stars and stripes colors. (986 2nd Ave., atwoodny.com)
Hot dog and slushy special at The Springs
Party at Greenpoint’s new Palm Springs-inspired, cocktail lounge and patio. The festivities kicked off on Sunday with a DJ and will extend through Monday evening. Fuel up before the hula hoop contest with a $15 slushy-and-hot dog combo. The Bottle Rocket Pop Slushy is a blend of lemon gin fix, blue curacao and house-made raspberry cordial. The “hawt dog” bar will serve three kinds, all on toasted Martins’ potato buns: a Chicago dog, with peppers, tomatoes, onions and poppy seeds; a mac ’n’ cheese dog topped with a thickened three-cheese sauce; and an elote corn dog sprinkled with corn kernels and served with spicy mayo. (224 Franklin St., thespringsbklyn.com)
Mexican boozy brunch at Añejo
End the long weekend with tequila cocktails and small Mexican plates like breakfast tacos and carne asada con huevos. Both Añejo locations, one in TriBeCa, the other in Hell’s Kitchen, are offering two hours of unlimited plates and brunch cocktails for $47 a person on Monday. Tequila drinks, crafted by the restaurant’s resident “agave sommelier,” include the chihuahua rosa, with grapefruit, Campari, egg white and lime juice.
