The Pianos on Ludlow Street

Ludlow Street is pretty famous among music lovers. Named for a war hero of the War of 1812– Lt. Augustus Ludlow – it has become the favorite haunt of lovers of live music. For those who are doing a music tour of Manhattan, Ludlow Street should be one of the places to visit. While it might not be the most popular location to see, the fact that The Beastie Boys used Ludlow Street for the cover of their very famous Pauls Boutique album makes it a shrine of sort for hip hop fans. Ludlow is an artistic street and it has a host of bars and nightclubs to enchant you with all genres of music.

One such bar is the Pianos. This Parisian-style bi-level bar opened up in 2002 in an old piano shop. In fact the name of the bar also came about because the new owners did not bother to take down the sign of the old shop. Therefore the name “Pianos” stuck for good! Today, it attracts hoards of rock-and-roll lovers who love the live music mania that rules at Pianos.

The Pianos has become an emerging band’s dream gig and the cover for nightly shows on the main stage usually runs $8–$10. As you can guess, the downstairs bar is usually jam packed. The lesser known bands and the DJ’s play gratis in the upstairs lounge and while the crowd isn’t as great as the main stage, it does have a cozy stage-to-audience ratio.

The Happy Hours at the Pianos attract a huge crowd looking for a good time, good food, and good music without having to burn a hole in their pocket. The happy hours are from 2pm to 7pm and you can enjoy drinks like frozen margaritas for as less as $4. Watch out, they are pretty stiff! There are also Happy Hour appetizers that can accompany your drinks for just $5.  Try the Mediterranean nachos with toppings of cheese, salsa, sour cream, chickpeas, and guacamole. Delicious! Of course, feel free to experiment with other stuff on the menu.

The piece de resistance at the Pianos is their burger. It’s delicious enough to warrant the title of the best burger you could’ve ever asked for. When you ask for rare, rare is what you get, with blue cheese. If you’ve never had blue cheese before, you will love the introduction. The burger comes on an English muffin, with a delicious sauce that has a subtle taste. You get fries and house salad on the side. You are excused for hogging it down hungrily in public! Nobody’s worried about table manners here. Time spent at the Pianos is guaranteed to be wonderful, for one reason or another.

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