Wednesday, September 1st, 2010—Bar 234
Day 234—Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
Nurse Bettie
I found a cocktail bar called Nurse Bettie on the Lower East Side devoted to pinup art and they have a drink there named, “Cherry Bomb.” “Cherry Bomb” is my favorite Runaways/Joan Jett songs, I love pinup art and the name of the bar refers to Bettie Paige, whom I’m a huge fan of as well. So I have to go and check it out...and look out Jaws, they have signature drinks, I think I hear the Oompa-Loompas on their way!
And here we are at Nurse Bettie.
This unruly gang were seated outside and were very supportive of the 365 bar crawl idea. Clockwise from left: GG, Johnny, Brian and Tommy. GG's an attorney specializing in the entertainment field and you can check out his website here: Greg R. Goldstein.
Wow, it's really dark in here, perfect! I'll have to use the flash for most of the photos, but I'll turn it off at the end to show how dark this place is.
I see they have cans of Modelo beer here, so I decide to skip the cocktails and the Oompa Loompa men. Bartender Joe is also a drummer and drums in these two fine bands: The Bowery Riots and Starcrossed Signs.
Cheers!
There's stools and a railing opposite the bar, facing the brick wall.
And that's where Tony, Rachel and Elizabeth were hanging out.
The bar has really nice vintage pinup art on the walls to enjoy.
Very nice!
And speaking of vintage art, check out Brandon's cool T. Rex t-shirt. The Slider!
Courtney is also a T. Rex fan and give the shirt a thumbs up.
There's a purple couch in the lounge area up front.
A close up of the bar.
More pinup art at the side of the bar.
Nick and Curtis were enjoying drinks at the bar. Curtis is also doing a year-long internet project. He's writing and recording one song every week and posting it at his website here: Raise Hell Over The Summer. Nick was in town doing a commercial shoot and here's his facebook page: Nick Vitale.
John brought in his own sandwich to enjoy and the cheese had quite a unique odor.
Here's an unflashed photo of the bar to show you what the atmosphere is really like in here.
And here's one of Joe at work in the bar.
And one last pinup shot for the road. Goodnight, everybody!
Review
Nurse Bettie is a small, cozy, low-lit neighborhood lounge featuring stunning pinup art on the brick walls. Rock ‘n’ roll music is played at a conversational level and there’s a small patio out front with tables and chairs for outside seating when weather permits.
There’s a full bar here with bottled and draft beers and cans of Modelo as well. The emphasis here is on cocktails and some of the house signature drinks include: the Au Pear wihich is Absolute Pears, Chambord and pineapple; a Ginger Martini; the Bettie Blue which is a mixture of Stolie Blueberry, Stoli Vanilla, Rose’s LIme Juice and a splash of citrus soda and the Bazooka Bettie which is Stoli Citrus, banana liquor, strawberry, vanilla and Coco-Lopez with a dash of cream. Happy hour runs from Sunday to Thursday, 6pm to 10pm with four dollar drafts and well drinks. The same happy hour is also available Saturday and Sunday from 6pm to 9pm.
There’s no food, but you are welcome to order in from the extensive menu at neighboring Schiller’s Liquor Bar.
Nurse Bettie
106 Norfolk St. (Near Delancey St.)
917-434-9072
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Bonus Photos!
The coolest DJ in the whole-wide world and 365 commentator, Gidget sent in some photos yesterday. She, her husband Joe and their son Dyl took a trip to North Judson,Indiana for a cheeseburger lunch at the Wooden Nickel Diner and here’s the pictures from the lunch. Be sure to check out Gidget’s show on Woody Radio. It’ll make you rock hard!
Here's the main drag in North Judson. It's a quiet town with a population of about 1,000.
Here's the Wooden Nickel.
Check out Gidget's husband Joe wearing the 365 colors! There's free soup with lunch.
Here's the cheeseburger! It's a double with bacon and fries for just $6.50!
Dyl had the single with no fries. Cool Beatles shirt, Dyl! Thanks for the photos, Gidget. Tell everyone at Woody Radio i said, "Hi!"
4 References
Reader Comments (31)
Well first of all,,,,its great to have a bar that pays tribute to Bettie Page, she was gorgeous as a young woman and also as she got older. Very bold and daring in her time. The bar is dark, the pictures of the pinup art is beautiful. @Gidget: the wooden nickel looks great and Dyl has good taste in t shirts.
They'll probably open a satellite bar soon called the "Ugly Bettie." :-) You know, to keep up with all those new-fangled types. Great photos! I love the look of the place with just the string lights on! Attractive clientele, too...
I really want to go to Nurse Bettie when i make it to New York...
Still blushing ya put my pics up Marty..
Wooden Nickel is one of those places that really can be locals only but they seam to like us.. wish i could have gotten bar pics but was kinda afriad they'd never seen a Blackberry before and would have thought I was an alien. The bar actually has a seperate parking lot for the Harleys:)
and on the wall is that cool Frank Zappa poster of him on the toilet as the owner is a huge Zappa fan.. His wife the cook says she cant look at it and cook though...
Little pink oompa loompas be damned, this place looks absolutely fascinating...like an art history lesson with drinks provided. This is one place I'd truly like to visit! Love the vintage pin up art, just love it!!!
I'm a huge pinup art fan and just like Jaws I love it! Looks like a cool little nook in the East Village. And it's generous of you to put up everybody else's links. Curtis' song a week is a cool idea! And great photos, Gidget! Cool t-shirt on your cute son! But where's a photo of you?
Cool Bar!
Love the decor and pin ups!
Good crowd too.
My kind of joint.
Good to see the "Gidge Crawl" too.
Thanks for sharing.
Also thanks to Joe for sportin' the "colors".
@barfly.. i'm kinda a figment of everybodies imagination...I dont exist in pictures:)
Hey Marty,
Good meeting you last night. glad you got to check out the site and the tunes.
Keep on fighting the good fight and see it to the finishline.
Regards,
Curtis
raisehelloverthesummer.com
@Curtis: Nice meeting you as well. When both our years are over we should have a celebration at Nurse Bettie's! Keep in touch and everyone should check out his music site for a new tune a week. The songs are great! The link is above or copy and paste this:
raisehelloverthesummer.com
Cool red lights, Daddio! And I like the seating options as well, from the stools to the orange chair to the purple couch. The pin-up stuff reminds me of a local joint here in Cowtown called Betty's Fine Food & Spirits. Maybe I'll stop by on my tennis ball venture and take some pics of that place as well. Or, you could take 365 on the road again and I'll take you there in person! But back to the matter at hand...Nurse Bettie's looks like a great place to spend an evening, drink a beer or six, and smell John's sandwich. Thanks for taking us along!
Oh yeah, forgot to thank Gidget for sending in the photos! I never even knew that North Judson existed and now I will think of it every time I see a cheeseburger. A melty, bacony cheeseburger. With a delicious grilled bun. And greasy french fries. Mmmmmmmm....cheeseburgers... Is it dinner time yet?
@Biff come out and visit and we'll trek south for a burger. and they dont put no creepy eggs on them down there either. i swear of the dozen or two dozens of states i have been too i have had the best burgers since i have moved here.
Thanks Gidget for sharing your photos and bar crawl experience with us. Dyl is absolutely adorable and you and your husband Joe are truly blessed.
Marty, what an interesting name and concept for a bar...only in NYC, well and maybe Vegas. It looked like a very cool place and I LOVE Modelo Especials!!
Great choice Marty!!
@marty, great bar, great crowd!!! top job matey!!!...
& thanks mate for posting "you shook me all night long" Acca/Dacca, i was at Mal & Reddogs place last night doing some quality assurance testing when i came across that...we ended up putting it on his big arse widescreen HD rarara whatever TV, which then sparked a YouTube AC/DC marathon, i got home shitfaced about 3am this morning...again great job mate!!!
@marty, forget to mention i also took out the "Angus Air Guitar Award" last nite which was most definatley the highlight of the evening....the crushed Tooheys New can trophy is on the mantle piece as we speak!!!
@Gidget, awesome family mate!!! luv the littl' fella's Beattles T-shirt!!! cool....Nth Judson reminded me so much of my Ex's town in SD, great littl' towns.....& i am with you on the self portrait photo scene, being a former photographer i hate having my pic taken...customs was lucky to get my passport pic!
@fitzy: Glad to hear that sparked an AC/DC marathon! They're a great band to get shitfaced to. Congratulations on the air guitar award, mate!
@Fitzy: Crazy basterd. I hope you rocked out to 'Lets get it up' and 'Guns for Hire' and didn't deny too much of that kick arse Brian Johnson era in favour of an exclusive Bon Scott set like most traditional Aussie fans do. When I lived in Perth I took some time to visit Bon's final resting place at Fremantle cemetery. It's a tiny memorial plaque in the ground no bigger than a six pax esky lid. Shan lit him a durry and put it in the flower pot. Also saw his statue in Fremantle which is way cool.
@365: Thanks for the Dack clip.
@Tim Clack: My pleasure, mate!
well...here i go again...bad day...what else is new?...first kudos...first 365...another classic stop...the pin-ups were almost worthy of drew in the goodyear...the fact you did not do a couple signature swills to get the oompa-loompas dancing in your head...at least a cherry bomb in honor of joan....gidget thanks for the pics...i'll bet...if i was a betting man...you did not get caught behind a slow walking basically overweight family wearing i heart north judson t-shirts and carrying bags full of whatever they have in that area...kudos to pics of the family...<rant..ac/dc did/does a great rendition of a song created by a great bluesman from the u.s.a....so in reality they covered a song...they might have made it their signature song...even better than zeppelin but it is and will always be a willie dixon tune...rant>...hey 365 are gomer and sgt. carter still your pets?...KOC
rr
Wow , the crowd look great , & seemed to be having Fun , not like Me staying late at work , & then going home & passing out after 2 Beers , but soon I will be relaxing & having a Great time like them next week !!!
@ Gidgit , Great photos , did you take them with a Blackberry ?
@raginrr: Ha ha ha! Yep, Gomer and Sgt. Carter are still my pets, they're hanging out by the fireplace like they have been for the last decade or so. And I bet even though the years have marched on, Drew would still look good swinging from that Goodyear!
@clacky, good onya mate for visiting Bon, thats cool....& yeah Brain is no Bon but he'll just have to do....& as for the Sydney Entertainment Centre, they can have that shithole!!!...went to '96 Ballbreaker concert there, not bad but not big enough....then i jumped on a plane & flew up to Darwin & went to Marrarah Football Stadium for their NT concert....that was just fucking awesome 21st Nov (my b'day) 42degree heat with 98% humidity start of the "silly season", you know what i mean....chicks were dropping like flys in the crowd, passing out & shit.....& Angus has got on the security guards shoulders & done a 20 min solo thru the crowd while the rest of the band were off stage re-hydrating....but best concert i've ever been to!!!!