Monday, August 9th, 2010—Bar 211
Day 211—Sunday, August 8th, 2010
Whiskey Trader
Okay, this is the last night my folks are in town, so one more daytime stop on the 365 crawl. It was a nice change yesterday drinking at the Southwest Porch outside in the Bryant Park, but the sunshine zapped me and now I must retreat back into darkness. I saw a bar yesterday about a half block from my folks hotel and it’s a basement bar and looked dark. It’s called Whiskey Trader, so let’s go check that out and get back into the dark. I almost got a tan yesterday and that’s some scary shit!
Here we are at the Whiskey Trader. Goddamn it's bright out here!
Aaahh, but it's nice and dark in here. And plenty of seats at the bar.
And Jim the bartender is a super-friendly guy and quick with a cold beer.
Let's go see who's down at the end of the bar.
Emily was enjoying an early afternoon glass of wine.
And Danielle was wasting no time draining a bottle of beer. Cheers, ladies!
There's a tradition at the bar that people send in money and they put it up behind the bar. Funny money runs the length of the wall.
Jim points out a bill that was sent in from Israel.
Some of the daily drink specials.
There's wooden stools and tables opposite the bar to relax in and enjoy your drinks.
Here's some of the draft beer available.
Travis and Erin were seated next to me at the bar. They took the train in from Stamford, CT. for the day.
There's original artwork on the walls.
It's an ongoing work and the artist comes in when it's closed and adds to the paintings, so they're ever-changing.
It adds a nice dimension to the bar.
This group was down at the end of the bar. From left: John (a.k.a. Mini Me), Mohammed (a.k.a. Elvis), Makeda and Luis (a.k.a. Vin Diesel.)
Here's some lit-up bottles of Tequila behind the bar.
Popcorn!
Makeda and Luis put some tunes on the internet jukebox.
Meanwhile Jim holds court at the other end of the bar.
And I have one last beer before heading off to see my parents.
And here they are waving goodbye to all of you. They appreciated all the nice comments and i had a fun visit with them. And now...goodnight everybody!
Review
The Whiskey Trader is a dark combination of a lounge and sports bar. There’s five plasma-screen TV’s with Direct TV so that virtually every sports game can be seen. Requests for games are taken on a first come, first serve basis. There’s a small elevated lounge in the front and a sunken one in the back with a fireplace, but most of the action happens around the large wooden bar in the middle. The male and female bartenders are friendly and as the night wears on, some of the female bartenders are known to get up and shake it on top of the bar. The crowd is a mix of local business people and tourists and the internet jukebox blasts tunes till four in the morning.
There’s a full bar with a good selection of draft and bottled beers. They feature a daily happy hour from 4pm to 7pm seven days a week with drink specials including three buck Bud LIght pints, five dollar Cosmo, Appletini and Peachtini and five dollar selection of varied shots. On Monday and Tuesday all Stoli flavor drinks and shots are just five bucks.
There’s no food but there is free popcorn at the bar!
Whiskey Trader
71 W. 55th St. (Near Sixth Ave.)
212-582-2223
20 Comments
Reader Comments (20)
I would like to trade my whiskey for a Miller Lite, please.
Nice digs! I like the brick walls, wooden floors, and - of course - the lighted bottles. Plus, more free popcorn! SCORE! I also like the fact that they feature Stoli shots instead of some crap like Absolut or, worse yet, Kettel One. BLECH! Stoli's da bomb. And I wish it was still bottom shelf instead of that dreaded Popov bullshit, but whatever. The times, they are a-changin'. Anyway, nice place, nice paintings, and that one dude really DOES look like Vin Diesel!
I Like the wood in this place but the TV got to go !!
Bye Wombacher Family !!
Hey, kids. Thanks for all the no-charge publicitas over on the Blarney Cove-ity. Ever since I fellated Bush and Cheney for their brass ballery, getting face time's been tougher than pulling an interdigitating maxillary from a rauisuchian hanging in the colloidal bitumen of the La Brea Tar Pits. Am I right?
Always love the dark basement bars. I hear JHwang on the TVs, but if they're strategically placed, it's not that bad. And free popcorn! Hope you're parents have a safe trip back, nice seeing them on the crawl.
The tequila bottles lit up in green is great. A good bar with too many damn flat screens. To the Wombacher's, thank you for being a part of this journey and I will have a CC and water in your honor. @Dennis Miller: Yes, you are right,,,it is free publicity, as for the rest of your comments,,,,,whatever you say.
Did you add a 365 bill to the wall?
Good "seeing" you Mr. and Mrs. W.
Have a safe trip home.
Nice to see "Dennis" working the "Obscure Reference Thesaurus" again.
Please come back from the Dark Side.
@"Boris": No, I didn't put a bill on the wall, I need to reserve all my cash for booze! My parents said to say hi to you and everyone else! They had fun being part of this and appreciated all your nice comments.
Love the artwork on the walls, all that's missing is Gary Cooper getting ready to face down the bad hats fresh off the noon train! "Dew not forsake me oh my daaaarlin...".
hooraroo Mr & Mrs W !!!...all the best!!!
Marty, your parents are adorable. It is so wonderful that they were able to come to town and join you on the crawl.
Loved the cool patrons and bartenders at the Whiskey Trader, an excellent choice for sure. Looks like a very fun place to visit.
jeez I need to send a dollar so you can go back and put it on the wall.. I might have better handwriting so maybe I will sign it and mail it to them for you...
I like this place.
sad to see your folks go..
can i go visit them?
i like them.
@Gidget: Feel free to visit them! Just leave enough beer in the fridge for when I go there at Christmas!
@Dennis Miller.....I guess you could be right but you kinda lost me somewhere around the first sentence.
good to see the vampire back in the darkness...LOL! nice bar and people.
Love the wall o' wood! And tequila isn't my thing but those glowing bottles are kinda mesmerizing. Whiskey and coke is my drink, no better place to try that than a place with whiskey in the name. but only the girls get up and shake it? Come on guys! Girls like some entertainment too!
Goodbye to the folks! They just make ya smile seeing them :)
it good to see mr and mrs w and brother tom on the crawl...hope they have a safe and uneventful trip home...those lit-up bottles of patron brught on an instant thirst for a shot or three...alas only a six pack in the house...@biff you should give .luksusowa a go imho it puts stoli on the bottom shelf...all these bills on the wall and the paintings round out this place...KOC
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Hey, I could send a 5€ bill! but... sorry I'm poor and me too I keep my money for the BOOOOOOZE !!!!! haha
Goodbye Marty's parents! Safe trip home!
Hey thanks for the show and especially for the information, I really like it. Great work, keep going! iwc watches|
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