Day Seventeen—Tuesday, January 26th—Peter McManus Cafe (Original Destination: Maru)
Today’s donation comes in the form of good, sweet cash. My co-worker and manager, Decker Decker (that’s right, just like New York he’s so nice they named him twice!) doesn’t need to bother with no stinking PayPal, here he is forking over a twenty dollar bill to help fund the festivities. Thank you Decker, once again it’s highly appreciated as this crawl is not cheap!
Decker Decker and tonight's twenty! Thanks Decker!
I had such a good time at Red Bar I thought I’d try another bar in Koreatown. A patron of Red Bar told me that a bar/club called Maru was one of the best in the area. So what are we waiting for? Booze and good times await us, so off we go. Whoosh!
And here we are, Maru bar. Their website promised a restaurant, private karaoke rooms and two seperate bars on the third and fourth floors. It sounded too good to be true and it was. I got there and was told by the guy at the door that there was only one bar on the fourth floor. I took the elevator up and entered a cheesy little lounge bar. I took a seat at the bar and was ingored by the bartender and given dirty looks by the waitresses for over ten minutes. After waving at the fucking bartender and having him walk the other way I decided to bolt this dump. Don't believe the fake reviews you read about this place, online (they probably write them themselves) it sucks monkey lungs on toast. Fuck this shitty little cheezoid dump of a shitty shithole.
So I walked over to 7th Avenue and wandered down to 23rd Street and came upon the Chelsea Hotel. I had been in the basement bar here once and had a good time. Sadly the bar was closed tonight. Motherfucker!
So I found this little wine bar on 7th.
But it was closed too. Motherfucker, motherfucker!
Here's Bar Baresco...
Which is also closed. Okay, my mood is officially in the fucking toilet at this time. I almost felt like going home and starting this bar crawl all over again.
But on my way home I saw this bar and restaurant. Light at the end of the tunnel!
But it's not only closed, it's out of fucking business! Motherfucker, motherfucker, motherfucker!
Just as I was ready to throw in the towel, I found a beacon of hope. A bar with actual lights on! The Peter McManus Cafe!
Wow, the joint is packed!
Luckily I got a seat the last seat at the bar and was happily served up a beer by bartender Justin.
I took a swig and tried to erase the memories of tonight's somewhat failed bar crawl.
I couldn't believe how crowded it was in there for a Tuesday! The bad vibe of Maru stuck with me and I just wasn't in the mood to talk to people. I was still pissed off at how they ignored me in there. Peter McManus is a great bar, but I just couldn't shake this shitty mood I was in.
Even seeing the trifecta of condiments, an aquarium and potato chips didn't cheer me up.
Here's a grumpy self-portrait after five bottles of Budweiser.
Even this painting of Saddam Hussein playing bagpipes couldn't cheer me up. Fuck it, it's time for...
The bathroom break!
Not quite as clean as the other toilets on the crawl so far, but not that bad either. It beats the hell out of being ignored and given dirty looks at the fucking Maru bar! Fuck, I have to quit obsessing over that place!
Hey how'd that get there? Goodnight everybody and FUCK MARU BAR!
Review
Peter McManus is the oldest family-run bar in the city. It’s total old school New York corner bar tavern. It’s a no frills joint. You come here to drink, play the well-stocked jukebox and hang out with locals and regulars and maybe have a burger and a bowl of chili. You can knock back a pint or two in the front room or share a table or booth in the back room of the tavern.
In addition to the full bar featuring their own McManus Ale there’s a full menu to be had at this historic New York tavern including five varieties of burgers, grilled specialties and nine deli sandwiches. A couple of TV’s, video games and friendly bartenders round out this historic New York neighborhood joint. Sadly I just wasn't in the mood to enjoy it tonight. That fucking Maru bar!
Peter McManus Cafe
152 7th Ave (At 19th St.)
(212) 929-9691