Keens Steakhouse Bar

When I did my Mad Men Taven Tour, one of the stops was Keens Steakhouse Bar and I found out that they serve up free appetizers every day around five in the afternoon. Today Swedish meatballs are on the menu, so that’s today’s Free Food Friday destination!

We're going early, it's just four in the afternoon, this place really packs them in at happy hour and I want to secure a spot at the bar before the crowd gets there!

Here we are at Keens Steakhouse Bar. Keens has been on the block since 1885. Today it's the lone survivor of the Herald Square Theater District. Let's go inside and grab a seat at the bar.

Wow, even at four in the afternoon, the bar is almost full. I see one empty stool and I'm going to go snag it before someone else does!

Okay, I've secured my spot at the bar and friendly bartender Carl serves up an ice cold beer. We're off to a nice start!

These two fellows were sitting next to me and were curious about the TMW blog. I told them about the Mad Men Tavern Tour and we had a nice conversation about classic New York bars. That's one of the things I love about this blog, the interesting people you get to meet! That's Kevin on the left and Marty on the right. Always nice to meet another Marty!

Here's Miss Keens, who looks down at the bar in all her naked glory.

A long shot of the classic wooden bar in Keens.

There's a long wooden railing opposite the bar. It won't be empty long, so I thought I'd get a shot of it before the crowd gets here.

A ceiling fan hangs from the tin rood, always the sign of a great, old bar.

This guy is overhead and stashed in a corner looking down. He kind of freaks me out.

I love all the vintage black and white framed photos on the wooden walls in here.

Here's an employee outing from way back when it was called Keens Chop House.

Check out the trivia board. The answer to the first question is, White Out and the answer to the bottom was is Sylvester Stallone. Anybody know  the Frankenstein answer?

Okay, the crowd I mentioned earlier has arrived. Glad I got my spot at the bar. Now it's just a matter of time before the Swedish Meatballs are brought out.

Carl's busy behind the bar taking drink orders.

Olives!

And of course there's someone who can't stop staring at his texting device.

And here they are, the aforementioned Swedish Meatballs. i got a full boat and they're delicious! Probably the best free happy hour food I've had so far. I was offered another boat, but this one filled me up.

My work here is done!

And as I leave, night has fallen on Herald Square. Have I ever mentioned I love it when that happens?

Keens Steakhouse
72 W. 36th St. (@Sixth Ave.)
212-947-3636

Further Reading: New York Magazine, New York Times and Eater NY.

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