Every single Friday morning we’ll be taking over where our own Link Cromwell’s Spirits in the Sixth Borough” left off, showing you distinctive bars in each New York City borough perhaps for the very first time, perhaps to refresh your memory of a fun place you’ve ducked into, or perhaps to suggest a new spot for you to check out. You can follow our travels as we approach each weekend on Friday mornings with LocalBozo.com’s “Drink Here Now.”

The Stumble Inn
1454 2nd Avenue at 76th Street, Upper East Side
212-650-0561
Getting There: 6 to 77th Street
http://www.nycbestbar.com/stumble-inn

Year after year, the folks behind NYC Best Bar seemingly open a new place up, stick to their formula for running a bar, and create as fun and as affordable place that you’ll find anywhere in Manhattan. Sister bar to the likes of Down the Hatch, Off the Wagon, and the newly opened Hair of the Dog, the Upper East Side’s The Stumble Inn took over for the dated Mo’s Caribbean in 2008, overhauled the menu and improved the massive space and made it a sought after destination on weeknights and especially on the weekends for game days- assuming you arrive early enough to grab a table.

The Stumble Inn is the quintessential New York City sports bar that combines a youthful clientele with cheap beers and more televisions inside than you can count. So don’t try. NFL Football Sundays are the times to head uptown as the bar offers half price beers from 11:30am to 4am and slugs of well liquor drinks for just $6. As the football season opened, we made sure to arrive at 11am outside the familiar awning that we’ve passed by time and again, and found twenty or so likeminded drinkers with the same premonition in mind. The doors opened up and the place scattered, with friends rushing to secure stools and tables for a day long drinking session for the early and late slates of games. And somehow, six hours later after having eaten and imbibed a-plenty, our bill was about $40 per person. A true revelation.

During the week, the happy hour specials are similarly excellent from $1 domestic draughts on Mondays, $10 pitchers and $2 draughts on Wednesdays, The Stumble Inn provides another reason to go out after a long day at the office. But what’s even more inspired is the place’s menu, which offers up such notable items as a “Deep Fried Twinkie” ($2.50) and “5 Deep Fried Double Stuff Oreos” ($4.95) equipped with a chocolate dipping sauce. But it’s The Stumble Inn’s ‘Famous Stuffed Burgers’ that are the true staple, making Minneapolis’ ‘Juicy Lucy’ head for cover. The ‘Create Your Own’ option allows you to choose any two stuffings from American to cheddar to bleu cheese crumbles to the likes of bacon, sautéed mushrooms, onions, and even jalapeños. And the place’s side of “Tater Tots” ($4.95) are perpetually fantastic, especially paired with chili, bacon, cheese or (gulp) gravy. Whether going in for some drinks or whether you decide to enjoy some of the bar food, The Stumble Inn carries the flame set out by some of the group’s sister bars and it does so admirably.

The Rundown

Bar Type - Fun sports bar that caters to affordability and youthful drinkers.

When to Visit – You really can’t go wrong any time of day, as the place sports some of the best specials around. But it’s highly advised you head over on a weekend afternoon. Just make sure to go early to secure your space.

Value – There’s value every day of the week. The weekends offer up half priced beers, Tuesday nights have $4 ‘You Call It’ drinks, and even Thursdays offer up half priced Bomb shots. The whole bar is half off on Saturdays until 7pm!

The Lowdown -Candidly, with a preponderance of bar openings by the NYC Best Bar troop, you’re more likely to visit the ones in your area. Down the Hatch has the best daytime drink specials on weekends, The 13th Step has an outdoor space and just feels new, and places like the Gin Mill and Jake’s Saloon are equally a good time, depending where in town you reside. That said, the Upper East Side doesn’t tend to get the love it deserves sometimes. And with 2nd Avenue uptown rife with bar after bar, this one’s amongst the best as far as value goes. So grab some of your buds and their gals (what year is this?) and head up to 76th Street and The Stumble Inn. If you’re stumbling in, how do you expect you’re going to be acting when you leave?