Thursday, July 07, 2005

Picture This, Or Not

For some reason I had less success than usual getting bartenders to pose for pictures. Actually, only the bartenders in two places didn’t want their picture taken. In one place the bartender was so wigged out that I don’t think she could have stood still long enough to have her picture taken. More on her later.

619) Hudson Place



A swanky looking place on 36th Street and 3rd Avenue. It has a tannish marble topped bar with a wood paneled front and foot rest. The foot rest was a bit too narrow to use comfortably though. Bad design. The bar chairs were black with black vinyl seats. There were several place settings on the bar with stemware and linen napkins. Plenty of places were left open for us drinkers though. Fresh peanuts in a bowl were set in front of me so I had a bit of lunch too (peanuts are one of the basic food groups). Candles were being lit and placed on the bar as I sipped and nibbled.

The back of the bar faces out onto 36th Street and two windows, the lower half with rippled glass, look out upon it. You can’t really see much though because orange awnings cover most of the clear top part, just a narrow strip gives you a view of the top of the occasional passing truck. Tiered shelves in front of the windows hold the liquor and there is a mirror between them separated by a flat wood column that has parchment shaded lamps mounted on them and two levels of shelves on top holding wine bottles. There is one of these on the other side of each window as well, for a total of four.

Opposite the bar and separating it from the dining area is a partition with a ledge for drinks and some stools. There is another more intimate looking dining room in the back that looks like a private library; bookshelves, floral patterned banquettes with tables in front, and framed black and white pictures of old New York hanging on the paneled wall.

The bartender was very pretty and very friendly. We chatted quite a bit because the place hadn’t filled up yet. She is from Taiwan and when I mentioned the Mysterious Chinese Woman and my quest she was quite interested. On of the barmen had seen a couple of articles about me in the paper but I still could not convince her to pose. She said she only worked part time and didn’t think she could really represent the restaurant. I think she was just shy.

I had a Tanqueray and tonic.

620) Earl’s



Up 3rd Avenue a block at 560 is this place decked out to look like a bar in a small town down south. Not that any small bar down south could ever have so much stuff on the walls. It is kind of a neat place though. The bar top is clear plastic covering beer bottle caps and coasters. The décor reminded me of Duke’s (I visited there earlier this year) and then I noticed that the coaster in front of me had “Earl Wuz Here ‘67’” and above that was scrawled “Duke Wuz Here Too.” It turns out that both places are owned by the same people. The front of the bar is plastered with baseball cards, cigar bands, and coasters. The overhang above the bar is covered with 45s (records, not guns). Old movie posters on plastered on the rest of the ceiling that is white painted patterned tin. The walls are covered with sports cards, ticket stubs, and small sports pennants.

Machines behind the bar churn out such drinks as Big Ass Hurricanes, Earl’s Spiked Lemonade, and the Duke-A-Rita. Three levels of shelves in front of a large mirror hold the liquor and also displays the bottled beer selection. Old bumper stickers for Presidential candidates are stuck to the mirror behind the drink machines. The Wallace for President sticker must be a classic. The lights hanging above the bar are in a variety of styles but are all kind of frosted white. The bar chairs are turquoise and sit on black poles so they spin; Whee. There is both a brass rail and footrests on the chairs.

Once again the bartenders declined the opportunity to have their pictures taken for some reason. Oh well, what can you do? I had a draft Allagash served in a jar with a handle. The beer is a Belgian style white and is made by the Allagash Brewery in New England. It was quite good. Allagash makes a wide variety of interesting beers and everyone that I have sampled has been pretty good.

621) Il Sogno



I decided to head over to 2nd Avenue and passed this Italian restaurant with a large outdoor eating area. It is located at 222 39th Street on the corner of a short street heading into the Midtown Tunnel. It is located on the main floor of the Eastgate Tower hotel. I figured I would just pop in for a glass of wine. It had a nice wooden bar with a bar rail and wooden bar chairs that had orange fabric seats. Behind the bar is interesting cabinetry that features a mirror with glass shelves in front holding some of their fancier liquors and a gold statue of a half man, half horse spear bearing warrior. Bar Man is a Sagittarius so he identified. He was also born in the Year of the Monkey, but we won’t form any associations about that. Next to those shelves is a set of cabinets with glass doors that hold even more exotic liquors. Very nice gun-metal gray and blue glass lights hang over the bar.

There were only two people in the place and they were intermittently joined by either the manager. There seemed to be a concerted effort by the two men to get the attractive Russian woman drunk. Nothing like downing shots of tequila to get the afternoon off to a good start. Based upon my personal experience drinking with Russians, both male and female, the woman will be the only one walking out on her own.

I had a glass of Chianti.

622) Bravest



This is a small bar at 700 2nd Avenue on the corner of 38th Street that obviously caters to a clientele made up mostly of firefighters. Most, if not all, of the decorations have do with firefighters. The one exception might be the little bulb-like Chinese lantern lights that ring the rectangular bar with the serving station in the middle. Two ornate copper beer stations, in bad need of polishing, offer up their beer selections. They do have a Bravest Amber Ale, but Bar Man is getting a bit suspicious of small bars that have draft beers named after them. There are all kinds of tributes to firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11 and in other fires. There are also patches on the walls from firefighters from around the world.

The bartender, Leah, was most friendly.

Leah, The Friendly And Charming Bartender


We talked a bit about bars in the neighborhood. It turns out that her family owns Bravest and she lives upstairs. It is nice to run into a family owned and operated bar once in awhile. You don’t see them that often anymore. On a bit of a sadder note, this place used to be Wanda’s Full Moon Saloon. Wanda’s husband was a firefighter who died on September 11th and she renamed the bar in his memory. Leah told me I should try Hook And Ladder down the street and that she knew the bartender on duty. Well, that didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped.

I had a Dewar’s and soda.

623) Hook And Ladder



This bar, that also caters to firefighters, is located down 2nd Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets. Things started out a bit bizarrely when I told the bartender that I had been sent by Leah from Bravest. At first she said she didn’t know her, then when I said it was the bar just up the street her memory got a bit better. Then, when I asked if I could take a picture she started going on about how she had been in public relations, that her pictures were all over the internet, that I just couldn’t come in and start taking pictures of her, whew. When I said that I wasn’t just taking pictures and had only asked her if I could she said I couldn’t just come in and demand that I take her pictures. One of the customers who seemed to know her calmed her down a bit and explained that I had only politely asked if I could take her picture. Then the bartender told me she had only had two hours of sleep and needed to freshen up a bit first. Well, she did duck into the bathroom a couple of times but came out looking pretty much the same as when she went in, just a bit more hyper each time. I think she was high on something other than life. Maybe she just has some really strong coffee. When she got into an argument with a customer about the price of drinks I decided to just dump down my own drink, cut my losses, and head on out the door.

I had a Dewar’s and soda.

624) Park Avenue Hotel



I popped in here on the way back to Grand Central Terminal where I catch my subway home. Bar Man needed the cool, dark, calmness of a classy hotel bar, and I got I found it here. The bartender had no problem with me taking her picture and was most helpful in pointing out some bars that I should include in my quest. Man, what a difference a bartender can make in terms of the comfort level of a bar. I shall now go home a happy man.

Viviana, The Right Bartender At The Right Time


This place was nice and cool on a warm and humid day. It has a small cracked glass top above lavender plastic that was lit from below. Plush padded armrests in the front and a square metal foot rail. Wood bar chairs with silvery gray fabric seats and backs. Light pinkish purple shaded lamps dangling clear beads hang on each side of the dark shelves holding the liquor selection. There was a plasma television showing ESPN news. Plush green banquettes line the wall opposite the bar. Interestingly patterned overhead lights made me think I was drinking under some kind of camouflage netting in a tropical jungle.

They Won't Find Me Under Here


I had a glass of Lois, a refreshing white Austrian wine made from Gruner Veltliner selected from various vineyards in the Kamp valley, it is light and scented. Fermented solely in stainless steel, it has a lovely perfume with good balance and raciness on the palate. It is produced by Loimer Langenlois. I copied that description from the internet, but it seems accurate enough.

Another good day, except for one glitch, hit six bars making 624 for the year and leaving 376 more to go.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

A Bitter, But In A Good Way, Day

I had made up my mind to get to the Flatiron Lounge today and, as you will see, I was indeed successful. However, as you might expect, I took the long way around.

613) Blue Water Grill





This is a large seafood restaurant with a fairly small bar with a copper-clad top and a wood paneled front and a narrow bar rail. Dark wood bar chairs have plush red seats and backs with ornamental brass tack heads. A large and somewhat scary looking plant with enormous green leaves and tentacles coming out the top sat at one end of the bar. I kept inching away. Two large copper lighting fixtures hang above the bar. They look a bit like inverted twenty-legged spiders with little red shaded lamps on each foot. Similar, but much smaller fixtures hang on the walls. There are tiered glass shelves behind the bar that hold their decent liquor selection. The bar sits in the middle of the room but is only open on one side. Large dining areas upstairs and downstairs and the place was packed with a late lunch crowd. This is a very well known seafood restaurant that consistently gets great reviews. I have eaten here in the past and the reviews are, indeed, accurate.

It is located across from Union Square Park at 31 Union Square and the space is a converted bank that used to be the Metropolitan Jazz Club. They still have jazz downstairs. It is amazing how much this area has changed over the years. There are all kinds of great restaurants in the area and even one in the park itself (see my review of Luna Park). When you consider that Union Square Park was once so dangerous you wouldn’t even walk through it in the daytime, the turnaround is dramatic. There was a period of about two years when the park was totally fenced in and patrolled by mounted police. When Zeckendorf Towers opened in 1987 the whole neighborhood changed and, unless you were a drug dealer, hooker, or customer, it changed for the better.

I had a Tanqueray and tonic.

614) Union Square Café



Right around the corner at 21 East 16th Street is this well-known and excellent restaurant with a decent sized wooden bar with a foot rail. The bar chairs are wooden with dark green seats. Most of the people at the bar were eating lunch and drinking iced tea. How pathetic. On the bright side though it made Bar Man feel even more decadent than usual. Ah, how I miss the days of three martini lunches. The bartender admired my Fiji Bitters (the Sportsman’s Beer) hat and asked me what the beer tasted like. Alas, one of the Mysterious Chinese Woman’s sisters bought if for me but failed to bring me a beer. Well, I couldn’t get a beer all the way back from Fiji without drinking it either, so I forgive her.

Michael and Matty, The Friendly Bartenders


There were interesting flying saucer like lights hovering over the bar. The wooden cabinets behind the bar frame mirrors and have glass shelves for liquor, wine, and glasses. Tiered shelves in front of the mirrors hold more liquor and chalkboards announce their beer, wine, and daily specials. I am not sure if I would spend six dollars for potato chips, even if they are hot and garlicky. Heck, for that kind of money I can get a beer, much more nutritious and much better for you. A large fern, much more benign looking than the thing at the last place, sits on one end of the bar. One wall is pretty much covered with various awards from Zagats, the James Beard Society, and other institutions.

Michael, or was it Matty, promised to look me up and take me on a pub crawl one evening. I am looking forward to it.

I had a Tanqueray and tonic.

615) Wai?Café



Not far away at 583 6th Avenue (does anyone ever call it Avenue of the Americas anymore) is this combination of a café and a bar. The front is set up like a café with the bar in the back. The top of the bar is a mottled blue plastic lit from underneath. It is rimmed with a wide distressed copper looking plastic armrest that matches the front. It is kind of neat, wouldn’t mind having one of my own. No bar rail but the wooden bar stools have plenty of places to hook your heels. The floor is a more interesting than usual tan patterned tile. The walls are bright orange and display the very unusual, and quite bizarre work of Mark Z-Man. It would be worth stopping by here just to take a look. Most of it is for sale.

The back of the bar has shelves in a vaguely religious looking design and it displays the wine and beer selection. No liquor license. There is also a display of miniature corkscrews or, perhaps, corkscrews for very small bottles of wine. Had a most interesting discussion with the bartender about Tom Cruise, Scientology, science fiction, and life in general. I would have liked to stick around but had places to go.

I had a bottle of Sapporo, a decent Japanese beer.

616) Trailer Park





Everybody loves this place at 271 West 23rd between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue, and whats not to love, plastic pink flamingos, Elvis on black velvet pictures, National Enquirer covers, a bowling alley bowling ball return that serves as a table, an actual trailer against one wall and very good margaritas made by the friendly bartender, Amy.

Amy, The Friendly Margarita Maker


We had a very nice talk and she recommended some bars for me in the Williamsburg area. One, Moe’s, has been called to my attention before so maybe I will head that way this week-end. I also need to check out Duff's where I will be celebrating number 750. A couple came in a bit later and we all sat around chatting like old friends.

There is just too much stuff in here to even begin to describe so I will pop in a few pictures and you will get the idea.









I had a delicious margarita and then, because I was having such a good time, a second one. This is another place that I regret I will not be able to get back to until after my quest is complete. Well, maybe I will sneak back again.

617) El Quijote



I headed towards the Flatiron Lounge and passed by this Spanish restaurant across the street from Trailer Par at 226 West 23rd between 7th and 8th Avenues and that I used to go to quite frequently when I lived in the area many years ago. The food and drinks were always great and I was pleased to see that it hasn’t changed, at least as far as the décor and the drinks, I didn't have anything to eat. This is one of the classiest Spanish restaurants in the city and is the real deal, not a new place trying to look old.

The Door To The Men's Room


The bar is old and wooden, has cigarette burns (gosh, seems like so long ago that you could actually smoke a cigarette at a bar) and the varnish was a bit sticky due to the humidity. Glasses being iced in a metal box on top of the bar (always a good sign) and flowers in a vase. There was a black foot rest. The bar chairs have red vinyl tops in various states of disrepair. There is a large antique cash register behind the bar and more Spanish knick knacks than you may ever see again. Ornate stained glass lamps hang over the bar and equally ornate chandeliers hang elsewhere. Orangish pink tinted carriage lights hang behind the bar. There is a mural on the back wall and Don Quixote themed wall paper on the wall opposite the bar. Go here for the food and drinks and plan to spend some time. It is a bit like visiting a Spanish museum

I had another excellently made margarita.

618) Flatiron Lounge



Well, I finally got to where I was headed and it was well worth it. It is located at 37 West 19th Street, right next door to Sala where I went yesterday. It is between 5th and 6th Avenues. There is a lot of dark wood and wrought iron along with banquettes for lounging. The bar is art deco style and is supposed to have come from the Manhattan Ballroom. You walk through a yellow lit tunnel lined with barstools to get to the bar proper, kind of a futuristic Blade Runner approach to a classic old bar.

The Tunnel


The overhead lights are a bit futuristic looking too and the bar stools have black cushions. The red leather banquettes are along the sparkly blue and silver opposite the bar. Classic cabinetry behind the bar that is lit up in yellowish lights. If you love classic cocktails, this is the place to go. Have I ever mentioned bitters? This place has at least four kinds.

The Bitters Selection


Another place where I will return, just for the flights of cocktails that they serve.

John Blue, The Friendly And Uberly Competent Bartender


I had a wonderful time, had a flight of cocktails that included a Ward Eight, an Apple Manhattan, and a Mint Jules (a variation on a mint julep).

My Flight Was Woderful And It Arrived On Time


They were all delicious. Then, because Bar Man has no sense, I topped it off with a sidecar.

My Final Drink For The Day


Oof. Toddle off home I did after this. But it was another good and very fun day with 6 bars hit bringing my total for the year to 618 and leaving me 382 to go.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Back On Track

Back in the city after a bucolic extended weekend in the burbs. I had a great time out there but was worried I was losing my finely honed drinking skills. I figured I better just jump right back on that horse, even if it ended up just being a rocking horse.

607) Mesa Grill



I didn’t really have any specific bars in mind but figured I would just wander around a neighborhood to see what popped up. I headed west on 15th Street after popping out of the subway at Union Square. I didn’t have to go far, just to 102 5th Avenue, before I spotted Mesa Grill. Now this place is quite famous because its owner and chef is the famous and, somewhat infamous, Bobby Flay. He is famous because of his cooking show and somewhat infamous for jumping on a cutting board during an Iron Chef competition. But hey, he worked his way up from being a dish washer in a restaurant so he is okay in my book.

The bar itself is fairly large and has a green slate top with a dark wood front and a brass rail. The bar chairs are dark wood and fairly well worn, I suspect they get a lot of use. Behind the bar are dark cabinets and/or coolers with dark metal doors. On top of that is a tiered shelf that looks like gray slate. Above that are two more shelves of the same material supported by narrow and bright multi-colored narrow triangles. The top shelf holds a somewhat limited selection of bottled beers but there is nothing limited about the liquor selection. That is extensive and top notch. Lots of good tequilas. Even their well tequila is Herradura, not too shabby. The shelving is backed by an arched mirror flanked by pairs of columns. Between each pair of columns are glass shelves holding stemware. On the top of the arched mirror is an oval framed picture of the moon that looks like it could have been taken from a satellite. Punched out narrow pyramid shaped tin shaded lights hang over the bar. Large, industrial strength fans hang from the ceiling and keep the air moving. The walls are pale yellow and pale green and there are large windows looking out over 5th Avenue. The banquettes and cushioned seats up front have an interesting pattern of cowboys riding broncos. Kind of reminded me of a pair of pajamas I had when I was just a little Bar Boy. A row of red columns with alternating bright yellow and green ornate tops march down the center of the place. There are two levels of dining areas and it is a very cheerful looking place.

It wasn’t very busy, first day after a long weekend at lunch time, so I had a chance to talk to the very knowledgeable and similarly minded, at least regarding cocktails, bartender.

Michelle, The Friendly and Knowledgeable Bartender


To Mesa Grill’s credit, they don’t have a martini menu holding to the belief that a martini is a martini and everything else is just some kind of drink served in a martini glass. We also discussed the need for bitters in a Manhattan and how freshly squeezed lime juice is an absolute necessity for a properly made margarita. She said she was from San Francisco and you wouldn’t think about trying to use a mix in a margarita in that city. She said when she came to New York she was surprised at how many bars just use a mix instead. Wow, my kind of bartender. She also made me samples of a couple of the bar's specialty margaritas (shades of La Palapa Rockola) so I tried a frozen cactus pear margarita, very good, sweet and very pink, and a peach margarita on the rocks, not nearly as sweet but very peachy. Might be really good in the frozen version. I had an excellent time and if you can get there when Michelle is on duty try to talk to her about cocktails, it should prove to be very educational and entertaining as well.

I had an excellent margarita, up with a salted rim.

608) BLT Fish





Not too far away at 21 West 17th is this seafood restaurant and bar. The bar itself is L shaped and has a laminated wood grained top and front of black slats. Dark wood captain’s chairs with their own silver foot rests provide comfortable seating. The floor is old looking wood planking. Interesting old looking square glass lamps hang over the bar. Fairly plain metal coolers are behind the bar with what looks to be a fairly small liquor selection sitting on top of a couple of them and wine bottles sitting on a couple more. Two buckets display the bottled beer selection. A large, train station like display shows the wine, beer, cocktail, and raw bar selections instead of arrival and departure times. On each side of that display are shelves holding a fairly large collection of wines, in numbers if not in variety.

Stephanie Pouring My Whale's Tale


As you might expect this is a very nautically themed place with a couple of large swordfish mounted on the walls and all kinds of black and white photos of fishermen with their catches mounted on the brick wall opposite the bar. This is the place to go if you feel like having a Mermaid Martini (Bar Man shudders at the very concept), a Shark Bite, Squid Ink, or a Yellow Submarine.

I had a draft Whale’s Tale beer that I was told is brewed in Nantucket.

609) Cajun



This was a neat place indeed. It is right next to the A, C, E, and ever more popular L line subway at the corner of 16th Street and 8th Avenue. The L line connects Manhattan and the increasingly popular Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Albert Collins, aka “the Ice Man, aka “Master of the Telecaster” was on the sound system and the place really did have a New Orleans flavor to it. This was a great find. I can grab a subway a couple of blocks from where I live and pop up at a reasonable facsimile of a Bourbon Street bar. Only the large windows looking out on 8th Avenue get in the way of the illusion. You got to love this city.

There is a nice wooden bar with a black foot rest and old wooden bar chairs. Lots, and I mean lots, of little red shaded lamps over the bar supported by an ivy covered black pipe. The back of the bar reminded me of a 1950’s style jukebox with pale green lights on each end and an ornate stained glass arch that is lit from behind. All kinds of Mardi Gras style masks hang on the wall behind the bar along with an interesting composition that includes a shrunken head, a small silver saxophone, and a New Orleans style street lamp. Opposite the bar and separated from it by a wood partition are little tables and chairs and a wooden bench. Bead festooned lights hang over them and there are wrought iron trellises draped with little white lights and flowers give the area a garden look. A mirror with shutters on the wall kind of makes it look like you could look out on a back alley somewhere.



There is a nice dining area in the back and the camera shy bartender told me they have a very nice Sunday brunch with live jazz.

It turned out that the music I was listening too was from Jazz 88, a radio station that was playing music from the Montreal Jazz Festival. Dr. John was playing when I left after having a Tanqueray and tonic. I was going to have the Cajun Black Gold draft beer but was told that it was just Michelob with a different name. I give credit to the bartender for honesty.

610) Chelsea Grill





I headed down 8th Avenue a bit to 135 8th Avenue and popped into this place with a black linoleum leather textured topped bar with a light wood armrest and footrest. The brick wall behind the bar had a mirror mounted on it that was draped with a fall-like looking wreath of gold leaves and red flowers. Large chests of ice hold a very ample supply of beer. Tiered shelves hold a large supply of liquor. The wall opposite the bar is covered with pictures of old New York. A Silver Streak bowling machine right behind me did indeed convey a credible feeling of having a drink in a bowling alley. My hat is off to Silver Streak for their great, and loud, sound effects. There is a good sized dining area in the back and a nice looking and large dining area behind that. Track lighting illuminates the place and there are little round tables with chairs in the bar area. A skeleton with a large hollow head to hold tips sits next to the cash register behind the bar. The two television at the ends of the bar were showing lacrosse, something a bit different.

Edita The Friendly Bartender Who Prefers Bottled Beer To Draft


I had a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale.

611) Rocking Horse



At 182 8th Avenue between 19th and 20th Streets is this extremely popular Mexican bar and restaurant. It has a pale green plastic topped bar with a dark stone-like tile front. The bar stool has big black seats to accommodate even those suffering from steatopygia and footrests for your feet. Lots of parchment-like tube shaped lights hang over the bar. I kind of felt like I was in some kind of an incubator and large moths or something would emerge from them. Modern looking light wood shelves divided into cubes hold the liquor and wine. Slate colored tile floors and mostly vibrant orange walls. One half wall semi-separates the dining area from the bar area and it is a brilliant mosaic of blues and greens. It has a narrow rectangular opening and a plant with small green leaves sits in a dark vase and is lit from above.

Interesting abstract pictures hang on the wall opposite the bar and lining the wall are metal topped tables with red plywood and gray metal chairs. The pictures are lit by small track spot lights. There is a dining area in the back

Slow moving overhead fans can’t quite compete with the windows that open onto 8th Avenue on this humid day. There were a lot of people sitting at the tables on the sidewalk and nobody out there seemed to mind the heat.

I had a Maker’s Mark Manhattan. Very well made by the Duane, the friendly bartender.

Duane The Friendly And Competent Bartender


Bar Man Toddling Off


612) Sala



I was heading kind of home and also wanted to stop at the Flatiron Lounge that was recommended to me by Michelle at the Mesa Grill. She told me the place specializes in classic cocktails and the owners are somewhat fanatical about them Unfortunately it was closed for the day but right next door on 19th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue was this very nice tapa bar. The marble topped bar was covered with small candles. A large wooden arch behind the bar surrounds the mirrored wall. Tiered shelves hold the liquor and there are a few bottles of wine and some glasses as well. Below that are coolers with ominous looking black doors and silver locks. These are flanked by wooden wine racks. The walls are kind of a strategically chipped red plaster over brick. A very ornate silver tin ceiling. Really neat beaded lamps hang over the bar and elsewhere. Lots of candles on small round tables. The food smelled great and the mint being crushed for the drinks was somehow rejuvenating. This is another place I will have to make a point of visiting again. I even got a small bowl of olives to eat with my drinks.

I ordered a Caipirinha and got an almost full one but the bar ran out of cachaca, a key ingredient. Cachaca is a liquor made out of distilled unrefined sugar cane juice. It is not, as many people think, a type of rum. Rum is distilled from molasses. In Brazil there are over 4000 brands of cachaca (they really like it). Anyway, I got my drink for free and then felt guilty so I ordered a Mojita, which is made from rum.

Lesley Making and Shaking My Caipirinha


A very good day, hitting six bars and having a lot of interesting conversations. I even have a few more bars in the area to go back and visit tomorrow, the Flatiron Lounge chief among them. Anyway, that makes 612 bars for the year and leaves me with but 388 to go

Monday, July 04, 2005

No Pictures In Princeton

I made a tactical error today. We were going to go to Princeton for lunch but my sister-in-law said the restaurant was in a shopping mall so I didn’t think there would be a bar there. Big mistake. The restaurant is very classy and it has a very nice bar. I was going to download some pictures from the internet but they have changed the bar somewhat since the ones I found were taken, or I got the wrong Big Fish. I will just have to make do with a narrative description and hope I get back one day to take pictures of my own.

606) Big Fish

This is located in the MarketFair shopping mall on Route 1 near Princeton, New Jersey. The bar is pretty good sized and is shaped like the prow of a boat with the bartender inside. It has a light wood top and sides with a dark metal bar rail. The chairs at the end of the bar look a bit like conga drums while the rest are light wood that matches the bar. The floor is wood as well and the same color. A very large fish looms over you atop the blue enclosed serving area at the blunt end of the bar. Wrought iron supports on top of the bar are bent over and joined at the top. It kind of reminded me of the hull of a boat so maybe the effect is supposed to be that of a capsized boat and I am sitting underwater. But then the fish that is looming over me would have to be swimming upside down. The bartender didn’t seem to know what the intended affect what so I remain confused. Narrow shelves are attached to the structure and these hold the bottled beer selection and fish themed sculptures, vases, and a beer stein. Half a dozen small televisions are suspended from the ceiling over the bar but are positioned in such a way that, at least from where I was sitting, you couldn’t get a clear view of any of them. No matter, there are three larger televisions on the wall at the prow end of the bar and these you can see very well.

Black booths with very high backs line the wall on one side of the bar under a large colorful mural with a mean looking blue fish as its main feature. This was a very nice bar and restaurant. Not at all what you would expect to find in a shopping mall.

I had a Tanqueray and tonic.

Just one bar for the day bringing my total to 606 and leaving 394 to go. Got to start hustling a bit to make number 750 on Saturday, August 20th. That bar will be Duff's at North 3rd Street and Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. The bar is just one block from the East River and you can see the Manhattan skyline from there. It also has a deck out back and the owner, Jimmy Duff, said maybe he could arrange for a barbecue. Usually he doesn't open until 6:00 P.M. but he said he may arrange to open a bit early for this event. I will provide more information as the date approaches.

Saturday, July 02, 2005

Crowbar Inn

No bars today so I thought I would take the opportunity to model a tee-shirt that was sent to me by Andy Wakeford. He heard about me as a result of an interview that I did on KFGO-Fargo. His parents once owned the Crowbar Inn, which was located in the small town of Osnabrock, ND. He said it was the typical, rural North Dakota Bar. The Crowbar Inn, unfortunately, is no more. It was opened in September of 1985 and after changing hands several times in the mid-1990s it was gutted by a fire in 1999. Mr. Wakeford was kind enough to send me a tee-shirt that he managed to dig up.



Pretty cool looking tee-shirt. Too bad the bar is gone. Thanks so much Andy, I really appreciate it.

Friday, July 01, 2005

Some Hope In New Hope

I headed out to New Jersey for the July 4th Holiday and the celebration of a couple of birthdays, my brother-in-law’s (the one who helped me start my quest) and my sister-in-law’s who was hosting the week-end. My role was to be the grill-master for two days. And I was, smoking chickens, ducks, sausages, and clams. Quite a bit of fun. I got there Friday afternoon and after doing a bit of shopping we headed to New Hope, Pennsylvania for dinner. While the Mysterious Chinese Woman and my sister-in-law went shopping beforehand, I popped into a couple of places.

603) Triumph Brewery



This is another working brewery in New Hope, right by the railroad tracks, that sells their beer on the premises. And quite good beer it is too. There is a large black wrap-around bar with the serving stations in the middle. There are several sets of modern looking beer taps sitting atop. The foot rest looks a bit like model railroad tracks with that third rail in the middle. The bar chairs are kind of a Swedish modern design, light wood, with blue fabric seats, some of which show signs of beer spillage. Behind the bar the wall is knotty pine and there are glass shelves holding glasses and a dark wood cabinet and shelf holding the wine and liquor selection. A chalkboard behind the bar lists the available beers and another larger one on a side wall lists both the available and the soon-to-be available beers along with the alcohol content, the tank it is being or was brewed in, the date it was or will be ready, and the original gravity. The menus give a brief overview of the brewing process and is worth looking over.

Heather, the Friendly Bartender
Graciously serving me beer and samples till the rain stopped.


The bar and dining area are built into a large brick warehouse-like structure and the brewing facilities, along with one of the dining areas, are upstairs. Silver brewing tanks, catwalks, and the high ceiling add to the bar in a brewery atmosphere. Flowers and pictures on the walls in the dining areas make them more intimate and less brewery-like.

I had the Bengal Gold IPA and then, because it was raining when I finished, had the Gothic Ale that was a hand-pull ale. They were both very good. I also got to taste both the Honey Wheat and the Heffeweizen. They were both very good but the Heffeweizen was especially good and quite different, almost a banana-like aroma and taste to it. I decided I would come back and get a growler to go after dinner.

604) Mother’s



Mother’s is on 34 North Main Street and it has a small area for the bar but a much larger attached dinning area. The bar has a light wood top with a granite-like plastic front. Almost the same type of chairs that they had at Triumph. There is a white ceramic brick wall behind the bar with a dark wooden shelf holding the liquor. Wooden racks for glasses hang overhead and metal-shaded industrial like lights illuminate the bar. Festive July 4th banners are strung from the overhang above the bar that serves as the floor to the upstairs dining area. The ceiling is beamed. There are some small tables by the windows opposite the bar. There is a television at one end of the bar and a pool tournament was being televised. The bartender, Vince, was quite interested because he said he was a pool player himself. I was telling him about a couple of times I was in Europe and the major snooker tournament was being aired almost continually. So we chatted about pool and snooker a bit, although I am a terrible pool player.

Vince, the Pool Playing Bartender


An elderly couple came in and the guy ordered a Corona so we got to talking about Mexico and then what New Hope was like in the old days. Now it is quite an expensive enclave of boutiques and restaurants and very expensive houses. He remembered when Mother’s was just a coffee shop where you could buy pastries and about the only other place was an ice-cream shop. My, how things do change.

I had a Tanqueray and tonic.

605) Marsha Brown



I headed down the street to Marsh Brown at 15 South Main Street to meet my dinner companions and, of course, to have a drink at the bar. This place is, quite simply, spectacular. It is in an old Methodist church and the bar is located in what once was the narthex. A narthex is the vestibule, usually at the west end of a church. The bar here is quite classy and is there is a wraparound mural that can be glimpsed through an archway behind where the bartender, does her work. The bar is very elegant and because I couldn’t stay long, having to have go upstairs to the lovely dining area for dinner, I will let the pictures do the talking.

The Anticipation


The Satisfaction


Christie, the Friendly Bartender


Cornered by The Mysterious Chinese Woman


I had a Bombay martini, up with a twist. Very well made by the lovely and friendly bartender. The food here is also great, although a bit pricey. I have eaten here several times and have never had a bad meal. I usually order steak but the Mysterious Chinese Woman and her sister usually go for fish dishes, all of which are delicious. Their crabcakes are mostly crab, and that isn’t as common as you might suppose.

I stopped back at the Triumph Brewery to pick up my growler of the Heffeweizen but, even though it was fresh that day, the line appeared to be clogged so I couldn't get any. I settled for the Bengal Gold IPA that was quite good, but Bar Man was a bit disappointed.

Well that wasn't bad, two more bars than I thought I would hit making 605 for the year and leaving 395 to go.