Wednesday, November 17th, 2010—Bar 311
Day 311—Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Fred's (Originally headed for The Dead Poet)
I’ve had more than one person suggest I try the Dead Poet in my travels, so I think I’ll go there tonight. What’s funny is I wrote a review years ago about this place for newyork.citysearch.com. This is before they started letting anyone who thought they were a critic post reviews up and they paid freelancers to write the review. I did a search and I found my review on their site, although they’ve removed my byline and replaced it with, “by Contributor at Citysearch.” Thanks citysearch, you fucking assholes! Oh, I guess they have the right to take away my byline, I did get paid the princely sum of thirty bucks to write the stupid thing! Now they’ve gone all Yelp and let any jackass put a review up without paying them a dime. And before you say it, yeah, I may be a jackass at times, but at least I held out for the thirty bucks. Anyhoo, in the long run, what does it matter? Let’s go see if it’s changed.
Okay, here we are at the Dead Poet on the Upper West Side.
It's hard to tell from this photo, but the bar is packed and it's way too crowded to do the 365 thing in here. Time to improvise...
And take a lonely walk on this rainy-ass night.
Hey, here's a familiar place, let's take a break and have a beer in here.
And who's on duty, but Nas, the same friendly bartender who served us back on August 23rd. Hi Ryan!
Stephanie was seated nearby and she's also a bartender. She invited me to stop by the bar she works at, Reunion Surf Bar, but I remembered I had been there already. I told her I'd stop by on day 366.
I wandered around and stumbled upon a place called Fred's. Hmmm...that triggered a memory...
Oh, yeah, these people recommended Fred's when I was at Do Hwa about a month ago. They were nice people, so let's take their advice and check it out.
Wow, nice in here. All wooden and candle-lit, let's grab a seat.
And friendly bartender Brian is quick with a Corona.
A shot of the lit up bottles behind the bar.
The top of the bar is lined with pennies. And it's lit up by...fire!
A long shot of the bar in all its candle-lit glory.
The other side of the bar. Note the glasses of bar snacks in between the candles. Nice!
The amazing and unique feature of Fred's is all the dog pictures lining the walls. Most of them are from people in the neighborhood and it's been growing since the bar opened in the mid '90's.
You could spend all evening just walking around and looking at these photos, I did.
Here's a portrait of the black lab, Fred, whom the bar is named after.
Here's a doggy who claims to only dine at Fred's. Funny, I didn't see Gravy Train on the menu.
I think this is Gene Simmons' dog.
Meanwhile back at the bar, Brian is chatting with someone.
The gentleman Brian was chatting with is Ron, who's an actor and lives nearby.
Here's Cesar and Andre who had just gotten off work at the Five Napkin Burger. Hmm...I need to stop by there for a Cheeseburger Saturday Night sometime.
And for my final drink, Brian mixes me up one of the signature doggie drinks, The Hair of the Dog.
Arf, arf, bark, bark and goodnight, everybody!
Review
Fred’s is named after a female black Labrador retriever and just like the namesake, this bar offers unconditional love to the neighborhood regulars that frequent this doggone bar. The bar is a step and a half underground and the front room is dominated by a large wooden, candle lit square bar. There’s tables and chairs off to either side of the bar and there’s a few window seats up front that overlook Amsterdam Avenue. There’s a dining room in the back. The patrons are mostly locals from the neighborhood and it’s a friendly vibe with pictures of dogs lining the walls. Most of the dogs have been brought in by people that live nearby or have sent them in. Conan O’Brien used to live in the neighborhood and his dog is proudly plastered on the wall.
They have a full bar and a good selection of bottled and draft beer. Two of the signature canine cocktails are the Paw Punch and The Hair of the Dog. They also have a full menu with a late night kitchen that’s open weeknight’s till 11pm and weekends till midnight. The menu has such offerings as: Mom’s Meatloaf which is served with mushroom gravy, caramelized onion mashed potatoes; Twin Center Cut Pork Chops; Chili con Carne topped with monterrey jack and cheddar cheeses and a 14 oz. New York Shell Steak. And if you still have room you may want to try the Industrial Strength Fudge Brownie topped with the gelato of your choice and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Then you’ll probably want to roll over and play dead for a while. Good doggie!
Fred's
476 Amsterdam Ave. (@83rd St.)
212-579-3076
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Bonus Art by “Boris”
Inspired by the group of recent visitors on the bar crawl, in-house artist, “Boris” has come up with a new logo for an upcoming T-shirt and here it is:
Great work, Daddio! It’ll be available soon (just in time for Christmas!) and will be inscribed with the first name of everyone who’s visited me on the bar crawl so far. And remember, if you need any artwork or a logo for your website, “Boris” is available for freelance work. He also designs CD and book covers and just about anything else you need art or design-wise. Just send me an email and I’ll pass it along to “Boris.”
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Bonus art by Jaws
As stated in his comment above, here's a piece of art featuring the notorius Cedric! Maybe he'll be on Fred's wall the next time I visit, thanks Jaws!
22 Comments
Reader Comments (22)
@Boris: I will be ordering with that new logo,,,,love it, Crawlapalooza,,,yes!!! Fred's bar, where do I start,,, never thought that this late in the crawl you would hit a place that I would propel way up towards the top of favorite bars,,,,why? the pictures of dogs, its great, and their cause, seeing eye dogs like Fred himself,,a great, great cause and like most people I think I would be walking around in there looking at all the pictures for hours,,,,you happen upon a great bar.
@Al: I agree both with your assement of the new "Boris" art and this bar, it was a great stop on the crawl!
I love Fred's .... a wonderful place. I mentioned it to Marty during my May trip and this past weekend, glad he made it there ! being a dog lover myself ... this is a cool spot .... worth going in just to look at all the cute puppies on the walls !
Bark, bark! Two paws up for Fred's!
What? No C.M. Coolidge prints of dogs playing poker, dogs shooting pool? This post brings back memories of Cedric the Dachshund...our family dog from when I was a kid, a shin humping canine sociopath. Just thinking about him makes me need a drink. Check your e-mail for a picture I'm sending you of him. Feel free to print it up and frame it...the owners of Fred's might like it on their wall!
Lucy McGoosie would love it in there! Very cool pictures all over the walls and I love those square (or rounded) bars. It's so much better when you can strike up a conversation with someone across the way and not have to stand up on that rung on your barstool to do so! Plus, I love all those pennies - because they remind me of Pennies from Heaven which reminds me of Steve Martin which reminds me of Bernadette Peters, and we all know how fond I am of Bernadette Peters. Or at least I do. ANYhoozers, me and my dog give two wags of the tail and a shake, rattle, and drool to Fred's. Good bar, Fred's! GOOD BAR!
@marty, do me a fav can ya please mate, pass on me email to Stephanie!? (there will be a T-shirt & cap in it for ya!!).... WOW wot an awesomely warm smile!!! & let her know i'll be naming my next 'cleanskin' (healthy, un-tagged/ un-micro chipped) female koala i rescue "STEPHANIE" ;-)
& put Fred's on my must C list!!! animal friendly bar, wot more can a bloke ask for!!! (maybe Steph' to be working behind the bar???) great job mate!!!
post script...i'll be working on some piccies for the "Where's Barry?" turnout, today & tomorrow, they have been selling like hot cakes.... will keep ya posted..thanks mate!
I agree with Al, this is one of my favorites by far. How could it not be being named after a Lab and the decor consisting of photos of all types of dogs. I love it! I love dogs and animals in general cats, dogs, horses, you name it.
Cool place Marty and I love the sweet and friendly folks there.
@Fitzy: Stephanie bartends at Reunion bar, number 219 on the list. Sadly she wasn't there the night I went. I'll be going there on night number 366, come on out and you can join me mate! Glad to hear the Barry project is going well, send some pictures when you can!
cutest bar ever! love the doggie pictures! and thats a cool logo by boris!
@marty, yeah good thinkin' mate!
Bow wow wow! what a great bar! I'm surrounded by boof headed dogs at the moment. They're tearing the place up. I'd also spend a few beers walking around looking at these photos...and the pennies on the bar...I'd be suprised if the place doesn't attract homeless folk asking for spare change!!
@Fitzy: Did I miss something here? What's with "Where's Barry" did he escape from the Supermax?
@Boris: I'll be sporting one of those Crawlapalooza tee's soon enough! Great work!
where to start?...i'm a dog....more then one way or another...that's nether here or there...looks like a helluva stop....pennies...
jaws...looks like you are handling the new snow with dog memories...
gene...look like the bbc got home safely...all right...
boris...i'm in for 1 or 3....probably most will say wtf...christmas gifts and all ...
i'm a dog but always wanta to be a firetruck...KOC
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oh yea...all this sorta re vibe marvin gaye...i'll be dogone...KOC
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@raginrr: Ha ha ha! Or Iggy Pop, "Now I Wanna Be Your Dog."
damn...or howllin' wolf...Ain't Gonna Be Your Dog...KOC
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@raginrr: The Monkees, "I'm Gonna Buy Me A Dog." I'll obsess over this shit all night long!
yeah clacky actually he did sorta...well we moved him into a more relaxed yard 6 days ago & he has broken out 4 days out of the 6, including today!!! god luv him!....but besides that marty will be puting up a link to a " wheres Barry"donation/compition where you buy a Barry koala doll for like $15 (incl postage) & you take a pic of him near on on a landmark in the country you are in & we have to guess were he has been...then we send out prizes to the winners & so forth....& i'm spewing i didnt get one to you before you left for the big apple, sorry mate.....i was going to get some photos of Barry & his koala protege doll but he broke out (well he is still within the compound, but got out of his yard) last night, so we'll just leave his gate open & he will wonder back in when he feels like it...actually i'm really happy for him, he is having heaps of fun playing in new trees...its all good...so keep an eye out in the next few days (Barry pending) & i'll get marty to post the pics & the link....
@Fitzy; if Barry's feisty enough to manage theese escapes, he must be doing pretty well!
Gotta love the doggies, especially your imitation ;) I sure could use an Industrial Strength Fudge Brownie! Badly! Maybe a few. Damn I love brownies. Love the new design "Boris"
Ruff , that's how it's been the past 30 days @ work .
TO : 311
Gee 311 isn't that the number to call for info ?
3 • 1 • 1 • , Ring Ring , Hello do you know the address of a guy walks into 365 Bars ? , Oh I'm sorry that a web address .
Hey Marty!
Good to see Nas is doing well. That was a good cheeseburger.
I've walked by Fred's a hundred times but have never been inside. It looks cool.