Friday, November 26th, 2010—Bar 320
Day 320—Thursday, November 25th, 2010
Ryan's Daughter
It’s Thanksgiving and before I go to tonight’s bar, I’m going to have my Thanksgiving dinner. My friend Joanna invited me to her dinner last year after finding out I had no place to go to. It turned out to be a lot of fun, good food and a few drinks as well. She invited me back this year and so that’s where the bar crawl will start out. And then I’ll waddle over to tonight’s bar, Ryan’s Daughter, which I’ve been meaning to go to and it’s just about five blocks from Joanna’s apartment, so it works out perfectly. Okay, time to put on the old feedbag and start up Thanksgiving!
I love Manhattan on Thanksgiving because everybody leaves to go somewhere else for Thanksgiving and the streets empty out for once. Joanna lives on the Upper East Side, so let's go hail a cab.
It seems you can't escape TV sets these days, they even have them in cabs and they ruin the scenery.
So I'll glance out the side window and ignore the thing. As you can see, it's a bit of a rainy day outside, but it's better than snow. That'll be here all too soon.
And through the magic of the internet, here we are and Thanksgiving has begun! Here's the lovely hostess Joanna with her two daughters, Winkin' and Blinkin.' Let the festivities begin!
The table's all set and the turkey will make its appearance in due time. First let's meet some of the other guests.
Here's Jason whom you've seen on this blog before, but usually he's pictured with Zioum Zioum, but she's all the way back in France. Maybe that's why Jason looks so glum. Cheer up, Jason, it's a holiday!
And here's Sebastian, who's motto is: "An apple a day, brings another week's pay."
John poses with Blinkin' who's transformed herself into a combination of Santa Claus and a catwoman.
While the rest of us have a drink or three, Joanna's busy making a string bean dish that was the hit of the evening.
Hey, it's Thanksgiving, time to put this Halloween shit away!
And the first course is served! John made this dish of fresh antipasto and it's made from an Italian family recipe that's been handed down through the years. It was delicious and I ate too much of it.
A few beers later and it's turkey time! The bird looks beautiful and I'm not sure, but I think Sebastian supplied the apple.
Gobble...
Gobble...
Gobble...I'm not a mind reader, but I think Joanna's thinking, "Will you put that goddamn camera down and eat your dinner?"
Gobble...
And of course since it's Thanksgiving, somebody had to flip the bird, so I decided to be the guy.
Okay, now everyone is completely stuffed. A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner!
These two watched the festivities rather nervously fearing that they may be the next birds in the oven.
And the tryptophan kicks in, part I! I thanked Joanna and everyone and headed out for tonight's bar before I fell asleep.
And here we are, Ryan's Daughter, let's see if anyone else is out tonight.
As I suspected, not a huge crowd, so there's plenty of places to sit.
Mike the friendly bartender serves up a vodka and orange juice. I was afraid if I had another beer on top of all the food I'd explode.
The bar is known for having free bags of potato chips scattered all over and here's a pile of them.
And here I am with a bag of them. I didn't open them as I could barely fit a few drinks into my filled to the brim stomach.
Joe was having a drink at the end of the bar and had a duck umbrella handy in case he didn't find any turkey. Luckily the turkey was found and the duck is safe for another year.
A poster of the movie that the bar is named after hangs on the wall.
And just in case you don't happen to see that one, another poster hangs next to it.
There's a pool table in the back and on most night's its probably pretty busy. This isn't most nights it's Thanksgiving, so it's not in use.
Tables and stools sit opposite the pool table.
A shot from the opposite end of the long, wooden bar. Hey two more people are down there, let's go say hi.
The two lovely women are Peggy and Shana. But who's Mickey?
Why it's none other than Mick the bartender who just came on duty to relieve Mike. In accordance with the bar's theatrical name, they also have a theatre company and they put on plays in the space above the bar occasionally. Mick's a thespian in the group and told me their last play was titled: "A Man Walks Into A Bar." I wish I could've seen that one, as usual my timing is great.
Mashha lives in the neighborhood and told me she loves the bar.
Joe told me he was part of some Scandinavian group, but my notes are garbled and I couldn't find the website. Feel free to put it in the comments section, Joe.
And the tryptophan kicks in, part II! Okay, maybe the drinks had something to do with it too. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving and goodnight, everybody!
Review
Alright, I have the day off and I have a ton of things to do, so I’m going to copy and paste the review of Ryan’s Daughter from New York magazine. And here it is!
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Among the crush of the UES frat-boy establishments (the Big Easy, Aces & Eights) is this pub venerated by neighborhood old-timers. And by old-timers, we mean an over-30 post-work crowd and longtime Yorkville locals. Movie memorabilia—mostly from the namesake seventies David Lean film about an Irish girl smitten with a British soldier—line the walls, along with vintage photos of Dubliners and assorted tchotchkes like a collection of beer steins, cast-iron pots, and a saddle. Two prosthetic legs hang from the ceiling behind the bar. The twelve-inch TVs with dodgy reception have finally been replaced with flat-screens, but the Chuck E. Cheese–style basketball game still stands in for darts. The staunchly anti-gimmick attitude (unless you count the free bags of chips on tables in the back) and slightly dated aura make Ryan’s Daughter the sort of cozy neighborhood haunt you’d want on your block. Try their amber house ale on tap—it’s somewhere between a Guinness and a Sam Adams. — Abbe Benson & Rachel Wolff
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I really want to thank Joanna for having me over to another wonderful and fun Thanksgiving feast! A great time was had by all!
Ryan's Daughter
350 E. 85th St. (Near First Ave.)
212-628-2613
2 References
Reader Comments (20)
Epic holiday post! Looks like a fantastic dinner and Joanna was nice to have you (and all of us, now) over. Way to drag your stuffed body out to another bar instead of passing out. Oh wait, you did pass out...but at least it was at the bar. LOL!
I love that Movie "Ryans Daughter" Brill film..
i love spending Thanksgving with you through pics Marty..
totally awesome
looks like you had a great time
hope Jason smiled sometime in the night.
hope all crawlers had a great turkey day it certainly appears that 365 did...thumbs up and a toast to joanna for inviting you to a dyno meal and time...
hey jason get into the spirit...
ryan's daughter looks to be another great stop on the crawl...guess their doorman had the day off...KOC
rr
What's to do when you live alone on Thanksgiving? I cooked a Cornish game hen stuffed with dried fruit and deluxe mixed nuts. Like having a little turkey all to yourself! Nice homey looking bar this time Marty. Good friends, good meat, good God let's eat!
They have a Ryan's Daughter bar in Baltimore also ... but I've never been there :(
Nonetheless ... a Jets thumping of the hapless Bengals last night was the exclamation point on the BBC's Thanksgiving !
Very good dinner at Joanna's with her family and friends. Thank you for the pictures. Ryan's has a beautiful bar with hanging glasses and that smooth ceiling (which I love almost as much as tin). Mashha from the neighborhood looked comfy with her hat and a great smile. I liked the Ryans Daughter lit up glass sign behind her too. Great post.
@Everyone: I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying a holiday weekend! And thanks again to Joanna and everybody at the dinner for making it so much fun and letting me take pictures. I promise next year I'll leave the camera at home!
Hey Marty. Great to meet you last night at Ryan's Daughter. I will be following your progress and willing you on to the 365th bar. If you know which place you'll be spending the grand finale at, then please let us know on your blog beforehand. I'd love to drop on by and witness your glorious achievement. I just read your indictment of "The House of Brews". I guess it won't be there :)
Mick the Bartender from Ryans Daughter.
@Mick: Great to meet you as well! Thanks for the hospitality and the good times! I will indeed let you know about the grand finale! Keep me posted about the theatre dates!
a great thanksgiving day entry! joanna and her daughters are too cute! and so is mick thebartender! happy holidays!
@rita r: Happy holidays to you and everybody else!
Really? A tv in cabs? Lame. Looks like a great Thanksgiving dinner, wish I'd had a nap that good! Wow you missed a play called "A Man Walks Into A Bar", that is just a shame. Never heard of the film, but looks like a nice bar to finish out the holiday at. And I second rita.
@365: That first pic looks familiar. I may have wandered up and down there in search of your refrigerator! Hey, you know you can turn the TV off in the cab! That was the only annoying thing about the cab rides....other than that it was more of a Kamikaze dash through Manhattan. Tops fun!
@Gene: NY Jets never fail to entertain. I think I've expressed my dislike for the Bengals.
Did you get my picks for the week? I think I picked the Jets too!! Yee Fucking Ha!!!
I like the serious look , when I am photographed !!
I was smiling , just doesn't look like I am .
Anyway Cheers to all !!
@kari: I wish I would've known about the play, it would've been perfect!
@Clacky: I always turn them off and I'm sure that street does look familiar!
@JHwang: Cheers to you, smiley!
Something funny about Jason : I still don't know how many different shirts he has got! I never seen that one yet! and this happens every 2 weeks!! But I'm not going to tell you how many pair of shoes I found when I cleaned he's appart!! :)
Com'on croque mitaine! smiiiiile ! only 2 months and 15 days and you're back in France! and Mom'in law gonna prepare a cassoulet for you! so we can make a fart contest and say "hum! vintage! good year!" ! Ha Ha!
The thanksgiving food looks so yummy! especially the antipasto!
Cheers everybody!! and be ready for la rEvolution ! ;)
@Zioum Zioum: Cheers!
Oh how fun! Im so happy you had a good Thanksgiving!!
Looks like a wonderful Thanksgiving for you Marty. What a sweet family Joanna has and she must be a fabulous cook as the food looks delish!
I have never heard of the movie "Ryan's Daughter" but the bar looks like a very fun place to enjoy a few drinks.
This bar looks really great - love all the brass! Plus, the staff and the crowd seems super friendly - which, as we all know, really makes the bar what it is. I look forward to stopping in there sometime soon. Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving with Joanna and her family and friends! Cheers!