And Old Is New

I headed once more to a neighborhood I once lived and worked in. In fact I once worked in the very building of the first bar that I visited today. Guardian Insurance outgrew its space where the W Hotel now stands and for awhile rented additional space in various buildings around the area. This was one of them at 225 Park Avenue South.

932) Barca 18



Earlier this year I visited and wrote-up Park Avalon. Barca now occupies the same space and is, in fact, owned by the same people. I guess they just thought it was time for a change. Now it is a fancy Spanish restaurant with a decent offering of tapas and a nice looking dinner menu. The bar has a thick clear plastic top over bright orange, red, and white strips, all very shiny. The front of the bar is a faded orange and there is a foot rail. The bar chairs are dark wood with black leather seats and woven fabrick backs in chocolate brown and gold. A couple of tall glass vases sit on the bar with large bright flowers in them.

The bar back is more functional than decorative, but the size gives it an imposing look. Pretty much just gray coolers separated by a gray pillar with black tiles at the bottom up to the height of the coolers. Liquor and wine bottles sit on top of the coolers as well as some glasses and mugs. Two gray steel beams serve as a shelf for a large selection of wines. The ceiling is quite high and the space above the beams and bottles is filled with a modernistic design of red and brown shades and white lines defining upright rectangles. Made me think of a city full of skyscrapers.

Large spider-leg like lights surrounded by orange fabric in the shape of squares hang from the gray ceiling. Three gray steel beams split the room down the middle. Gray is the predominate color in here. Three large planters at right angles to the bar are filled with gray stones and large leafless trees that looked like they came from a haunted forest. These serve to split the bar in two so it doesn’t seem overwhelmingly long. There is a large dining area in the back and a number of orange banquettes for seating. There is a large yellow banquette under large mirrors on the wall opposite the bar.

Everyone in here seemed quite friendly and I ever ran into a couple of old friends who were just finishing up lunch at the bar. They said the food was very good so I will have to stop back one day and try it out.

I had a bottle of Sagres, a dark Portuguese beer.

933 Dos Caminos



This is a fancy Mexican restaurant and bar that is owned by the same people that own Barca 18 and is just up the street a bit at 373 Park Avenue South. It has a very impressive selection of tequilas. The bar isn’t too big, but more than adequate. It has a black acrylic surface with a dark wood front with a wide silver panel at the bottom from which a flat matching metal foot rest protrudes. The bar stools are a bit on the strange side, thin black metal legs kind of a shallow scooped out elliptical dark seats. You weren’t weather to sit on them like a swing or straddle them like a saddle. I opted for the swing.

Hanging over the bar are two lights that look like they were made out of large tree trunks. Quite impressive even though they didn’t seem to give off much light. The major portion of the bar back is metal coolers below with glasses and a few bottles of wine and liquor on top. Above that is mounted metal cabinets with glass doors filled with bottles of tequila. Above them is a large, to the ceiling, wood framed mirror. To the right are seven fairly narrow glass shelves mounted one above the other and going up to the ceiling. The bottled beer selection is displayed on the bottom shelf and fancy tequilas sit on the other six shelves. To the right of those shelves are two frozen margarita machines and you can have your choice of either a traditional margarita or a prickly pear margarita. More tequila bottles sit on top of them. Next to this are shelves of glasses and above them a large dark orange chalk board listing some of their specialty margaritas and tequilas.

On a section of the wall at right angles to the chalk board is a set of wooden shelves holding another 18 tequila bottles. Above that is a decent sized wine rack and above that shelves of little clay pots holding small cacti. There is a very large dining area that hooks all the way around to another entrance on 27th Street. They have a small serving bar back there as well. Despite the size of the dining area the bar manages to retain an intimate feel because it is set off by dark framework partitions. Again, another place that looks like it would be worth a visit for dinner.

I chatted with the bartender, Melanie a bit about tequilas, the neighborhood, and life in general. We shared our philosophies about margaritas and she whipped me up a couple. No complaints on my part.

Melanie, Purveyor Of Excellent Margaritas


I had a Patron margarita, up with a salted rim and it was so damn good I had another.

Harlem Hop

I headed up to Harlem today to meet my buddy Bernie. Bernie is the guy that picks me up at 8:00 A.M. for 1:00 P.M. games so we will have enough time to tailgate. The next home game is an 8:30 P.M. game against New Orleans and he is picking my up at 1:00 P.M. for that one. It’s a good thing we don’t live on the west coast. He would have to spend the night so we could get to the stadium early enough.

We got off the A train and started looking for bars. The first one we found had a sign on the door saying that the owner would be back in a few minutes so we decided to keep looking. Then we found one that was closed, but at least the door was open and there was a guy in there cleaning up so we asked him where we could find a place that was open. He gave us directions to one and headed out.

928) Lenox Lounge



This place is on Malcolm X Blvd (Lenox) between 124th and 125th. This is a great looking place that has an art deco interior. It has been around since the 1930s and was recently renovated. Over the years it has showcased a lot of great jazz talents such as Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. Their pictures still grace the walls. It has a large dark wood topped bar with brown and tan panels in front. The bar chairs are wood with light blue seats and backs The bar back has mirrors with tiered shelves above black coolers. The lights above the mirrors are panels of frosted glass sandwiched between wood. Above the lights is a narrow mirrored panel. Kind of an interesting effect.

Against the wall opposite the bar are settees with round tables and chairs in front. Lights between the settees are large finned white glass fixtures that look a bit like torpedoes. There are ornate mirrors against the back wall. The floor is nicely patterned with small hexagon tiles.

Now for some reason the bartender didn’t want me to take a picture of her. I can understand that, but she also didn’t want me to take any pictures of the interior. Maybe you can only do so if you are a known photographer working for some publication. I notice that the place has been photographed and the pictures published in the past. It is quite a famous place. Well, just because they wouldn’t let me take a picture doesn’t mean I can’t post a couple.





They still have pretty decent jazz in here at night.

I had an Old Crow and water. I don’t know why I felt like bourbon and water today, maybe because of the décor. And Old Crow was a bourbon I used to drink when I was but a youth.

929) Sylvia’s



Sylvia’s is just down Lenox a bit, and they still list their address as being 328 Lenox Avenue. Sylvia’s is best know as a soul food restaurant, and justifiably so. It originally opened in 1962 and only sat 35 people. Now it occupies almost the entire block and has a capacity of 450. Because it is broken up into several rooms it still manages to feel small and homey. And Sylvia is still a presence keeping an eye on everything and making sure everyone is happy. Strangely enough, Sylvia has branched out into a line of beauty products and you can see them on display by the door. Seems a bit out of place, if you ask me.

Although this is primarily a restaurant there is a little bar with a pink and gray marble top and a shelf behind it with liquor, although not a large selection. They didn’t carry any bourbon. Luckily they did have scotch though. The guy who served us our drinks poured with a heavy hand and even asked us if he put enough in. We figured we better stop him while there was still room to add water.

While we were sitting at the bar Sylvia popped behind it to mix up some sort of a ghastly looking things that had Southern Comfort, Amaretto, pineapple juice, something red, and who knows what all else.

I had a Johnny Walker Red and water.

930) Paris Blues



On the corner of 121st and 7th Avenue was this classic place. We were told that it is the oldest bar in Harlem and I have no reason not to believe it. It was most definitely a neighborhood bar where everybody seemed to know each other and before it wall all over you knew everybody too. There was a Twins fan in there so I got a another chance to make my case for Kent Hrbek getting into the Hall of Fame. To his credit he didn’t laugh in my face, like some of my so called friends do.

There was a good sized bar with a wood-grained tile top, a wood paneled front and a ledge for your foot. Behind the bar were pale pressed wood cabinets and shelves with glass doors. There were also two semi-cabinets that had a lot of inverted bottles on devices that let you pop out a shot by pressing against it with a glass.

There was a pool table in the back but it was covered with a cloth. It looked like it was going to be used for food because there were a lot of tinfoil containers and racks. I think I was told what was going on but it didn’t really register. One of the patrons, Danny, insisted on buy us a drink when we were finishing up the one we bought, and who were we to say no. He turned out to be a poet and has a book out called Grass Root Poems from a Grass Root Poet. His full name is Daniel W. Brown. I couldn’t get him to write a poem about my visit though. The bartender, Sue, joined our conversation and we ended up having a grand time.

Sue, The Conivial Bartender


There were pictures on the walls including a couple of President Clinton, and an upright piano against one brick wall. It probably gets some use late at night. There was kind of a semi-enclosed room off to one side with a few sofas and tables back there.

I had an I.W. Harpers with water. Well, actually, a couple of them.

931) Showmans



This was the place that we stopped at first but the owner or manager or someone was out for a few minutes. It was on our way back to the subway at 375 125th Street. Well another great place. Supposedly it has the longest bar in New York City. It is a nice green marble topped bar too. Green flying saucer like lights hang above it. This is a great place and convenient to the 125th Street A line subway stop. It is a well-known jazz club with no cover and a 2 drink minimum. Thursday night is tap dance night and I can only imagine that that would be a real hoot.

Showmans has been around since 1942 but in its current location, its third, only since 1998. Over the years a lot of greats have played here as well, Sara Vaughan, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Eartha Kitt. There is a good sized stage in the back and back-lit photos from the original location hang behind the bar.

The Manager, Mona, And The Bartender, Tanya On Stage


I wish I could remember more about this place, but the drinks were starting to catch up and we weren’t slowing down here. It was our last stop before heading home and I had at least three of whatever I was drinking. I know it was bourbon and water, but don’t know if I ever found out the brand.

We met an interesting fellow, and that is putting it mildly. Frank Minaya was the third black basketball player at Seton Hall in the 1950s. He earned two Masters Degrees: A Master of Science (MS) in School Administration from the City University of New York and a Masters of Arts (MA) in Technology from Columbia University. In 1960s, produced the first full-length feature Bahamian film called Banana Boat Beat and created one of the most famous nightclubs in The Bahamas, Frank's Banana Boat.

Frank Minaya is a direct descendent of the former freed North American slaves brought to the Dominican Republic in the early 1800's. He established Inmobiliaria Minaya y Willmore, S.A. landholding company which, for the last three decades, has focused on accumulating property on the Samaná peninsula. He created a Cultural Art Therapy Programme within Her Majesty's Prison focusing on the creation of Bahamian National Crest sand sculptures. He created first Bahamian Fire Prevention and Safety Programme and donated the first fire truck to the island of Bimini. He also produced Fire Safety, Public Service Film 'From New York City to Bimini' which was shown during Prime Time on ZNS.

Not done yet, he facilitated introduction the Irving Burgie musical programme into all Bahamian primary schools and brought the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture together with the Bahamas National Archives to document Bahamian Heroes, established the Bahamian/Dominican/American Partnership which facilitates humanitarian projects in The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and the United States.

Well, you get the picture and in fact here is a picture of him after receiving Bahamian Consulate awards.



And now he can say he met Bar Man.

Bernie, Frank, And Bar Man


I had bourbon and water, several actually, and then it was to the subway and on to home. If my buddy Bernie sends me more details of what went on yesterday I will add them. He is a professional partier and I am just an amateur. Also, we spent a lot of time just chatting with people.

A great day with four places hit, and all of them were interesting and enjoyable. Now that I know how easy it is to get here I will be back one night to take in the entertainment. That tap dancing on Tuesday intrigues me no end. 931 for the year and just 69 to go.

A Fifth On 3rd? No, Wait, 53rd

I looked at my most recent Murphs’s email and saw a reference to The Upper Deck on 53rd between 1st and 2nd so I headed on over. Now this was billed as a sports bar so I just assumed that it would be open during the day, but no. Here we go again, why can’t the hours of operation be given when a bar is mentioned in Murph’s, or anywhere else, for that matter. Just so you know, on weekdays, at least, The Upper Deck doesn’t open until 6:00 P.M.

926) Metro 53



Well, at least this place that was right next door was open. It is a very nice bar and I met the owners, Mike and Tony, who also own The Upper Deck. They were a couple of gregarious Irishmen (aren’t they all) and were really fun to talk to. They made sure that I would return and visit The Upper Deck one day when it was open, and I will be sure to do so. They introduced themselves when they saw me taking a picture of Denise, the bartender, and said the recognized me from a newspaper article. Denise thought she had met me before but I hadn’t been in here yet and she said she didn’t work anywhere else. A case of mistaken identity, I guess, or else it was a variation of that old "Haven't I seen you someplace before" line.

Denise, The Charming Bartender


Metro 53 is quite a large place with a large, three-sided bar. The bar has a grayish marble top with black and gold flecks and a wooden arm rest. The front of the bar is wood with wide silvery metal bands at the top and bottom. There is a foot rest and wooden chairs with black vinyl seats. Two beer stations sit on the bar, one an inverted flat-bottomed U shaped affair with eight spigots and the other is an upright round one with four spigots. Blue spotlights in the ceiling illuminate the bar.

The bar back is wood shelving and mirrors. There are tiered shelves for liquor in front of the mirrors on my side and liquor and glasses on the wood shelves as well. Lots of metal ice chests. There are two televisions behind the bar, one on the wall opposite the bar and at least three more in the other room.

Opposite the bar is a wooden ledge above a red painted wall that is a washed pale yellow above the ledge. Black and white photos of old New York decorate the walls along with an Art Deco poster for New York Central System that featuring locomotives. There is a large dining area with tables, chairs, and comfortable looking leather banquettes against the wall. I enjoyed myself in here and I suspect you would as well.

I had a draft Magner’s Hard Cider.

927) Parnell’s



This is a dark Irish bar on the corner of 53rd and 1st that has a touch of old-world elegance to it. A long dark wooden bar with a ledge for your feet and wooden bar chairs that had bright red vinyl seats. There are three tubular brass beer stations protruding from the bar with a total of eight working spigots and a spot where another could be added. Three large mirrors separated by wood shelves are behind the bar. Tiered shelves of liquor sit in front of mirrors at each end and a silver cash registers sits in front of the middle one under a clock. Coolers with brown doors sit below the shelves. A row of orange helmet shaped lights hang immediately behind the bar chairs and lots of lights with stained glass shades with various designs hang throughout the rest of the place.

Opposite the bar is a wood partition with a stained glass set of panels on top and a brass rail on top of them. Small tables with bar chairs line the side of the partition closest to the bar. The wall on the other side is brick and covered with framed racing and hunting paintings. Along the top of the brick wall is a shelf covered with urns, statues, mugs, a cannon, and other assorted knick-knacks. All kinds of mugs and pitchers hang from the tan patterned ceiling towards the back. A ledge in front of the windows are covered with small pumpkins, gourds, and branches with fall colored leaves. Pitchers hang above the window.

There are tables on the other side of the partition, up front by the windows, and in the decent sized dining room in the back. Lots of dark wood paneling and all kinds of shelves with interesting stuff sitting on them. The bathrooms are on either side of a cloak room that is built out from a wall and this structure has stained glass windows. There is a definite look of an authentic Irish pub. The crowd in here was a bit older than usual but everyone seemed like they knew each other and they were all having a great time.

I had a draft Pilsner Urquel.

Just a couple bars today, but I am begining to taper of a bit as I get close to the end. Up to 927 for the year leaving 73 to go.

West Of The Pecos, Or At Least West Of Park

I decided to head up to Central Park today, given that it was yet another gorgeous fall day here in New York. I didn’t actually go I the park though, just stood at the southern edge where they park the horse carriages and gazed into it. Always a lovely sight. I wood have liked to have gone into The Plaza for a drink but it is being remodeled so that was out of the question. Instead I just wandered a few blocks until I got to:

923) Judge Roy Bean



Now I hope most of you know that Judge Roy Bean referred to himself as “The Law West Of The Pecos” and presided over a courtroom in his bar, the Jersey Lilly, named in honor of Lillie Langtry, a British actress (who was known as Jersey Lilly having been born in Jersey, England) with whom Mr. Bean was apparently smitten, but never met. Interestingly, the Jersey Lilly was located in Langtry, Texas and, not unexpectedly, people assume that Judge Roy Bean also named the town after Ms. Langtry. Not so, however. The town, such that it was, existed before the arrival of the Hangin’ Judge and had been renamed from Eagle Nest to Langtry after a railroad boss, George Langry, from the Southern Pacific who was in charge of running the railroad's tracks through it. Lillie Langtry did actually visit the town once, but it was after the good Judge’s death (he died peacefully in his sleep after a night of heavy drinking).

Well, that was a bit of a digression. This bar is located at 39 West 56th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues and is, in fact, just west of Park Avenue. It is a bit of an oasis of tranquility on this bustling street even though it was bustling a bit inside. Despite the Western themed name it is just another Irish bar in a city with a thousand of them. The old, somewhat beat-up wooden bar is set back a bit from the door. Between the door and the bar is a wide entryway that is wood paneled with large mirrors on the walls. There are ledges underneath the mirrors for drinks on the side with only bar stools and for elbows on the side that has little tables and chairs in front of it.

The bar has no foot rest or rail. The bar chairs are dark brown wood with dark green vinyl seats. There are two beer stations, each with four spigots. One is an old brass tube affair and the other is newer and silver. An old Wildwood Hard Cider brass spigot also sits on the bar but it is defunct.

The bar back is kind of plain with arched set back shelves in front of mirrors. Actually, the shelves aren’t arched, that would be silly, the bottles would slide off. The shelves sit under arches. There are plain metal coolers underneath and one ice chest filled with bottled beer. A couple of old chandelier like light fixtures with multiple upturned glass lamp shades hang over the bar. The ceiling is heavily beamed and the spaces between the beams are painted with leaves.

Opposite the bar there is about three feet of light and dark green marble like tiles with dark mirrors above them that run to the ceiling. Mounted on the mirrors are lights that look a bit like truncated ice-cream cones made out of white glass. There is a round illuminated Bass Pale Ale sign and a Stella Artois mirror but not too much else in the way of decorations.

I had a Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.

924) Zona Rosa



Keeping with the TexMex theme I just walked next door to this Mexican restaurant that has a bar up front. Not a large bar, just seven bar chairs. But the bar chairs were comfortable bucket seat like things in dark and light tan vinyl and the spun around. The had a ring for your feet which was good because this bar didn’t have any place for them. The bar had a light wood top made up of various sized wood planks and wood paneled sides.

The bar back is a combination of wood that matches the bar top and small, reddish orange tiles. Just two levels of shelves, but they are deep so they hold three rows of liquor each, mostly tequila. In the middle of the bottom shelf is a small metal sink that give it kind of a kitchen-like look. A kitchen like Bar Man would want. The wall at each end of the shelves is yellow tile. The floor in the bar area is distressed gray and yellow. There is a good sized dining area in the back with mirrors and wood paneling that matched the floors. On one side the walls were kind of a rounded and padded tan and maroon. This area is set off from the bar by a curved section of yellow tiles topped by mauve poles.

I had a Patron Margarita, up with a salted rim.

925) Tequila Lounge



This place is right upstairs to Zona Rosa but has a much larger bar and appears to be much more spacious. The bar is similarly configured to the one downstairs. The bar chairs were also the same but this bar did have a wooden foot rest. There is even more tequila up here with one shelf running beyond the bar and into the next room where tables and chairs were set up for dining. There is a wide window next to the bar overlooking the street. It had white curtains that were pulled back and elongated bare bulbs with the filaments glowing orange hung from the ceiling on black cords. There is a wide ledge in front of the window with small oil lamps, cacti, pumpkins and gourds, and a large tequila bottle sitting on top. There are also chairs in front of it.

They have the same type of flooring up here, both the tiles by the bar and the wood flooring in the back and in the front the walls are tiled the same. More tiles up here though because it is a larger space. When you get too much of this type of tile it always tends to convey a bit of the feel of a subway station or a public restroom. I was the only customer so probably when it gets crowded the ambience changes a bit.

In the back the walls were covered with nice dark mauve or light purple, take your pick, wall paper with white geometric shaped flowers with black leaves. The ceiling was lemon yellow with a pale green overhang separated from the top by a band of orange. In the back the ceiling looked like a pale green as well with large recessed circles of orange. The chairs in the back were plush white and surrounded the small tables. There was enough floor space to suggest dancing later on. I think they were setting up for a private party.

I had another Patron Margarita, up with a salted rim, and then headed on home.

A pleasant enough day, a nice stroll, three bars hit making 925 for the year and leaving but 75 to go.

Why, Oh Why!!!

Why, when people write reviews of bars or bar guides, don't they include the hours of operation. Now I know that I don't do this either, but then I am not really writing either a review or a guide. You can't imagine how frustrating it is to be heading out at around noon and not know if a bar that you have your eye on is going to be open or doesn't open until later in the day.

Game Day

No bars today but one hell of a party. It has become a tradition that the last home Jets game before Thanksgiving our tailgate group has a Thanksgiving themed affair. This year was no exception.

Bob cooked the bird, Bernie brought the Wild Turkey and Apple Cider and collard greents, Loretta cooked all kinds of stuff, and Bar Man brought candied yams with rum soaked raisons.

Bernie, Bar Man, Bob, and Loretta With The Bird


Bob Carving The Bird


Bar Man Gets His Reward


Our Youngest Fan


Youngest Fan's Father, James


By the way, congratulations to James, the baseball team that he coaches and that his other son, Jordan, plays on won the Championship of the Dumont, New Jersey Baseball League in the 9 and Under Division. He also brought sausages and peppers for after the game.

The Mysterious Chinese Woman Is A Fan (And Made The Corn Pudding)


Ronnie bought the bourbon and marinated chicken breasts for the after the game party.

Ronnie And Bar Man


Another Young Fan, Harrison, And Bar Man


I can't remember what everyone else brought but the elder Steve's wife made delicious apple pie using apples grown in their back yard and Brian's wife made sausage bread. The sausage bread was also delicious, I don't know how she got it so crusty and crisp.

The Elder Steve (Center), Younger Steve Is To His Left and Brian Is On The Right.


Bar Man Putting On His Game Face (And Attire)


Yes, There Was A Game


Celebrating A Score


Well, we lost the game and it was a heartbreaking loss. Less than two minutes to play and the Jets had the ball 1st and Three on the Charger's goal line. But could we get it in, NOOO!!! Oh well, it was a lovely day with great company and fantastic food.

Australia Angst And Anger Part Deux

Well, all I can say is that there is something a bit off with Mr. Beckett Tucker. After sending him my email stating that I was no longer interested in coming to his bar in Sydney and expressing my disappointment in him I got the following two emails on Monday, October 31st. The second one, apparently, was because some of you actually took the time to contact him to let him know how you felt about things.

Dan,

Give me this week please I am meeting with alcohol companies tomorrow (Hieneken, Absolut and StArnou) to finalise a sponsorship plan with them to help fund it. I have a hotel sorted out and everything is looking good. I have had problem accessing emails recently and have been going crazy trying to organize everything, we still want everything to go ahead. There are still two months to go and I have the tickets held by a friend of mine at a travel agency. I will call you tommorrow when I find out the story.

Kind Regards

Beckett

and

Hi Dan,

I have been recieving some pretty hateful emails like the one I have attached, if I do in fact manage to sort this out I hope you make it clear that I never actually meant not to reply to your emails or do you wrong. I found this email below embarrassing for the person who wrote it.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

Kind Regards,

Beckett Tucker

Now forget the contents of the email that he felt was so hateful, note a few other things, aside from the obvious ones, that he never did call me and I have yet to receive any kind of follow-up email:

First, he says that my airline tickets are being held by a friend of his and he has the hotel sorted out. I don't understand how this could be because I have never been able to get in touch with him to finalize travel dates. This despite the fact that I would need advance notice as to when I would leave and I would want to schedule the dates for my return from Sydney so that I would have time to see a bit of the city. This is from an email that I sent to him addressing these issues:

"I will be leaving for Spain tomorrow and will be gone for a couple of weeks. Perhaps we can work towards finalizing some travel arrangement when I get back. I would like to stay in Sydney for awhile after the first of the year but I will, of course, pick up the expenses for that part of the visit. Deciding on the date to leave for Sydney and the date of my return is something that I would like to do fairly soon though so I can start to make arrangements at this end."

Now how do you hold tickets when you haven't finalized the dates of travel and don't even have my wife's name.

Then, second, if you read between the lines, despite having said seveal months ago that this was a "done deal," he now says:

"...if I do in fact manage to sort this out I hope you make it clear that I never actually meant not to reply to your emails or do you wrong."

If I do in fact manage to sort this out?

Also, he says "I have had problem accessing emails recently..." Recently? I have been sending him emails for a couple of months trying to get more information about what was going on.

I might be willing to give Beckett a nod on not being malicious, but it certainly seems as though he bit off a lot more than he could chew and just could not pull this off. And again, why would you tell someone you have the tickets already and have sorted out the hotel arrangements and will call the next day with the details and then not call or send an email. I totally do not understand this guy.

Two people with whom I have exchanged emails have actually visited the Vanilla Room to try to talk to Mr. Tucker in person and have not been able to find him.

Anyway, once again I will give you his email address if you want to let him know how you feel about this. For my part I want nothing more to do with him.

Beckett Tucker

If you do drop Mr. Tucker a line, do keep it on the civil side please. I don't think there is anything to be gained by being rude and obnoxious just because someone else is inconsiderate.

OOF!!!

Boys and Girls, let this be a lesson, you are never too old to learn from your mistakes, unless, of course, you are the Bar Man who never seems to learn from his. First off, when meeting people from out of town at a bar you have already hit, do not start out by having “a few beers” just to warm up. Then, well, for yourself.

921) Orange Valve



Well, the name was appropriate, because there was an orange valve handle on the door, but other than that nothing was quite as it seemed. It is on the Bowery and certainly looked like it should have been just another dive. Instead it was like walking into a bar in Tokyo. Other than the crew that I stumbled in with there were no other round-eyes in the place. Now, granted, my eyes weren’t exactly round at this point either. The semi-large screen at the end of the bar was tuned to a Japanese station showing some kind of fight to the death no holds barred ultimate fighting match. Makes professional wrestling look like hop-scotch. Between the rounds they switched to what looked like a match between two gamers playing Mortal Combat. The guy at the end of the bar playing some kind of a quick reflex video game of his own, and who ended up behind the bar, gave us the low-down on the screen action. It turns out this was some kind of a championship match and they were down to the final eight or something. The skinny guy who ended up winning went in as a heavy underdog and his entire training regime concentrated on throwing a two-inch punch, something that he seemed to do with devastating effect.

Anyway, there was a karaoke bar downstairs and periodically, like ants, a bunch of people would emerge, order drinks, and then head back down. I didn’t even want to pop my head in for a look. When I was a child I once saw a bunch of ants drag a caterpillar down into and ant hole and I had the horrifying image that this too could be my fate.

Well, as followers of this blog well know, I have a certain, shall we say, taste for sake so that is what I had. Not a shot, well, yes, a shot, but that was just on the side, you understand, but a glass. It seems like the crew I was with, Mike, Gary, Jose, and Sean, had a tradition of calling in a shot to a pal in San Diego (yes, they are chargers fans and I will probably run into them at the game tomorrow). So there is where the shot came in.

Bar Man And The Crew


Anyway, all I can tell you is that the bar had a white top and the place was, basically, orange. If you like sake, or even if you don’t, and you find yourself on the Bowery looking for something a bit different, do drop in.

Sake, sake, and more sake.

922) Great Jones Café



Well, the name is appropriate, it is on Great Jones Street, a short street that spans the distance between Bowery and Lafayette. It is a Cajun place, just a hole in the wall really, but has great food and dynamite Cajun martinis made with vodka they steep in their own peppers. Can’t really tell you much about this place because I was buzzed when I went in and more buzzed when I left. There are 45’s on the wall and, well, and…damned if I can remember. Suffice it to say that I had a few of the martinis and washed away the heat with a beer. The picture pretty much sums up how I was viewing things at the time.

To my credit I did walk with my new buddies to Nevada Smith’s where the were going to watch some kind of a sporting event and then I managed to weave my way to Cappucine’s where I met friends and they ever patient and oh so understanding Mysterious Chinese Woman (do you forgive me now) for dinner. Tomorrow is an all day tailgate party and Jets game. Woot, I can hardly wait. Can't count it as a bar but if I get pictures I will post them anyway.

Hell's Kitchen And Chelsea

I visited the dentist early this morning and his office is up on 40th near Grand Central. It was an early morning appointment (my teeth and gums are in excellent shape) and nothing in the neighborhood was open so I decided to go for a walk. It was a beautiful morning, crisp and sunny. Well, walk I did, all the way over to 10th Avenue and down towards Chelsea.

918) O’Farrell’s Pub



This is a good morning Irish Bar (well, it was open) on the corner of 33rd and 10th Avenue. The standard wooden bar with a black wood foot rest and light wood bar chairs with dark green plastic seats. Two round brass beer stations sit on the bar, each with five spigots. An old wood bar back with little cupboards that have stained glass windows and three glass mirrors with etchings of a seaside village and the bar’s name. The mirrors are largely covered with pictures, shiny black plastic squares upon which the bar specials are listed in fluorescent colors, a couple of football boards, and a drumhead with a Gallic design and O’Farrell’s Pub on it. Someone must be into origami though because there is a bunch of little paper birds and insects hanging on the center mirror. A clutter of liquor bottles sit on the tiered shelves in front of the mirrors and there are gray metal coolers with glasses sitting on top of them down below. Lightw with stained glass shades hang from the ceiling just behind the bar.

Opposite the bar is wood paneling with a ledge for drinks at the top and bar stools in front. Above the ledge are opaque glass panels. With various designs; a running horse, a harp and shamrocks, an eagle, and some kind of a crest with two flags. There is a narrow strip of dark patterned tin on the ceiling surrounded by wide, and thick, wood paneling. There is a dining area in the rear.

It is getting close to noon and the regulars are drifting in for lunch. Everyone seems to know everyone else in here. Some local lad is fighting somewhere tonight and it seems like most of the bar is planning on being there. I am guessing the fighter is John Duddy because I know he is fighting at the Hammerstein Ballroom here tonight and he is a big favorite of the Irish. He is also 12 and 0 with 11 knockouts under his belt. Sounds like it should be a fun night.

I had a Dewar’s and soda for an eye-opener, and quite an eye-opener it was. They pour with the proverbial heavy hand here. My kind of place.

919) Bottino



Heading down 10th Avenue I stopped into this place between 25th and 24th. It is a newer place that is following the art galleries that are moving into Chelsea. I guess they were just opening for the day because although there were a lot of people scurrying around there wasn’t anyone behind the bar and, it seemed, nobody seemed interested in going back there. People were drifting in for lunch and the hostess would seat them but didn’t seem able to find a bartender despite my asking here twice. After about ten minutes I finally managed to attract the attention of a waitress who took my order for a glass of Sangiovese di Romagna Poderi dal Nespoli 2003. Now, when you order a $9 glass of wine you should be shown the bottle, given a taste, and then, if it is acceptable, have a glass poured for you. Not here. About two minutes later the waitress appeared with a glass of wine that was already poured. I can only assume that it was what I ordered but have no way of knowing. And it wasn’t all that good either. Probably left over from the night before. I will not be coming back here because for a place trying to appear classy it doesn’t appear to have much class. If this place stays in business I will not only be surprised, I will be appalled.

There is a narrow wooden bar with a foot rail that is flat silver metal. The silver barstools have narrow metal legs and small round seats. The bar back has a plain mirror with a tiered shelf for liquor sitting atop a black cooler with a white top. There is also a set of dark wood shelves with wine bottles, glasses, a bit more liquor, and three shelves of cans of soda and a few bottles of tonic and soda.

The wall opposite the bar is lined with padded dark salmon sofa like seating with round tables and chairs in front. Above that the whole wall is lined with shelves of wine bottles. There is a dining area in the back, but believe me, I will never see it as a customer.

I had my glass of red wine and headed out, never to return.

920) Tia Pol



Down 10th Avenue a bit at 205 between 22nd and 23rd is this real hole in the wall. It is maybe 15 feet wide and has no sign out front, but it is a real tapas bar. The place was really crowded and I broke down and ordered the deviled eggs. They were delicious, and Bar Man knows his deviled eggs. The small bar has a white marble top and a distressed metal front with a black metal strip for a foot rest. The bar stools are metal with square brown seats that spin. Whee!! The only problem the place was too small to do it. Three hooked metal silver metal beer spigots sit on top of the bar and there is a round frosted glass vase holding sprigs of branches with rose colored leaves and berries. The bar back is kind of a plain bookcase looking thing with bottles of wine and glasses instead of books. The top two shelves have narrow compartments for wine. A blackboard in the center section lists their daily specials Plain, unadorned lightbulbs hang above the bar from the deep salmon painted ceiling.

The wall opposite the bar is brick and has a couple of beat-up silver painted metal doors on it. One is like a fire door and it is slid open to reveal a narrow nook with a table. There is one other table in the back that seats six. Other than those two tables the only seating, other than at the bar, is a narrow ledge against the wall with stools in front. The doors in front were open to the street and it was really nice on this pleasant day. Very reminiscent of Spain.

Now here, when I ordered a glass of wine that Meryl, the bartender, recommended she showed me the bottle, let me taste it, and only after I said I liked it did she pour me a glass.

Meryl, A Bartender Who Knows How It Is Done


This is the way it should be done. If you are in the neighborhood do yourself a favor and stop in here. There was a reason that this place was packed and it wasn’t just because it was small.

I had a glass of the aforementioned wine and headed on home.

Another three bars today bringing the total for the year to 920 and leaving just 80 to go. Someone who reads my blog is coming into New York tomorrow and I am meeting him and some of his friends for a drink. I will be meeting him at Swift's at 3:00 P.M. I have already had a drink there so I won't be able to count it, but I am sure we will find someplace close that I haven't been to before.

A Dark, Guinness Dark, Day

I took the subway to Grand Central again today but decided to walk over to 2nd Avenue to see what I could see.

915) Manchester Pub



A bit of a hole-in-the-wall Irish pub at 920 2nd Avenue (between 48th and 49th Streets) that is a pleasant enough place to drop into for a pint. There is a decent sized wooden bar with a shiny varnished surface and metal beer signs mounted on the front. A silver foot rail and plain wooden chairs. There is a raised arm rest on the front ledge of the bar (where else would it be) that makes it necessary to use little wooden platforms to set your plates on if you are eating at the bar. A large inverted U shaped silver beer station on the bar has about a dozen spigots.

The bar back is pretty much all mirrors with glass shelves in front of them holding the liquor. A wood shelf underneath holds the glasses and there are metal coolers underneath that. A cricket bat with Double Diamond (a beer) printed on it hangs in front of the mirrors. Bare orange bulbs hang over the bar but they are directed more towards the bar back.

There are four televisions in here including a good-sized flat screen one mounted behind the bar by the windows up front. The ceiling looks like inverted gray egg cartons for very small eggs under dark wooden slats. There are three octagonal tables with chairs opposite the bar. There are also narrow bench-like tables up a step and against the far brick wall. Nothing too fancy in here, just a good functional place to have a drink.

I had a pint of Guinness.

916) Smorgas Chef



A Swedish restaurant with a Polish bartender just across 49th from Manchester Pub. They didn’t have lefse or lutefisk on the menu, but they did have Swedish meatballs with lingonberries though. It has a nice little bar with a shiny wooden top, and a brown cement foot rest. Just room enough for half a dozen dark, well worn wood bar chairs. A bar back that featured an espresso machine, a breakfront with a mirror and a shelf for bottles near the top and a tiered shelf below. The beer station, a gunmetal gray tubular device, has only one spigot for Carlsburg. The beer glasses surrounding it have gold rims and sport the Carlsburg name. A silver metal modern art kind of a light at one end of the bar looked a bit like five metal eyeballs on a stalk. At the other end of the bar was an empty vase holding a collection of dried twigs. A tubular brass rack for glasses hangs over the bar. There is a large mirror at the left end of the bar that makes it appear so much longer (not).

The rest of the space is filled with little square tables with white and gray marble-like tops. The wall opposite the bar is brick but largely covered with a mirror. There are maroon booth-like seats against it with tables and chairs in front. The lights that hang from the ceiling are made out of small blue bottles mounted in clusters. The yellow flowers on the tables also sit in the same type of blue bottles. The restaurant is on a corner and there are tables and chairs on the sidewalk outside.

I had a glass of E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone, an excellent red wine.

917) The Press Box



A good-sized Irish bar that veers a bit towards the fancy side at 932 2nd Avenue. It has a nice polished wooden bar with a brass rail. The bar chairs are wood with kind of brocade patterned cloth seats. The bar back is a fancy wood affair with columns, glass shelves, cabinets with glass panes. It really is pretty nice. Coolers with flat-black metal doors and round silver handles are down below. Two U shaped brass beer stations on the bar have ten spigots each. Lights with flat bottomed pot shaped shades of pale tan and brown veined marble hang over the bar. There are brick walls and a wooden floor. Lots of photos of historic events and framed newspaper clippings hang on the wall (Press Box, get it), along with wood framed mirrors. There are a lot of little tables with chairs and stools and small lit candles sit on all of the tables. A large dining area is in the back and stairs in the front lead up to what I presume is another dining area.

I had a pint of Guinness and headed on home.

Another nice day with three bars hit making 917 for the year and leaving 83 to go.

Going For Class

I was feeling a bit lazy today so I just took the subway to Grand Central Station and hit a couple of bars close by on 42nd. The closest one were both classier than my usual fare so it made for a change of pace.

913) Manhattan Sky



Kind of tucked away in the center of the Manhattan Sky restaurant on the mezzanine level of the Grand Hyatt is this more secluded than usual hotel bar. It has a wavy bar with a thick greenish brown marble top and a pea-soup green front and a thick silver foot rail. The black bar chairs have pale yellow seats and basket weave backs. Two silver T shaped beer stations sit on top of the bar and they each have four spigots. Little silver lidded bowls of snacks including wasabi dried peas sit on the bar as well. Bar Man loves these dried peas.

I asked the bartender if I could take a picture of the bar and he misunderstood and insisted on taking a picture of me instead.



A shelf of marble that matches the bar sits behind it on top of coolers with metal doors. Above the shelf, in the center, is a fairly small television surrounded by an inordinately large wooden frame. Large ripple glass panels with red and yellow panels on the sides and bottom are on either side of the television. Glass shelves in front of these panels hold the liquor and glasses. Orange beehive shaped lights hang over the bar and small spotlights suspended on two wires illuminate the glass panels with the shelving.

A View From The Opposite Side Of The Rippled Glass Panels


Opposite the bar are large floor to ceiling arched windows that let you look out upon the street below. A couple of tables and chairs sit next to the windows. They are separated from the bar by a curved divider with a marble top and a wavy-topped glass panel on top of that. Somehow I thought there should be a piano on the other side. There are two large shiny round columns with white drapes on either side of the bar area and these serve to separate it from the dining areas on either side.

I had a draft Brooklyn Lager served in a tall glass.

914) The Capital Grille



Just across the street on 42nd is another very elegant place with prices to match. Well, they weren’t too high, just strange. My Maker’s Mark Manhattan was $11.28 and when you added in the 94 cent tax it came to a grand total of $12.22. I guess the concept of rounding escapes them.

The bar here is also marble topped, but this time the marble is black with silver flecks. The front is black wood paneling and there is a thick silver foot rail. The wooden bar chairs have plush dessert rose seats and backs. Table lamps with black shades and twisted gold brass bases sit on the bar along with a large glass container with neatly sliced pineapple covered with vodka and a spigot on the bottom. The lady next to me was eating a pasta dish and commented on how good it was but she couldn’t have it with shrimp. I asked her if she was allergic and she said no, she was Jewish so she couldn’t eat shellfish. She wasn’t too happy when I said they probably just removed the shrimp before serving the pasta to her but it most likely was cooked with them. Bar Man was just trying to be helpful.

The bar back is dark wood with large columns at each end and a mirror in the center. The mirror is flanked with glass metal shelves holding liquor and glasses. Down below are cupboards, coolers, and drawers; all dark wood. Above them is a marble top that matches the bar and is covered with more bottles.

For some reason there are several deer heads mounted on the wall and a lot of old portraits. I didn’t recognize too many of them; Eleanor Roosevelt and, I think, Fiorella LaGuardia were a couple I did know. The overhead lights are orangey tan inverted pyramid stained glass ranging in size from very large to just simply large. A dark wood partition with a wavy glass panel on top separates the bar from the seating for dining. There is a large cabinet of wine with wire mesh doors sits against the wall next to the door and opposite the bar. There is a row of clocks showing the times in major cities around the world sits above an archway in front of the open kitchen. There are a couple of televisions viewable from the bar and a news ticker that you have to crane your neck to view.

A lot of people from NBC must eat here, and several of them talk loud enough to make sure you know. They included the woman sitting next to me who made sure everyone knew she was the first female Executive Vice President in whatever division she worked in but had to threaten to resign to get the position, that she came from Michigan, and oh, so much more.

I had a Maker’s Mark Manhattan and did my best to avoid eye contact with anyone but the bartender.

Up Above Times Square

I took the subway to Times Square and worked my way through the crowd for several blocks up to 54th and 7th Avenue where I had a place in mind.

910) The Irish Pub



A classic old Irish pub, did the name give it away? An old faded wood bar with a metal ridged black tile foot rest. The bar chairs are old dark wood with black cushions. The walls are all paneled in wood that matches the bar. The bar back, also matching wood, has large mirrors separated by square columns. The mirrors are etched in gold with the names of beers; Guinness and Bass. Tiered shelves of liquor bottles sit in front of the mirrors. Cupboards and coolers with wood doors sit down below. Above the mirrors is a very faded mural of an English fox hunting scene.

There is a narrow ledge on the wall opposite the bar but no place to stand and put you drink because small round tables and chairs are pushed up against it. Just kind of generic sports pictures on the wall, one of Cassius Clay glowering over a fallen Sonny Liston, one of Chris Everet, you have seen them all before, and the obligatory map of Ireland. Overhead fans with tan lights hang from the white tiled ceiling. The floor is nicely patterned dark tan tiles.

A pretty generic place that serves up a great pint of Guinness. I got to sit and watch the World Series of Poker that was on two of the three televisions. Soccer was on the other one and I gather that this is a serious soccer bar.

I had a pint of Guinness.

911) Oldcastle



Right around the corner is this larger and better lit Irish pub with more of a crowd. A newer looking wooden bar with a brass rail. A good sized inverted elongated U shaped beer station with a dozen spigots serve up a decent selection of beers. The wooden bar chairs have plush peach colored seats. A similar looking bar back to the last place but with only two sections with mirrors. The sections on each end have good-sized televisions. There are tiered shelves in front of the mirrors and a glass shelf above them holding their top-shelf stuff. Narrow sections at each end have a shelf for a few bottles and wooden wine racks above. There are shelves for glasses down below and metal ice chests keeping the bottled beers cold. Inverted helmet shaped stained glass sights above the bar have pink and green rose and rose bud patterns.

There is a fairly long entryway and to the side of that are booths in a narrow area. Opposite the bar are elevated wood booths with peach cushions that match the bar chairs. The backs to the booths are gray fabric. Highly polished wood tables sit in front of the booths and “bar chairs” sit in front of the tables. There is a good-sized back room with booths on each side. The walls are deep rose with framed paintings of various landscapes.

I had a pint of Guinness.

912) Faces and Names



Right across the street is this bar with orange wash walls that are covered with paintings of, you guessed it, faces of famous people. Some are easy to identify, the Rolling Stones and the rat pack, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. Others are a bit harder to identify though. I did peg Christopher Walken, but misidentified Tom Waits, I guessed Shane MacGowan, formerly of the Pogues, and thought Willem Dafoe was Lou Reed. Either I am bad or the artist is.

The bar is well worn dark wood with a brass rail and is in a square with a set of shelves in the center holding the liquor. There are round brass beer stations on two opposite sides of the bar and they each have six spigots. The only problem with square bars is that you get to see the what is under them and usually hidden from view, the sink, rags, condiments, the cheap well liquor, stuff like that. There are also coolers with metal doors with a red mat on top where the glasses sit. Brass racks of glasses hang from the ceiling and small blue lights hang above the bar.

You have to walk up several steps from the sidewalk to enter, but then you can at the ledge in front of the windows and look down at the busy street below. In a back corner is a curved brown sectional with tables and chairs in front of it. There is also a back room behind a doorway black drapes but I didn’t peek in to see what was there.

I had another pint of Guinness and headed on home.

A pleasant little jaunt, once you got through the crowds. I hit three bars making 912 for the year and leaving 88 to go.