Franklin Park. All photos by Emily Paup.

If you live within two subway stops of Tom’s Diner, you may have gotten into a long, whiskey-breathed argument about where Prospect Heights actually is. At the very least, you’ve likely cringed at the phrase “ProCro.” Smartphone lookups only blur the boundaries—Google Maps includes the Barclay’s Center in the postage stamp-sized area, and an old NY Magazine article suggests that that a block-wide sliver on Prospect Park west is part of the neighborhood. I object vehemently to both assertions, and I’m not even drunk right now. One thing’s for certain: there are some really solid happy hours in the region arguably known as Prospect Heights. Here’s a list of places where you can get tipsy and then try to figure out where the hell you are.

Laying the foundations
There are two types of drinkers: people who think you should eat a decent meal before downing seven beers, and people who think that doing so is a waste of money (these types can also get into high altitude weddings and post-blood donation binging). I pass no judgment, and neither does Soda Bar, which offers a $6 hamburger/Rolling Rock combo along with plain old $2 Rolling Rock. They’re not fooling around with the burger, by the way. It’s modestly sized, but there’s a high-quality bun, a heap of baby greens, and enough culinary commitment to ask you how you’d like it cooked. Pull up a stool, lounge on one of Soda Bar’s comfy couches, or lie on the floor, pound several Rolling Rocks, and go Hasselhoff on your burger. Like I said, I’m not here to judge.

Soda Bar, 629 Vanderbilt Ave., 718-230-8393
Noon-7pm Mon-Fri, $2 Rolling Rock, $6 Rolling Rock/hamburger combo

So many choices: The Way Station.

Getting time travel tipsy
The Way Station is one of Prospect Heights’ more carefully-decorated bars. Studded leather booths and ornate wallpaper line the south wall, a bathroom masquerades as a phone booth at the end of the bar, and wall-mounted ray guns point mercifully towards the back. A fellow drinker described the steampunky bar’s clientele as “socially functional nerds,” and, yes, there’s a geek streak to the bar that offers a “choose your own adventure” cocktail (this priceless $8 experience, in which the bartender mixes a drink based on your answers to a few questions, is a total ripoff, by the way). Assuming you bring a few friends, though, the crowd could just as easily be described as “people who like cheap drinks.”

The Way Station, 683 Washington Ave, 347-627-4949
4pm-8pm, $2 PBR, $4 shot-and-a-beer, $4 drafts, $8 ‘choose your own adventure,’ $1 off everything else.

Staying classy
Despite the low prices and lengthy happy hour, Washington Commons is a swell place. Their friendly bartenders will answer questions about barley for you, and they take the trouble to pour pilsners into pilsner glasses, etc. The gargantuan beer list can sometimes daunt, but with what they’re charging, you can taste your way through the bar’s microbrew selection in a matter of (drunk) days. During warmer times, Washington Commons’ back yard is a great place to spend several hours. Bonus: there are sometimes dogs at this bar.

Washington Commons, 748 Washington Ave., 718-230-3666
3-8pm Mon-Fri; $2 off everything; most beer is $3-6 after discount. Also, $4 bloody Marys from 1-4pm Sat-Sun.

Prospect Heights? Crown Heights? "ProCro"?

Two plausible arguments that Prospect Heights now extends to Franklin Avenue
The gentrifying hordes are pushing eastward from Washington Avenue at an alarming pace (a street often cited as Prospect Heights’ edge), but the way that people talk about the Franklin Avenue stop in Crown Heights, you don’t expect a place like The Crown Inn. It’s downright posh: there’s a wood-trimmed marble bar, craft liquors, house cocktails, and the kind of wine that doesn’t involve a plastic spigot. At one point, the bartender replaced my gross, saturated napkin with a crisp new one. Like I said—posh. The sophistication announces itself in your tab, but my fancy-pants cocktail was delicious enough to make me want to be rich.

The Crown Inn, 724 Franklin Avenue, no phone
5pm-8pm Mon-Thurs,2pm-8pm Fri; $4 drafts, $6 selected cocktails, $7 wine on tap

Franklin Park—the bar best known for its outdoor seating, excellent weekend DJ sets, and being the place where you lost your coat on Friday—also has a beat the clock happy hour. Drink as many $3 drafts as you can from 4-5pm, because they’re $4 from 5-7. On Mondays, the drafts stay put at $4 all night, and on Tuesdays, you can get two-fers on well drinks and beer until close. If you can’t take the pressure of escalating prices (or if you become disoriented for some reason), remember that $3 cans of Bud are available every day of the week at any hour.

Franklin Park, 618 Saint Johns Place, 718-975-0196
$3 drafts and $4 wells from 4-5pm, $4 drafts and $5 wells from 5-7pm. $4 drafts all night on Monday; two-for-one wells and beers until close on Tuesday. Cash only.

Other places to drink cheap

Bar Sepia, 234 Underhill, 718-399-6680—4-8pm Mon-Fri, $1 off drafts and wells. $3 Bud during happy hour, better beers will run you about $5 after the discount.

Plan B, 626 Vanderbilt Ave., 347-240-2171 —4-7pm, Mon-Fri, $3 drafts, $4 wells and wine. Guinness is $4. Lots of TVs playing sports.

Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave., 718-484-8704—4pm-7pm, Mon-Fri, $2 Rolling Rock, $3 PBR, $4 drafts, wells, and wine, $6 cosmos, bloody marys, and margaritas. This place has a pool table and arcade games.

Sharlene’s, 353 Flatbush Ave., 347-350-8225—1pm-7pm, EVERY DAY, $3 drafts, $1 off everything else. THESE PEOPLE ARE SAINTS.

Ladies' night, and the feeling's right. Mo's photo via Yelp.

“Ladies Drink Free” sounds like the best idea on paper, but as some of us learn the hard way, it doesn’t always pan out. So I was jazzed to discover that Mo’s, one of Fort Greene’s oldest bars, holds weekly free drink hours for ladies. And they don’t involve tacky Spanish-speaking frogs or an unknowing pledge to dance in the window (the aforementioned ”hard way”).  The happy hour applies to cocktails only: 8-9pm on Wednesdays and 11pm-midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. The bar recently re-opened under new owners with a sleeker design, while still paying homage to its previous namesake (Moe’s). How did “Ladiesss niiiight!!!!” get left out of this?

Post-movie happy hour? Hot dog!

What are the greatest things to happen to NYC in the past 30 years? Your answers had better include 1) Free summer movies at BK Bridge Park, 2) Bill Murray and, therefore: 3) Ghostbusters. And what an inspirational tale to modern-day New Yorkers too: Outcasts from Columbia set up shop in an abandoned building to DIY a crazy new business venture and make it work, even long before Etsy! This week we return to the Big Apple of Venkman and Slimer as Ghostbusters screens Thursday night. Now the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy’s Junior Committee is sweetening the pot with a post-movie happy hour available through a password announced at the screening. Here’s hoping the password is “Ecto Cooler Colada.” Details below!

The post-movie happy hour will be at Superfine at 126 Front Street. To get the discount, pay attention during the screening or follow on Twitter: @JrCommitteeBBPC later that evening. The happy hour gets you $2 off any drink except bottled beer, and will continue throughout the rest of the movies of the season.

And in case you forgot, here’s the rest of the list for the summer so you can start clearing off your Thursdays. All movies start after sunset but the music at the park begins at 6pm.

 
Oh, and one more thing: Ghostbusters is probably the best movie that exists. Watch it again with your adult eyes and try to dispute this. Dont’ believe me? Back off, man, I’m a scientist.

Ms. Dahlia's pastries & cakes

It’s the original stomping ground of Jay-Z, Chris Rock, Lil’ Kim and that old ear-biter, Mike Tyson. It’s the showcase for epic wall art, gorgeous brownstones and some old-school, no-frills block parties. It’s Bed-Stuy. And in recent years, this chunk of Brooklyn has birthed a crop of seriously clutch (and cheap) spots to dine, drink and shop… on top of all the incredible, long-standing neighborhood staples. We know the secret’s been out for a while, but here are 10 deals we love in Bed-Stuy.

FUEL-UP FOR THE DAY One of several great new spots at Classon & Greene Aves., Pilar Cuban Eatery (393 Classon Ave. between Greene & Clifton) serves up traditional Cuban breakfast ($2 pastries, breakfast sandwich for $2.50-$4), lunch bites (empanadas for $4-$5) and daily dinner specials. Tiny Cup (279 Nostrand Ave. between Clifton Pl. & Lafayette Ave.) oozes art-house, with free Wi-Fi and the strongest espresso around… along with hefty breakfast panini for $3, delish french toast for $3.75 and a loaded hummus plate for $5.50. Ms. Dahlia’s Cafe (449 Nostrand Ave. between Halsey St. & Hancock St.) serves a stellar deal for morning commuters en route to the subway: $1 coffee with any pastry purchase. Swing by on your way home and get half-off any pastry after 5 pm.

Breakfast at Pilar

TWO SPOTS FOR CHEAP THREADS Though some may argue that this pick belongs to Clinton Hill (a mere 10-foot technicality, at best), The Salvation Army (22 Quincy St. between Classon Ave. & Downing St.) is enormous, clean, chock-full of high-end finds and well-organized (clothing is even separated by color). The already rock-bottom prices are further slashed by a daily special for half-off all clothes of a designated color. Even better are Family Wednesdays (open to all), when everything  is half-off. You may also recognize the space as the backdrop for Dave Chappelle’s 2005 Block Party.

Collecther (306 Franklin Ave. at Lafayette) is a quirky boutique boasting women’s and men’s vintage fashions, including bags and a surprisingly large selection of sunglasses. Owner Shana has a keen curator’s eye and is always helpful with suggestions. Dresses range from $20-$45, men’s shirts average $20, and the Sunday “recessionista” special is key—all dresses are priced at $25, with 25% off everything else in the store.

Browse at Collecther

And while you’re out and about, take a breather at the positively Zen Vietnamese spot Tigerlily (299 Greene Ave. between Classon & Franklin). Sandwiches go for $6.50, salads for $5.50 and the inventive shakes are totally worth the $4.50 splurge on a hot day (think: papaya, pineapple and ginger or strawberry, lychee and mint, among others).

HAPPY HOURS WITH BENEFITS A local staple, Amarachi Lounge (325 Franklin Ave. between Clifton Pl. & Greene Ave.), is a cavernous space sporting a billiards room, flat-screen TVs throughout and a disco-ball-accented dance floor in the back. Weekday happy hours feature 2-for-1 drinks from 6-8. Colador Cafe (1000 Bedford Ave. between DeKalb & Lafayette Aves.) doubles as a coffee/Wi-FI spot by day and a haven for cheap drinks and eats by night—with a new $3 bottled beer special each week, Cream Ale and PBRs for $1 and a free beer and fries with any burger purchase.

With little more than a signboard out front, Project Parlor (742 Myrtle Ave. between Sanford St. & Nostrand Ave.) has a helipad-sized space in back. Happy hour from 5-8 includes $2 PBRs and a PBR & a shot for $6. There’s also a BBQ competition hosted out-back every Sunday, where plates go for around $5. Sweet Revenge (358 Franklin Ave. between Greene & Lexington Aves.) is also in on the happy hour-meets-BBQ game, slinging $4 well drinks, $3 shot-and-draft-beer pairings and $5 frozen margaritas from 4-8 daily. Anytime specials include $5 shots + a can of beer, and the sand-covered, tiki bar-rimmed backyard is home to a new grill menu every Saturday and Sunday from 3-11 (plates average $5-$8).

Later, some Sweet Revenge

appaholics

Here at the intersection of frugality and technology, we’re always on the lookout for the best of both worlds to help you save your hard-earned coin. That’s why the idea of a happy-hour sleuthing iPhone app most appeals to us: it’s the perfect tool for the brokester on the go who’ll never let a little thing like geographic naiveté stop them from seeking cheap booze. L Magazine rolled out the first app late last year, and now there are two, thanks to the Village Voice. Both deserve a toast, but which to get: L Magazine’s “Cocktail Compass” or Village Voice Media’s “Happy Hours” app? Here’s the rundown of each and our verdict.

Features

Each tells you your distance from the bar (with a Google Map option) and the exact countdown time until the drink specials begin or end.

Cocktail Compass

Cocktail Compass: full details, including times and drink deals and whether food is involved. Search for a bar by name, search the directory of all bars by borough, and tag your favorites. A cab option claims to tell you the best cab company to ring from your current location, but I was directed to the same taxi service from both my Brooklyn home and from the Financial District. Too late for happy hour? The app tells me to “search for open bars instead.” Really exciting, until I realized “open bar” meant the opposite of “closed,” not “the desirable status of the bar at your friend’s wedding.”

Happy Hours: search by location, day and time, food or drink specials, type of cuisine, features (including “after hours,” “dance floor,” and “live entertainment) and buzz (“kid friendly,” “people watching,” and “good for groups”). You can also rate the events via “like” or “eh” buttons and see the overall ratings for each location.

Happy Hours

Navigation

Cocktail Compass: iPhone users will appreciate Cocktail Compass’s information architecture, as it more closely resembles the layout of the iPhone itself, with smaller icons and fewer steps to retrieve information. The five major options are listed across the bottom. This could be due to the fact that there isn’t an extensive list of filtering options, making this tool more simple.

Happy Hours: a little overwhelming. They could have made more of the filter options available on the front page, like CC. It takes a lot of tapping to several different windows to achieve the specific filter I want.

The Verdict

Cocktail Compass=Mac and Happy Hours=PC with all the bells and whistles, and slightly clunky operating system.

appaholics

Picture this scenario: you had a job interview in some foreign section of town and, if it went anything like our interviews, it was an unquestionable disaster, due to vague reasons of “not addressing the room” and less vague ones like “completely and totally flubbing questions about the economy for an economic reporter job.” Your morning hopes of being able to splurge on a $6 Hennepin in celebration have been replaced again by the afternoon reality of drink-special consolation. What you need is some sort of function or operation to help you find a cheap drink, and fast!

Thanks to the ever-expanding effort to leave no aspect of modern life un-apped, you are in luck. The Cocktail Compass from L Magazine and Night and Day Studios gives you access to a database of happy hour information for 866 bars (167 in Brooklyn, 662 in Manhattan).

so close..

It can find your location and tell you the nearest one, what the bar specials are and how much time is remaining, with the time even changing to bright red when OH GOD THERE’S ONLY 15 MINUTES LEFT GO GO GO! And it’s free.  You can also search by borough, neighborhood or name.

The list isn’t 100 percent comprehensive—Boat on Smith is listed but the Brazen Head isn’t—though it does seem to be a handy little helper. For example, if this reporter needed a drink right now to calm down from his strenuous early afternoon of trying to set up an interview with REO Speedwagon for a freelance assignment, dialing up the Cocktail Compass tells him to go 0.7 miles to Sharlene’s at 353 Flatbush Ave., daily happy hours 1 pm-7 pm, with $1 off all drinks. I can’t fight this feeling that I may end up there later.

Also, there’s a useful button to find a nearby car service, which pulls up the number for Arecibo. Not sure if this is because it’s the closest right now or because they have a deal with the company (you can see an ad for a bar in the screenshot  too). If only someone had laid out your car service price comparisons for you too.

Get the app here. (warning: iTunes link)

The mint Cape Codder at Anima. Photos by Eric Reichbaum.

Clinton Hill certainly has its share of alluring little traps that can easily sabotage the neighborhood cheapskate. For example, Elly’s Market (So cute! So much variety! Oh my god I just spent $60!) or Barking Brown boutique, where the funky patterns might hypnotize you into dropping a week’s pay on a tank top. But even in Clinton Hill, deals abound if you know where to go. From Park Ave down to Atlantic, Vanderbilt Ave on east to Classon, Clinton Hill is a prime territory for stoop sales. But the deals don’t stop at your neighbor’s trunk of disco-era suede jackets, as I found out on a recent weekend exploration:

FOUR VERY HAPPY HOURS Clinton Hill’s happy hours stand out for their length—instead of instituting the standard 7 pm reality check, I found several bars that keep the cheap booze flowing til 8pm. Which gives you a lot more time to feel good about getting wasted before dinner. Two of note are Anima (458 Myrtle Ave, at Washington Ave.), which offers a 2-for-1 deal until 8; and Alibi (242 Dekalb Ave, between Clermont Ave. and Vanderbilt Ave.), where drinks are $3 until 8. Monday nights are especially economical here, as The Five Spot, (459 Myrtle Ave, at Washington Ave.) on Myrtle and Washington, offers $2 pints and Rope, (415 Myrtle Ave, at Vanderbilt Ave.), sells $1 PBRs.

Bergen Bagels.

TWO BUDGET BREAKFAST JOINTS Soak up that happy hour hangover at Bergen Bagels (486 Myrtle Ave, between Hall St. and Ryerson St.) The breakfast specials—egg sandwich & coffee for $1.95 or muffin & coffee for $2.15—are excellent considering how fresh this food is (all baking is done on the premises). Castro’s (511 Myrtle Ave, between Grand Ave. and Ryerson St.), a Mexican joint popular with Pratt students, has a breakfast special that gets you 2 eggs any style served with home fries, bacon, ham or sausage, coffee or tea, and toast for $6. They also offer a slew of “special sandwiches” for breakfast (some quite hearty, like the 2 eggs with bacon, ham or patty sausage for $3) for $2.25 to $5.

FABULOUSLY CHEAP INDIAN FOOD For the heartiest deal I’ve found try Kinara (368 Myrtle Ave, between Adelphi St. and Clermont Ave.) It’s spicy, fresh Indian food at a great price. This is the second branch that Kinara has opened, the first being their Park Slope location. Kinara has good service, quick delivery ($13 minimum), and the chicken tikka masala, lamb korma, and samosas come highly recommended.  Most importantly, here you can get a whole 3+ course spread- appetizer, entree, rice, sauce, naan, and dessert, delivered for for $12.95. It ends up being easily enough for two people. If you’re eating in, everything on the menu is 50% off from noon to 4.

MANICURE DEALS Century 21 nail salon (383 Myrtle Ave, between Clermont Ave. and Vanderbilt Ave.), offers manicures for an obscenely low $7 and pedicures (in “those nice squishy chairs,” as my salon-savvy friend noted) for $14.

DOLLAR-A-DAY YOGA At Move With Grace Yoga studio (469 Myrtle Ave, between Hall St. and Washington Ave.), try a $30-for-30-days deal going if you sign up with a friend.

Move With Grace Yoga.

Read more from Eliza on her blog, The BK Recessionist.

Ourdoors at Pacifico. Photos by Lindsay Buckley.

This week, we took it upon ourselves to make the rounds on Smith Street, trolling from Atlantic Avenue to Union Street to find all of the happy hour specials along the way. Although most of the 16 places listed below have similar hours and prices (weekdays 5-8, $3 beers), some standouts caught our eye: Camp’s Recession Thursdays run all night long with $3 well drinks, while Bar Great Harry offers 21 beers on tap as well as well drinks and bottles, all 2 for $5! Once the clock strikes 8 you can always saunter down the block to Gowanus Yacht Club, where $2 and $3 drinks are the norm.

Pacifico
98 Smith (corner of Pacific)
718-935-1294
M-F 4:30-7
$4 house margaritas ($5 with flavors), $3 tap, $4 bottled beer
outdoor seating

Bar Tabac
128 Smith (corner of Dean)
718-923-0918
no happy hour; occasional nightly specials

Apartment 138
138 Smith (between Dean & Bergen)
718-858-0556
M-F 5-7
$3 pints, $5 glass of house wine (red or white), $5 well drinks
Tuesdays all wine bottles ½ price
Outdoor seating; game room

Coco Roco
139 Smith (between Dean & Bergen)
718-254-9933
M-F 5:30-7:30
$4 cocktails
outdoor seating

Sample
152 Smith (between Bergen & Wyckoff)
718-643-6622
5-8 daily
$3 drafts & well drinks
different food specials every week
outdoor seating

Pane e Vino
174 Smith (between Wyckoff & Warren)
718-501-1010
M-Th 5-8
2 for 1 beer wine and sangria (normal price is $8)

Boat Bar
175 Smith  (between Wyckoff & Warren)
718-254-0607
M-F 5-8
$3 draft, bottles, well drinks

Camp (above)
179 Smith (between Wyckoff & Warren)
718-852-8086
5-8 daily
2 for 1 beers ($5-$7)
“Recession Thursdays” $3 well drinks all night long. See the Obama posters reading “Yes We Camp!”

Ceol
191 Smith (between Warren & Baltic)
347-643-9911
M-F 3-7
$2 PBR cans, $1 off all other drinks
Wednesdays song club in back (local singers/songwriters)
$7 musician’s burger (plain burger with fries); one draft beer will be $3
Backyard w/ few chairs, but no eating

Clover Club
210 Smith (between Baltic & Butler)
718-855-7939
“Summer Specials” (not Happy Hour)
M-F 5-7
Rotating $6 cocktail menu, $3 tap, $5 wine glasses (red & white)
Discounted food menu: chef’s special deviled eggs, steak crustini for $4-$9

Angry Wade’s
224 Smith (between Butler & Douglass )
718-488-7253
3-7 daily
half-off all tap beers & well drinks (~$3 each)

Zombie Hut (above)
273 Smith (between Degraw & Sackett)
718-875-3433
5:30-closing daily
$2 PBR, $5 well & special house drinks (one is called planet punch)
outdoor seating

Em Thai Kitchen
278 Smith (between Degraw & Sackett)
718-834-0505
5-7:30 daily
$3 beer, sake cocktails
$15 tasting menu (appetizer, main course, dessert)

Bar Great Harry
280 Smith (corner of Sackett)
718-222-1103
M-F 2-7
Impressive draft collection (21 choices including Yuengling, Victory Harvest Ale, IPA), bottles/cans of Bud, Bud Light, PBR, and well drinks ALL 2 for $5
encouraged to bring your own snacks

Union Smith Café
305 Smith (corner of Union)
718-643-3293
M-F all night
$4 draft, $5 pint glass of mohitos, sangria and margaritas served at the outdoor bar
outdoor seating
[UPDATE: Currently, drafts are $5 and mohitos, margaritas and sangria are $6]

Gowanus Yacht Club
323 Smith (corner of President)
718-246-1321
open 4-closing M-F, 2pm-closing weekends
no official happy hour, but cheap beer & wine ($2-$3 for most)
outdoor seating