GAZETTE STAFF / NEW  YORK CITY

Having lunch in Manhattan can surely be be tricky. You basically have very a limited number of options: You can reenergize your body at some dreadful franchise fast-food venue with that same-taste horror, you can have a wrap sandwich prepared at a nearby deli (which is not that bad if you know where to go), or you can be ripped off at some fancy-looking restaurant - which can be a less than satisfying experience if you only have a very short lunch break from work without being able to fully enjoy the pleasures of such an expense. After all, you cannot enjoy, say, a pasta primavera entrée with a mini-carafe of wine when you barely have an hour to eat - when you do.

But there are exceptions, in which you can have a tasty meal without leaving a day's pay at the eatery - which brings us to The Rodeo Bar, which (now unsurprisingly) was, like many places I have reviewed , missed out by The Village Voice's inexpensive eateries guide a few months ago.

The Rodeo is extremely well-known for its night time entertainment - there are bands playing there every night in their Tex-Mex saloon atmosphere which is one of the few places in the city that you can actually go out without having to pay a cover charge (which actually is their motto) to enjoy the night. In fact, that was the first bar I went to when I first came to New York City two and a half years ago as a tourist.

What not many people have yet to discover is that the Rodeo is open for lunch as well (judging from the amount of empty tables I saw around me the couple of times I patronized the place in recent times), and it surely is a refreshing option for the busy Manhattanite.

Their menu is - like the bar - country-themed. I can surely advise you to try their Grilled Chicken & Charred Chile quesadillas (around $ 7), which can surely be shared with someone else if you order a side salad. Another good option is their brisk sandwich (also $7 with an option of fries, cole slaw or potato salad) , which is a large, mouth-watering offering that is regularly included on their lunch specials menu. If you are a hamburger person, you will satisfy your taste buds quite well with their version of America's most popular sandwich - and will also fill you up and keep you energized for the rest of the day.

The service at the Rodeo is quite courteous and quite fast, which makes you want to go back - maybe for the happy hour later in the day.

The only down side that comes to mind is the fact that since smoking is allowed there, you can feel a faint, stale smell of cigarettes left over from the previous night - however, that is not enough to bother unless you really have a problem with that. I am often annoyed by cigarette smell, but the scent at The Rodeo wasn't enough to drive me away.

In the end, having lunch at The Rodeo can be a satisfying experience - almost as good as patronizing the popular bar at night.

Photo credits: Pictures from The Rodeo's web site http://www.rodeobar.com