Monday, August 2nd, 2010—Bar 204
Day 204—Sunday, August 1st, 2010
The Bourgeois Pig (Originally headed for La Palapa Cocina Mexicana)
I awoke today with the PayPal donation bell ringing. It turned out to be a generous donation of ten dollars from Ruben Sleurink who has donated in the past. Ruben lives in Holland and here’s his stated purpose on the PayPal reciept: “For my only, but best friend in NYC! One day we'll meet each other haha! Keep up the good crawling!” How cool! well Ruben, you are my only and best friend in Holland and one day we will indeed meet and I’ll buy the first round! Thank you so much! Ruben is part of a breakfast delivery service in the Netherlands, check out their website here: Desayuno.nl.
Okay, I found a cool Mexican place the other week before the Goodfellas screening. I was early for the movie, so I went across the street and had a Michelada (hello, Tiki Bar Susie!) at a Mexican restaurant across the street called, La Palapa Cocina Mexicana. It’s convienently located next to the Holiday Cocktail Lounge where I need to finish taking pictures, so I figure I’ll get all this done today. And so, it’s off we go to the East Village. And this time my camera is charged up and ready to go.
Okay, the first stop is a return visit to the Holiday Cocktail Lounge where I finished taking the pictures in there. Check out the update here: Holiday Cocktail Lounge Update. (Scroll down for the update.)
And here we are at La Palapa Concina Mexicana. I can taste the Michelada already!
Apparently a lot of other people had the same taste in mind, the place is packed. Time to move on, we'll try this place again later in the crawl.
I walked around for a block or two and stumbled upon the Burgeois Pig. I've been meaning to check this place out and now is as good of a time as any.
A dark and decadent place with a marble bar, looks like we found tonight's destination.
And the beautiful bartender, Andrea serves up a watermelon Sangria.
It hits the spot on a warm summer evening.
Matt was the waiter on duty and a friendly and nice guy.
As I'm feeling comfortable I look up and there it is, the mark of excellence: A tin ceiling!
An elegant chandelier hangs in the middle of the room.
Karen and Suzanne were enjoying a glass of wine at the bar.
There's comfortable padded throne chairs to lounge and enjoy your drink and food here.
There's marble tables and more chairs in the front of the bar and open window seating.
Kasey and Bill were enjoying food and wine and the scenery from the open window dining area.
More tables are located on a step-up portion of the bar.
George, En and Maria were having drinks at the other window booth facing the street.
Okay, back to the bar because my Sunday dinner should be arriving at any minute.
And here it is! I got the lobster bisque fondue which is served with bread points, roasted potatoes and vegetables.
I hadn't had fondue since the '70's and it was delicious. The cheesy fondue had lumps of shrimp, lobster and crab in it.
Andrea shut off my flash to get these red-light shots of me enjoying the fondue.
They turned out really cool, great job, Andrea!
Okay, the fondue's gone, which means I am too. Goodnight, everybody!
Review
As you step into the Bourgeois Pig you’ll feel as if you’re being transported into a dark and, decadent French bordello. There’s throne chairs, a marble bar, tables, velveteen banquettes and couches to relax on. The entire bar is swathed in magenta hues giving it a definite red-llight district feel. The place has a speakeasy like feel to it, but you don’t need a password to get in and the staff is friendly and unpretentious.
The bar doesn’t have a full liquor license, it’s just wine and beer here, but they make the most of it. They have three selections of Sangria, a large wine list and wine cocktails including: the Paradis which is a mixture of lustau dry amontillado, elderflower, black cherry grenadine, the Mois De Brume which is chilled lillet, brumaire pacherenc, apricot, orgeat almond, lemon, and a dash of orange bitters and the Le Marin Port Flip which mixes tawny port, espresso, demerara sugar, dark chocolate, cream and egg yolk. There’s eleven wine cocktails total and they all go for 12 bucks apiece. The beer selection is all Belgian Ales and it includes: Dekoninck Ale, Delirium Tremens, Paulwel Kwak and St. Bernardus.
The menu is French with the emphasis on cheese and fondue specialties. They include five types of bruschetta, four selections of tartines and five cheese plates to choose from. The fondue selections include: French Onion Fondue, Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan And Romano, Rarebit Fondue and Lobster Bisque Fondue which is shrimp, crab, cheddar in a rich lobster broth with toast points, braised vegetables and herbed potatoes.
There’s long happy hours here. On Monday and Tuesday there’s half-priced bottles of wine from 5pm to 2am. On Wednesday you get half priced mussels from 5pm to 2am. And on Saturday and Sunday from 5pm to 7pm they offer half priced bottles of wine. Stop by and dig the pig. (I stole that line from Tim Carey by the way.)
The Bourgeois Pig
111 E. 7th St. (Near 1st Ave.)
212-475-2246
18 Comments
Reader Comments (18)
Andrea did a great job turning off the flash for the pictures, gives the place a more realistic and darker (better) look to it. I love lobster bisque, never had it in a fondue style. I bet it was great. The decor lacks wood, but that's alright because I know there's people out there that prefer this type of bar, with iron and marble. Plus I like a full liquor bar, but still the place looks interesting.
Oh I almost forgot,,,,the return to Holiday Cocktail Lounge with the added pictures was great,,,,,thank you for returning again
Today is the 2 month anniversary of my last beer :( Woe is me :(
Also ... today is 31 years ago that the great Yankee catcher, Thurman Munson,
went to the Field of Dreams in the sky. RIP Captain !
I agree with Al, thanks for going above and beyond your bar crawling duty for going back to the Holiday. Nice to see Karen again her jeans! This place does have a decadent feel to it. And fondue? I thought that stuff went out with the '70's too, but it looks great! Nice one!
From out front, this place looks like an embassy. And judging by the beer selection, it must be the Belgian Embassy! So, enjoy your visit here, but don't waffle! HA HA HA! Always like those marble bars and the chandelier is cool. I also like those open-window tables up front, but I'm not sure I'd keep my food that close to passers-by. It is the East Village, after all.
"So, enjoy your visit here, but don't waffle!"
Ha ha ha! You still gots it, Bifferoonie!
Hello Marty!
That Watermelon Sangria looks amazing!!!!
The bar looks like such a very fun place to hang out in and I love the super-friendly looking bartenders and patrons!
Great job Marty!
With a name like 'The bourgeois Pig', you'd almost expect to see a dark, shabby little room with dirty brick walls and a bunch of sixties casualties clustered around some sinister looking old guy with a wild beard going; "My fallow rahwahwooshinaries..." but this place looks to be anything but a meeting place for burned out Marxists! Love to get me some of that decadence you obviously enjoyed in there! Lobster fondue...yummm!
I think this is what shakespeare wanted when he said "get thee to a nunnery"
(Nunnery=brothel) ( i know, the wierd brits.)
in fact i once got soap in the mouth for calling the convent a nunnery,but I still do
I love this place marty.. I just do...
in fact it's giving me decorating ideas.
my bedroom needs a little red velvet and strange wallpaper. might scare the kids enough to sleep in their own room.
wishing I wasn't allergic to lobster cause that fondue looks awesome!
I think my favorite part of your updates are the ideas you give me for new drinks to try- watermelon sangria?? GENIUS!
Love the Name! Bourgeois Pig! yeah! Looks like parisian place, but also Biff is right : The belgian embassy! HAHA :D
You know what? I'm fucked! Sarko decided to close the only night store where I could get booze after 8pm in my neighborhood... yeah..... 8PM !!!! ABUSED!!! I guess because my president don't like much my colored skin neighbors whom don't eat Bourgeois Pig!!! now If I want to drink booze after 8pm I must never forget to go to the day store before! FUCK FRANCE!! REVOLUTION !!!!
PS: I mean ... Zioum Zioum back to
Sarkooky LandFrance! (I should be nice with my words because looks like authorities are hot in Sarkoland! woo woo! since a police station has been attacked with axes!!! oh and they also cut several trees with a chainsaw! no no, that's not me but my heroes!!! MOUHAHAHA)Cheers everybody!!
Thats some dark, stylin' digs! Very classical. I'll be staying on E 7th street so thanks for the local tip off. Fondue is making a comeback. Massive meal, Marty. You looked like you'd almost forgotten about the crawl and were in Lobster Bisque heaven.
I have to agree with my fellow wood lover @Al, lacking on the wood. But still a very cool, unique looking place. I just need some wood alongside my velvet. And the Chihuly inspired chandelier is kinda cool. Food looked yummy.
Hello Ken K.!
Send Marty your e-mail address, he'll forward it to me and I'll send it to my father, thanks!
hey 365 this "originally headed for" spiel always ends in a great post and this one did not does not fail...damn was going say sumthing...hell man if your brain is mush mine must be mash,,,any way thanks for the return to the holiday all charged up...nice update
@GENE...man that sucks...at least in 'nam one could get an couple falstaffs ever now and then and confiscated "Ba Moui Ba" on village seals...hang in there
@Shannon...find that tin ceiling so we can lean on 365 to make a metro north trip and bring the crawl to CT...even without tin above we got some great watering holes...KOC
rr
I' sitting here in Milwaukee at the Proletariat House of Pulled Pork reading the bio of Durwood Kirby......a facinating read, I must say! Don't have a tub of sangria but i do have pitcher of Milwaukee's best going and did you know that Durwood sued the Rocky and Bullwinkle show for feauturing a character named Kerwood Derby? Damn........This is why i read books! Love the Bar! Fuckin Boss Joint!
I saw Cornichons on your plate of food , Yum !!! I have to learn how to make them since the supermarket that had a brand I like dosen't have it any more .
WOW! I've been DYING to go to the Bourgeois Pig! Thanks for the review! The food looks delicious - I especially love your 'naked' potatoes!!! :)