Tuesday, June 8th, 2010—Bar 149
Day 149—Monday, June 7th, 2010
Blue and Gold (Originally was going to go to Cheap Shots)
Okay, last night’s feast was a great meal at the Old Homestead Steakhouse, but as with most good things, it came with a price. I’m not going to say how much it was, but the bill could’ve funded several nights here on the crawl, so tonight I’m looking for cheap-ass drinks. One dive bar I’ve been meaning to go to is a bar in the East Village called Cheap Shots, so I thought tonight would be the night, until I read this: EV Grieve—Times Are Tough. I’ll keep you posted as to whether it re-opens or not, Mayor Bloomberg and crew strike again! Oh well, another inexpensive and infamous dive bar I’ve been to in the past and is on my list is the Blue and Gold, which is also in the East Village. So check your couch for spare change and let’s go!
The Blue and Gold, the water looks 100 proof, let's dive in!
Love the Pabst neon and Pabst is what my pockets are asking for.
Love this place!
Bartender Emily was cute, friendly and fast on the draw with the Pabst. A perfect bartender!
A three buck can of Pabst, just what I needed. Cheers!
Mike was seated next to me and was enjoying a glass of wine at the bar.
The beer selections and drink specials hang over the festive bar.
Booths and tables line the walls opposite the bar.
Let's go check out this quartet of lovely ladies at the front of the bar.
They were a fun and friendly group and were very supportive of the whole 365 bar crawl idea. From left: Layal, Taylor, Laura and Ashley.
There's a pool table in the back of the bar.
I think it's genius they post specific rules for pool at the Blue and Gold. No last minute arguements over games here.
Checkers and backgammon boards are engraved into some of the tables for old-school gaming fun.
Back at the bar Emily was busy serving the crowd. She's an expert bartender, I never had to wait over a minute or two for a refill. To Emily!
Homer and Troy share a manly kiss at the bar.
There's lots of great tunes on the jukebox along with staff picks.
Claire and her friend Eric were seated at a back booth and Eric wanted to shoot a few photos of Claire and I. So here's photo number one.
Claire and I, take two.
And Eric told us to get goofy for the last shot so here we go! Goodnight everybody!
Review
The Blue and Gold is an legendary NYC dive bar, that’s had patrons swimming to it since the ‘60’s. The booze is cheap and the staff and patrons are friendly, rowdy and fun. The bar is up front with booths off to the side and in the back. There’s a pool table compete with house rules in the back and an eclectic jukebox with tunes ranging from varied artists such as: Jim Stafford, White Stripes, Blondie, Etta James and Tom Waits. Colored lights hang from the bar, vintage photos decorate the back walls, there’s two TV’s and the tables have backgammon and checkerboards on the tabletops for old-school gaming fun.
In addition to the divey and fun atmosphere, the draw here is cheap booze. They have a great selection of draft and bottled beers available. Some of the beers on tap include: Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, Lucky Cat and their own house Blue and Gold Lager. Bottled and can beers include: PBR, Amstel Light, Heinekin, Red Stripe and Newcastle. And they are all priced between three to four bucks. They also have a full bar with drinks and specialty shots all for five bucks and less.
One word of advice, bring cash, they don’t take plastic here. But you don’t need to bring a lot to cop a buzz. I like that.
Blue and Gold
79 E. 7th St. (near 1st Ave.)
212-777-1006
21 Comments
Reader Comments (21)
Funny photos of you and Claire!!! She looks like a funny & cool woman :) The tables are so nice with games on it !!!! cool bar !!
AND I especially like the OPAQUE RED TAPE on the couch !!!!!!!!!!!! Ha Ha! If only I would have learned that at the time of my Upholstery studies, I would have a job today !!! :D Very Smart Idea!
was Claire old enough to be in the bar?
she's cute though..
I really like this bar.. i put this up there with Winnies as one of my faves.
no pretention, just good old fashioned bar fun!
@Gidget She was old enough, they're strict there about carding people, that's one of the things that did Cheap Shots in, supposedly they weren't carding anyone and had a crazy mix of underage drunks in there. Blue and Gold is the real deal!
My kind of place.
Takes me back to my "roots".
Once again, the "Crawl/Crash" has been very diversified this past week
and keeps taking on new dimensions and you're not even halfway though it.
Working on some new merchandise to add to the store.
"Onward and Crawlward!"
Emily and Claire with the tats,,,,they look tough,, Im old school and thats for a younger generation. The bar looked great and really all it needs is 3 gallons of brown paint, a brush with a pole handle and get rid of that white ceiling,,,,about two hours of work and I could have that place looking like a ten. This bar journey in NY is one of the best things ive ever seen on the internet,,,keep it up Marty, remember "see the losers in the best bars, meet the winners in the dives" Neil Young.
Thanks Al (and everybody) I appreciate the comments and all of you following me on the crawl! All of you keep me going and I truly appreciate the kind words. Okay, now I'm going back to my cynical jerkoff self. Cheers!
I agree with Al, this is the best fucking thing on the internet, always gets me in a thirsty mood! Emily and Claire are the icing on the cake here, along with all that cheap booze, looks like paradise!
It's hard to see in the pic, but they have an impressive selection of single malt Scotch for like $4 that goes for $12 elsewhere. I've been meaning to go back and do a comparison tasting of them all. If not already on your list, do try the rejuvenated International Bar around the corner across 1st Ave next door to Wechsler’s Currywurst. It is more "age appropriate" and opens at 8am in true dive bar tradition. Order a 'special' for your first round, a Genese can and shot of Evan Williams bourbon for $4. Keep up the good drink.
@MSCLiver: I'll check out the International soon, thanks for the tip!
This one looks like the most fun yet! Love those tables with game boards engraved on them. Bartender looks like she had one of those rough, scratchy voices. And Claire...what a trip.
Sorry I haven't been by in a couple of weeks. I was busy there for a minute.
Looks like you're still having fun. Are you still having fun?
You look exactly the same in your goofy shot as the non-goofy shot before it! HA HA HA! Blue and Gold looks like an A-1 drinking establishment. Kudos to the smart bartender behind writing all those drink options in bright, easy-to-read lettering. Love those cool painted walls! Is there a story behind those? Also love the old-school booths and tile floor and well-loved pool table. Hey, you know what sticker would look really good on that?....
@Gina: Still having fun, alright, except on most Fridays when I get really burned out.
@Biff: Okay, I give, what sticker? And yeah, I thought it was funny my expression didn't change, I'm stuck in permanent goofball mode!
Uh, a certain one mentioning something about the number 365? Goofball!
@Biff: Ha ha ha! I forgot about those! The booze is melting my brain. Okay, it was melted before I began this!
That looks like such a fun bar. Great drinks and a nice variety as well. I enjoyed the decor and the price is definitely rightt!!
I spilled beer on my brand new new 365 Beers shirt by accident of course but I christened it well. All in your honor Marty!
@Tikii Bar Susie: Perfect way to christen the 365 shirt! I've spilled beer all over mine too, so we're a matched set! Thanks again for buying all the 365 items at the store! Very generous of you and I'm glad you liked the stuff!
@ Marty, i was gunna lend you a t-shirt when i get over there, the caption on the shirt is "WISH I WAS BORN RICH INSTEAD OF WELL HUNG!"...but you'd hardly have to wear it you're already a male slut!!!....think i'll nickname you "Fabio" the way you have the chickybabes hangin' off you!!! arsehole!!!...& good onya mate!
@Fitzy: Ha ha ha! Good one, mate!
sorry sushi samba is NOT a dive bar but skinny is. check it out you were so close yet so far.
http://theskinnybarlounge.com/
I was wondering where you'd take me for my birthday...
Happy Birthday, Shannon!