Dan's Take on the Sunburnt Calf's New Happy Hour Lounge & Game Room (and food of course)

As The Foodista’s husband, there are many perks. In addition to the unending love and devotion that she bestows upon me day in and day out, I am also often the recipient of some seriously tasty eats. Recently, while she was abroad visiting relatives and friends in her native Slovakia, I had the opportunity to attend a party on her behalf. It was at The Sunburnt Calf, a bar/restaurant on the Upper West Side.

The Sunburnt Calf is an Australian pub with a chill atmosphere and truly great and friendly service. As far as alcohol goes, they have all of your standard libations and brews, but beyond that they have a wide variety of unique cocktails. Many are tequila based, all are delicious, and potent enough to get the job done. They serve some of them in a baby bottle, evoking the image of a calf nursing at his mother’s teat I suppose. It’s a fun and interesting way to imbibe, albeit a little unusual.

This particular party was to announce the opening of a “Happy Hour Lounge and Game Room” on the second floor of their W. 79th street establishment. The room itself is a nice space, complete with a pool table, and a sweet Star Wars pinball machine, which is free to play and a ton of fun. The party was a good time also, as mixed drinks and beers were passed around liberally. But I would have to say that like most things Foodista related, the highlight of the affair was the food.

They passed around a wide variety of finger food, like Honey-Soy Chicken Wings, Sweet Boar Ribs, various sliders like shrimp, lamb, and beef, not to mention skewers of fried shrimp and one of their most unique dishes, “Oysters Kilpatrick.” It’s a fried oyster served on the half-shell on a sweet and savory bed of bacon bits and some kind of relish. You eat it all at once and the flavors mingle deliciously in your mouth as it goes down. Another fun item was an oyster shooter, which was essentially a spicy bloody-mary shot with an oyster in it. Cheers mate, and down the hatch it goes.

Overall, the fare is definitely interesting, but it is not so unusual as to be a turnoff to those who enjoy a more traditional menu, such as myself. No matter your taste or palate, you will find something there you want to eat, and eat a lot of, I guarantee it. And with the addition of the happy hour game room, it’s truly a great place to go after work to pound a few with some of your buddies.

G’day.

The Sunburnt Calf - 226 West 79th Street, New York NY 10024
646.823.9255
1 Train to 79th Street

www.thesunburntcow.com