Day 212—Monday, August 9th, 2010
Swift Hibernian Lounge
First off, I want to wish DJ, 365 commentator and blogger, Gidget the happiest birthday ever! Today is actually the second birthday of the year for Gidget and you can read all about that at her blog: Gidget Bates Crap She Spews. Gidget is THE coolest DJ in the world and hosts a great rado show on Woody Radio, check out the schedules and listen when you can right here: Woody Radio. She's hosting her birthday show today from 1pm to 5pm, so tune in and send her your birthday wishes. Happy birthday, Gidget!
Check down at the end of this post after the review for some special bonus photos. Our Australian mate and 365 commentator Fitzy sent in some photos of the Koala hospital where he works in Australia. There’s some great shots and commentary by Fitzy himself. A little Oz treat down under the post from down under itself. Thanks for sending these in Fitzy mate! Looking forward to the 365 Oz summit!
Okay, yesterday in the comments section we had a couple complaints about TV sets in bars. I agree, but to the Whiskey Trader’s defense, they do bill themselves as a “Sports Bar and Lounge,” so it kind of comes with the territory and you should realize before you step a foot in there that there’s going to be big TV’s with sports on them. Anyway, I did a Google search on bars with no TV’s in New York City and found this article from 2009: “The Few, the Proud: Pubs That Still Resist the Pull of the Television Screen.” They forgot to mention the Mars Bar, but we’ve been there already, and the only bar they mention in Manhattan that has no TV sets is the Swift Hibernian Lounge (the other two are in Brooklyn and I’ll try and get there sometime). The article is a year old, let’s go see if this place is still sans TV.
Here we are at the Swift Hibernian Lounge.
Now there's a good idea on this hotter than fuck-all evening.
Check out the large cathedral, wooden doors.
And they open up to a nice dark, candlelit bar and not a TV in sight. The cathedral of the good drinker.
Bartender Shane expertly mixes me up a margarita. Shane is one of the best and most friendly bartenders I've met on the bar crawl, a great guy and he mixes a mean margarita.
Delicious!
There's a wooden lounge area opposite the bar.
Here's Chris and Steve who are fire fighters from Ladder 9. To the right of them hangs a memorial plaque to their fallen brothers from September 11th. Thanks for your good work, Chris and Steve!
There's a nice candlelit nook up front to enjoy the view outside of the bar.
Shane at work behind the bar.
The well-stocked bar at Swift Hibernian Lounge.
The draft beer list.
And the bottled beers that are available. An impressive list.
The mural that runs along the entire wall was painted by local artist, Carey Rothman.
Rob, Corey and Jennie were enjoying some drinks at the bar and agreed to post for the 365 camera.
Then Rob took the camera and turned the tables on me and had me pose with Corey, Jennie and their friend Matthew in the back.
A long, candlelit wooden bank runs the length opposite the bar where you can rest a drink or an elbow.
There's tables and booths in the large back room of the bar.
In between Margaritas Shane poured me a perfect Guinness. The bar is known as the go-to place for a perfectly poured pint of Guinness.
Here's Shane with his girlfriend, Erin on his left and her mom, Nadine on his right. Erin and Nadine are from New Orleans. Erin lives here now and her mom is visiting. Cheers to you all!
Rob and Chris in conversation at the front of the bar.
And here I am with a margarita and the ultimate traditional wearin' of the Guinness on the noggin'. Good night, everybody!
Review
They bill themselves as a lounge, but theSwift Hibernian Lounge could also be called an Irish alehouse. A large Irish alehouse. The front room houses a long and winding wooden bar with a wooden lounge area opposite. Up front are two nice window viewing nooks and there’s a large back room with a communal table and oversize wooden booths. The bartenders are friendly and the cliental are mainly neighborhood regulars, but first-timers are treated as friendly as the long-time customers. The Swift Hibernian Lounge has been in business for 15 years and has grown to be a neighborhood favorite.
There’s a huge selection of beer available here. There’s 54 bottled beers and 23 beers on tap to choose from. The selection changes daily, but there’s real time viewing on what’s availble at their website. They feature a decent wine list and specialty cocktails including: The Captain Gulliver, which mixes Jameson whiskey, ginger beer and lemon; Esther, which is a combination of Beefeater 24, mint and fresh limede and they also have raspberry or lemon sorbet sangria. The spirit list is impressive with copious varieties of Irish whiskey, single malt scotch, tequila and American bourbon.
The menu is small and strictly pub fare featuring such items as: chicken salad sandwich, reuben sandwich, beef and Guinness pie, mini cheddar burgers and tomato and mozzarella pizza. Food is served till four in the morning and they are open 365 days a year. On the weekends DJ’s spin tunes and on Tuesday nights they have a traditional Irish seisuin. I’m not exactly sure what a “traditional Irish seisuin” is and I’m running late for work. I think it’s live music, but Google it to be sure. I gotta go! Sneeze ya, tomorrow.
Swift Hibernian Lounge
34 E. 4th St. (Near The Bowery)
212-260-3600
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Bonus Photos!
Here’s the photos and comments that Fitzy sent in from the land of Oz and the Koala hospital where he works, enjoy! Thanks for sending them in Fitzy, mate!
Koala Crossing sign—Had to get you a pick of this Marty after you hit me up to check out how authentic "The Creek Bar # 207" was, so you can see their Koala Crossing sign was an authentic replica not far off the mark. This is about 50m from the entrance to Macquarie Nature Reserve, home to Roto House and the Koala Hospital.
Here is Barry—Barry is me best mate. He is the oldest koala we have, he is the grumpiest and has the worst attitude going which is why i love the little bastard! The girls gave me Barry to feed the 1st day i started as an initiation thing, and yes the fucker bit me a beauty. But since then we've become mates, i let him keep his milk moe after feeding (they hate having their mouths wiped) and he lets me check him for ticks without inflicting injuries on me they may require stitches...good bloke Bazza!
This is Danny—Danny is sorta a cross between Fabio and Steve McQueen ("The Great Escape"). He has escaped twice in the last month due to it being mating season. He was bought in with conjunctivitis and Chlamydia, yep the sexually transmitted disease, they are horny littl' critters i kid you not! Danny is the definition of "young dumb and full of cum." So Danny is in our Max Security Wing for time being.
Another shot of Danny—He was found just round the corner from me after we got a call from a local saying a koala was at the base of a tree in their backyard. F.Y.I. people, if you see a koala lurking at or toward the base of a tree, not going up, call the Dept of Wildlife, its a tell-tale sign the koala is crook and in distress, plus at the base or low they are vulnerable to attack. The healthier the koala, the higher you will find them in the tree. Danny, "the little slave to erotica" will be released in a month or so, in plenty of time for the rest of the mating season!
And finally, here's to Erin's mom, Nadine who's visiting from New Orleans and is named after my favorite Chuck Berry song. Have fun in New York, Nadine!