Boys Day Out

My friends Bernie and Bob thought it would be fun to get together and have lunch and a few beers at good and very old McSorley's Old Ale House. This is considered to be New York's oldest continually operated pub and everyone from Abraham Lincoln to John Lennon have quaffed a brew in here. When I first started going here the beers were two for $1.25 which wasn't too bad a deal. Now I think they are two for $4.25 and, considering the size of the mugs and the fact that they are half foam, it isn't such a bargain anymore.

McSorley's Old Ale House


But you go here primarily for the ambiance. It is kind of like stepping into a time warp. And it is always fun to order up a couple dozen beers. And beer is all they serve here, light or dark, on draft.

Ready To Drink Up


The hash here is still very good and that is what we had for lunch. It comes with some nice red cabbage as well as carrots and green peas.

This was supposed to be a boy's day out, and it almost was, except for Bob's wife, the Lovely Loretta. It seems she was trying to exercise to some video but couldn't figure out how to get it going. She ended up calling three times and Bob, very patiently, in my opinion, tried to walk her through the procedure. He said they only had the system for about four years and he thought she might be starting to get the hang of it. Thank goodness.

They Could Dust A Bit More Often


Actually, there is a story behind the wishbones having to do with neighborhood boys going off to fight in the Great War and getting a free turkey dinner before they left. They would hang up the wishbone and then come back and claim it when they returned. The wishbones that are still here are the one's that were never reclaimed.

Not too far from McSorley's is one of my favorite dive bars, Continental, so we decided to stop in. Despite what the sign says, the are not open all day. They open at 4:oo PM so we were a bit early.

Not Quite All Day


We decided to go around the corner and kill some time by having a beer at St Mark's Ale House. Not a bad bar at all. I was going to take a picture of the bartender but he said that the owner didn't allow it. You could take pictures in the bar, just not a picture of the bartenders. Go figure.

A Place To Kill Time And A Pint


The Three Amigos, Bob, Bernie, Bar Man


After finishing up our beers we headed back to Continental, which was now open.

At Long Last


This is a professional drinking establishment, no lightweights allowed. And at five shots of whatever they pour only costing $10, you can do some serious damage here.

Starting Our Odyssey


Two fisted drinking requites two barmaids. It was Dea's first day on the job and apparently she hadn't been instructed in the ordering five shots at once thing. She quickly got the hang of it, though.

Dea


The other barmaid, Taylor, was well versed in the procedure, however.

Taylor


I thought we showed a great amount of restraint, limiting ourselves to five shots each and a single beer. We started out with Bushmills and then switched to the 100 proof Rumplemintz, to freshen our breath. Bob also switched hats. He just couldn't resist buying this natty number.

Taking Its Toll


As you might imagine, anyplace that encourages mass consumption of alcohol tends to get a bit rowdy so they have a couple of heavily muscled bouncers to keep control.

Bob Being Controlled


It was a fun day but, alas, as all days must, it came to a dark and lonely end.

The Dark Tunnel Of My Soul


Ah, not really. The Mysterious Chinese Woman would be waiting for me and tomorrow we are heading out to the Mysterious Sister-In-Law's house for the Fourth of July. Dim Sum and then the Mysterious Mother-In-Law will be preparing a traditional Chinese birthday dinner (lobster and chicken, for sure) for the aforementioned Mysterious Sister-In-Law. Should be a lot of fun.