Blondie's Libations: Midtown Happy Hour with Mamacita and Friends!!

Last week I got to join Midtown Lunch happy hour specialist, Mamacita, for boozy fun complete with raw octopus at Sake Bar Hagi! I had passed this izakaya a number of times, but never ventured in, even after it was showcased on No Reservations, so I was happy to join in the fun. And we had SO much fun!

While everyone else went for beer, I decided to try a Shouchu Peach Sour drink. Shoshu is different from regular rice wine, it's distilled and contains more alcohol than sake. It was vaguely sweet, vaguely peachy, vaguely sour, vaguely watered-down. There is a very light, clean taste; I imagine this is the type of drink where you don't realize you've drank too much until it's too late.

I did get my very first taste of raw octopus here. It's chewy and gelatinous, and I believe marinated in rice vinegar.

For food, we went with skewers:

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus & Duck (Look into this one Bacon Takedown contestants!)


Liver, Pork Belly, and Chicken Skin

This food ended up disappointing, we probably should have gotten actual dishes. For a full and official write-up, head on over to Mamacita's take on Midtown Lunch.

Sake Bar Hagi
152 West 49th Street, close to the SE corner of 49th and 7th Avenue
(212) 764-8549