Spring Street And Vicinity

There was another bar that I spotted when I was at The Ear Inn and P.J. Charlton I decided to head back and visit it today.

476) Emerald Pub

An Irish bar that is a bit out of the way, but not far from The Ear Inn, on the corner of Spring Street and Kenwick Street. The old wood bar is somewhat serpentine in an angular way. It has a black foot rest and there are plain wooden bar chairs. The wooden and mirror back of the bar follows the same angles as the bar itself. Shelves with glass doors sit below the ledge that holds glass shelves for glasses, a cash register, and a display of the bottled beers offered for sale. An old, non-working popcorn machine sits atop an old white refrigerator and leans up agains an old, non-working copper espresso machine. A human skull, loving cup, mugs, jars, and other stuff sit on a narrow shelf atop the mirrors. A television showing the Liverpool Chelsea soccer game sits there too and held most of the patron’s attention. The wall behind the bar chairs is brick and the tables alongside it are separated from the bar by a wooden divider with a brass rail on top. A couple of mirrors with kind of cut glass edging are on the brick wall and they flank a small fireplace with a small mirror above it.

I had a Guinness.

477) Antartica

Not far away at 287 Hudson is this bit out of the way bar. You have to keep your eyes open or you might walk right by it. There was another soccer crowd in here watching the same game. Four of the five televisions were showing the game with the fifth showing pool. Unfortunately it was men’s pool and I prefer the women’s game. The bar is a big old dark wood affair with a wooden foot rail. The walls are brick and the floor is wide wooden planks. The ceiling is painted tin. There are mirrors behind the bar above the open shelves of liquor. Blackboards on the wall with seemingly unrelated quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Barry White, and William Butler Yeats are mounted above the mirrors. Another one with a quote by Robert Burns is hanging on the side wall. There is a pool table in the back with nice green glass shaded lights hanging over it. A sign behind the bar offered free drinks from 5:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. if your name was Gloria. Gloria could very well have a night she could never remember. A large picture of the interior of a bar that looked like it was taken in the late 1800s dominated the wall behind the bar chairs.

I had another Guinness, not a large as the 20 ounce one I got at the Emerald Pub and it cost fifty cents more.

478) Cody’s Bar And Grill

A corner place that is more bar than grill but does have a bit of a coffee shop look to it. Good sized windows on two sides of this corner bar (the corner of Hudson Street and Dominick Street) and light tan walls makes this bar much lighter than the norm. The bar is light wood with a wood foot rest. The bar chairs have black seats. A nice silver station with some brass decoration hold the four spigots for draft beer. A large American flag is mounted on the wall behind the bar chairs. Coolers with wooden doors and a shelf on top behind the bar. Mirrors line the wall with tiered shelves for liquor sitting in front of them. The bar has a large and elaborate overhang with slots with glasses hanging from them. Drawings to look like stained glass are on the bottom of the overhang. About eight tables with chairs make up the dining area. Overhead fans and track lighting hang from the light tan stucco ceiling.

I had a Dewar’s and soda.

Back to a more normal pace of three bars a day brought me to 478 for the year and 522 left to go. Just 21 to go to prepare for number 500 on Saturday, May 14th.