Wednesday, October 13th, 2010—Bar 276
Day 276—Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
Toad Hall
Okay, day two of working the day and night shift and so far (I’m jinxing the shit out of myself) it hasn’t been that bad. I found what looks to be a very promising bar for tonight. It’s a place in Soho called Toad Hall and I’ve read nothing but good reviews about it. One review even said there were Jesus action figures at the bar to play with. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Water into wine, baby! Pick up your mat and let’s go.
Here we are, Toad Hall, let's check it out.
Nice and dark inside and some seats at the bar. Perfect!
And Barry the friendly bartender is quick with an ice-cold bottle of Red Stripe. I like it in here already.
Behind the bar is a long line of bottles and mirrors.
And above the bar hangs this painting. It makes you want to add an extra "s" to masterpiece.
Ha ha ha! Here you go, Tim Clack, I found my whine bar at last!
This fellow up at the front of the bar appears to be stoned.
There's a candlelit table up front by the window.
And there's tables off to the side of the bar, where I found this group who dub themselves, "The Tuesday Night Toad Group."
There's a jukebox in the back with such varied selections as: Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner Revue, John Hiatt, Dusty Springfield and Luther Allison. And now to name drop, I knew Luther Allsion, in fact, I was his wife's next door neighbor in Peoria. I'll have to write about that sometime.
The back room houses this pool table.
Red leather banquettes and tables line the perimeter of the walls in the back room.
There's also stools at this side wall as you enter the back room.
Meanwhile, back at the bar, Barry's taking care of business.
Ainslee, Matt and Marissa were seated next to me at the end of the bar and were very supportive of the 365 bar crawl idea.
Toads and bottles of beer above the bar.
And while looking up, what do I see but the Action Jesus I had read about!
So naturally I had to have a picture with Him.
So here's to you, Action Jesus, enjoy some beer and forget all about the fact that all those people you helped nailed you to a cross and left you to die. Cheers to Action Jesus!
Number 57? This is number 276, oh well, what are you going to do? Goodnight, everybody!
Review
Okay, I overslept (this may happen quite a bit in the two weeks) and I’m running late for work, so I don’t have time to write a review for Toad Hall. I give it a thumbs up and it’s a great place and here’s New York magazine’s review of the place. It’s one of their critics picks.
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In the tradition of its fictional namesake English manor, Toad Hall manages to be capacious but cozy all at once. Exposed brick walls and dark-wood fixtures help, as do the mismatched mirrors strategically hung above eye level, which make the space seem bigger without forcing you to confront your drunken reflection at every turn. Or perhaps it's just the motto posted on the register: Be nice or leave. Patrons seem to take it to heart, and a mixture of youthful pub-crawlers and older stool-warmers can be seen enjoying themselves very nicely indeed, any night of the week. Add a well-kept pool table (every other Monday is league night), a pleasantly varied wine list and a range of good beers (at low prices for the neighborhood), and you've got a charming bar that beckons on a chilly winter evening—anytime you want to step off the Soho street and into a warm, well-lighted place. — Jessica Stockton
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Toad Hall
57 Grand St. (near West Broadway)
212-431-8145
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Bonus Photo!
David Brooks has been threatening to send in a photo wearing his “Down Under” 365 shirt that “Boris” specifically made for our Aussie mates. And he finally made good on his threat, check out Brooksy below! Thanks for buying the shirt, Brooksy! If you’d like your own official 365 shirt, beer cozy, beer mug, mouse pad, coaster and other items all designed by our in-house artist, “Boris,” feel free to stop by the 365 Store. And remember that “Boris” is available for freelance work if you need a logo, a CD or book cover designed or some special artwork for your website or blog. Just send me an email and I’ll forward it to “Boris.”
And speaking of Luther Allison, here he is. R.I.P. Luther.
2 References
Reader Comments (25)
Another excellent bar, really like the darkness and the small round bulbs,,,,also I only see one TV, that makes it even better. Good stop on the crawl. Oh,,,,,a toast,,,,TO THE MINERS.
Jesus action figures ROCK. I like to pretend he bangs Malibu Barbie on regular basis. It pisses Ken off.
To the Miners! And fuck Ken!
I like the stone guy up front .
Jesus action figure ROCKS , yes he fucks Barbie , but only is the ass , since Ken is Gay .
Nice dark shots !!!
I like when people you photograph do gang symbols .
PS : I really don't want to go to work , but I need to work on my pinhole camera I am working on & I don't have a cutting table like at work , so I guess I won't call in sick , but really wanted too .
Holy crap! We have that exact Jesus on wheels at home.
Fun for the whole family.
I have the Jesus in my office
I used to have him in Beaker's lab hanging with my Mr Pink doll...
I also have Moses with Freddy Krueger.
And i have many many others...
and in a little car on the bottom shelf is my Mr Toad and his wild ride car:)
I play with all of them.
I love this Toad Hall!!!!
but to be honest.. I barfed on Mr Toads wild ride at disneyland....
Well, the fact that their jukebox has John Hiatt is enough reason for me to go! But the rest of the bar is stellar as well. From the wooden bar to the whine list to the cheeky paintings and stoned dudes (HA HA HA! You still gots it, Marty!), everything rocks. And I like their name as well. The only problem is, I don't have any Mats to pick up around here. Is it okay if I bring a Dave instead?
Oh, and Brooksie, nice pic!
Jesus action figures...boy oh boy I can't wait to see what Zioum Zioum's gonna say when SHE chimes in! Whoever did that painting must be a card carrying ass man...does the Toad Hall manager know where I can get a print?!?! Oh, and speaking of Barry...Fitzy my man, I'm really glad to hear YOUR Barry is back in the pink, perhaps he'll be growling away and chewing on thumbs in no time like the old Barry we've all come to know and love thanks to your posts! It's springtime in Australia now, that's probably got something to due with it, Barry's all full of piss and hormones and raring to go! Don't forget to wear your steel reinforced gloves, dude!
@Fat Al and everyone: I was pissed there wasn't holes in the hands of Action Jesus. A bit of a gyp.
@Gidget: I rode the Disneyland Toad ride on acid with a friend of mine who was freaking out. A total blast.
@Biff: " Is it okay if I bring a Dave instead?" Ha ha ha! YOU still gots it Bifferoonie. Okay, back to work and today work really fucking sucks, just to let you all know.
@365: Nice Whine Bar!! Badaboom!!
Was that a toad in a Browns helmet next to Jesus?? Jesus was stoned too!
@Brooksy: Good to see your mug on the big screen. Boris didn't invert the beer logo like it is on my downunder shirt.
@Fitzy: Thats kick arse news about Old Bazza. It would be a sad day on the crawl if Bazza knocked off early. Tell him to roll me up a gum leaf. As for the new stud on the block....I say let him go for it. He's just trying to fix the endangered species problem. As for the Koala postmortem, thats interesting stuff agreed but shows that people in their cars still aren't paying attention on the roads. The other day there was a bloke down this way that thought he hit a kangaroo...he drove on unconcerned. Turned out he hit a 23 year old man that died at the scene. He turned himself in the next day and was arrested on D.U.I and on a hit and run. He'll do some time over that. Silly fucker.
@marty...yep Ken can get fuked, he's a closet poof!.....& did Barry the barman have an attitude problem? the Barry i know would have thrown the Red Stripe at you!!!!!
@Brooksie...you buff beer muncher you!!! haha!...nice shirt!
@Jaws...yeah mate its most definately spring here mate....the grounds were mown at work yesterday.....i walked the perimeter outside & around the yards & counted no less than 60 odd little holes bout the size of a 20c pieces (or quarters in USD) in the ground with the entrances of the holes coated with a silky sticky web....know what i'm talking about??? yep its funnel web spider season!!!! & say for 60 holes, this would equate to at least 30 odd funnel web spiders as for each one hole they have a 2nd hole as part of their escape tunnel......
funny, i have the bestest boss going...yesterday she says to me in the smoko room "Dave, you used to be in sales... take care of the tour group that just showed up will you...see if you can get them to donated $2 bucks each but dont push the issue will you mate"...she says this with a smartarse grin on her face, me thinking its a tour bus of pensioners...well i walk out & here is ten super hot backpacker chicks from the Netherlands....yep i was in heaven!!!!!.....i took them around, gave them the all the info, introduced them to Barry, Matty & the crew.... they were amazed & basically in awe around the koalas (hard not to be)....then at the end i asked the group if they were doing much camping, which they said there were....well i them proceeded to show them a few of the funnel web spider holes & advised them if they are pitching their tents it would be wise to move away from these sort of holes...you've never seen 10 chicks with such shit scared looks on their faces!!! the poor littl' buggers.....but they were most grateful, & without asking they each kicked the tin for $5 bucks each in the donation box...WIN! WIN!
Been a long time since I've gotten my face on the 365 bar crawl.
Apologies for my dickhead mate who photobombed me at the last minute - thanks Johnny!
@clacky...funny we relocated the stud that broke in, & i hear ya on letting him do his business....but the yard he was in was where we bring "Birthday Girl" out from the ICU each day to get some sun...."Birthday Girl" is like the oldest koala on record in Australia going on 25 yrs of age...& if she was to get up tha duff the pregnancy would kill her....
we had a silly yankee chick start doing some volunteer work with us yesterday while she is here on hols...the boss asked me to bring Birthday Girl back into the ICU at the end of the day....well this yank says she'll give me a hand....no worries...i gets in Birthday Girls Yard, goes to pick up her basket, i look around & here is the yank trying to pick her up....Birthday Girl starts going of her tits, hanging on for dear life....i step in & try to tell the yank not to move while BG has a good purchase on the women with 3 out of four claws....so guess who BG decides to bite!!!!...yep me!!!....luckily being so old Birthday Girl's teeth are pretty well worn down (thats how we tell the age of the koalas, by how worn their teeth are) & it was like getting bitten by a pensioner who doesnt have their dentures in....phew!
& when are you fucking off to the states clacky??? must'nt be long now ya lucky bastard!!!
damn after fitsy's thing ....don,t have any idea to start my "whine"...w/o cheese...damn even though it has no tin ceiling...appears all right w/me...toad hall...thought it would be an intro to a newly discovered orwell piece...amphibians now and forever...or sumthing...nice to see barry seems to be on track...to david b nice photo...boris should be proud...to boris...to david...ya know...i could go on an' on...way off topic...once i saw that plastic jesus...only Billy Sol Hargus came to mind and then "me and jesus"....gidget might be able to full us in on that...way off topic...to this stop...i'll raise one...toad hall...KOC
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whoa...damn...365...This is why I hate people and why I never had children....afterthought....thought it was only certain people slow walkers....fat asses...i heart ny t-shirts....damn all people includes me...what the fuck?...have we lost our way?...KOC
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@ Fitzy; there was a show on PBS about funnel web spiders a few years back, an infestation was discovered in a suburban neighborhood. The Aussie cops went purely nuts and chased everybody out of the neighborhood and strung up yellow tape all over the place. Those cops weren't fucking around...they took the infestation VERY seriously. It's because of that show that I became facinated by the little monsters. I'd never heard of them before then. Longest fangs of any spider in the world- Guiness book of world records!
jaws you dawg....no bonus pictorial?...you be slacking off...KOC
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Toad Hall seemed cool enough for me. But Im a sucker for any bar with a good jukebox.
@Everyone: I had to stop commenting back because work turned into a certifiable nightmare. I almost took this blog down, no shit! I'll write about it tomorrow, I have to go resize photos and then collapse. Oh and I found out I have to work the weekend. My life is double-fucked.
P.S. Welcome back to raginrr, good to see you commenting around these parts again!
@365: Yo Marty hang in there man!! You'll be all good. We all go through the hectic stages at work. Working weekends could be a good thing....at least most of the bars will have cleared out by the time you knock off...then next weekend you can have 2 cheeseburgers.
Rock on.
@Tim Clack: Thanks, mate! I'm just getting a little burned out. Hopefully today won't be as bad as yesterday.
That "Whine" list cracks me up!
"This fellow up at the front of the bar appears to be stoned." HA HA Love it!!! And yes he does.