Tuesday, Sept. 21st, 2010—Bar 254
Day 254—Monday, September 20th, 2010
Café Andalucia
I want to thank Frank Carmichael for interviewing me yesterday on his Happenings Q and A radio show on WLIP radio. Frank’s a great interviewer and this is the fourth time I’ve been on his show. Check it out Monday through Friday from 1pm to 3pm CST, you can listen live on the WLIP Homepage.
If you recall last Saturday...you’re doing better than me. I can’t remember last night! (Rimshot.) Thanks folks, I’ll be here all week. But seriously, if you remember last Saturday’s visit to Sardi's you’ll recall me meeting writer Carliss Pond, the author of Taste of Broadway. Well she’s also penned a book called, Sizzle in Hell’s Kitchen which is a collection of recipes, photos and quotes from restaurants and bars all in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York. She suggested I check out, Café Andalucia, which is located right across the street from the Holland Bar. So that’s tonight’s destination, when the author of Sizzle in Hell’s Kitchen recommends a Hell’s Kitchen bar, you go. That’s just the rules!
And here we are at Café Andalucia.
Live jazz on Thursday's and Sunday's there's flamenco music. But this is Monday, so none of this matters.
And you can tell it's Monday in here, as I have the entire bar to myself.
But friendly and lovely bartender Melba makes me feel at home and mixes me up a mini pitcher of homemade Sangria.
Here she is in action mixing up the fruity drink.
A few finishing touches and...
Instant Sangria!
It's delicious! Wonderful job, Melba!
There's a large selection of booze here at the bar, as you can see.
Original artwork hangs all over the bar, here's some on the wall facing the bar.
And a good chunk of the artwork is created by the owner and chef, Guillermo Vidal.
Here's Guillermo with his favorite painting at the bar.
In addition to Guillermo's paintings, there's other artist's featured and all the artwork is for sale.
Since it was a slow night, Guillermo hung out with me and we had a great conversation ranging from art to music to politics to movies. He's a great host who makes you feel like you've been a regular at the bar for eternity.
El Diablo!
David is in town from Spain and was enjoying dinner and wine in the front window area.
A long shot of the bar.
The selection of bottled beer available and assorted knick-knacks above the bar.
Melba came to the other side of the bar to pose for a photo with owner, Guillermo.
Tables line the wall opposite the bar for dining and drinking.
The colorful back wall at Café Andalucia.
There's live music several nights a week here, as this Roland amp on the table confirms.
Guillermo said he wasn't planning on drinking this evening, but decided to have a beer in spite of that. I'm a bad influence! Cheers and goodnight, everybody!
Review
Café Andalucia has a bit of an identity crisis, but in this case, that’s a good thing. It’s one part bar, one part restaurant, one part art gallery and one part neighborhood social club. It’s a small, intimate space with a long narrow bar and candle-lit tables opposite for seating. The atmosphere is friendly and if you’re lucky enough to be able to score some time with the host, owner and chef, Guillermo Vidal, you’ll have a colorful conversation and a whopping good time. There’s live music here, on Thursday’s they feature live jazz and on Sunday’s it’s flamenco night starting at 8pm.
Café Andalucia has a full bar and while you’d expect wine to be the featured player at a small tapas bar, the bar and it’s patrons tend to lean more to the liquor bottles than the vino. The sangria is homemade and the mojitos is a favorite at the bar. There’s also bottled beer including: Estrella, Corona, Beck’s and Amstel Light. The bar features a whopping 36 tapas plates to choose from including: Prosciutto Fresh Mozzarella W/ Tomatoes, Olives, Sopresatta for two; Manchego Cheese with Apples; Spanish Style Beef Patties and Spanish Sausage sautéed in onions, peppers and a wine sauce. if you’re a little hungier there’s a Skirt Steak cooked Argentine Style available, a Spanish Sausage sandwich and a Cubano sandwich to choose from. Some of the main entrees include: The House Combo-Skirt Steak and Loin Of Pork; Jumbo Shrimps W/ Scallops; Paella Valenciana which is a mixture of chicken sausage, clams and mussels and Almejas Verde which is clams with green sauce and a side of rice.
Happy hour runs seven days a week here (Monday through Friday, noon to 6pm, Sunday, 2:30pm to 6pm) with four dollar well drinks, 4 buck Jagermeisters and six dollar mojitos.
Café Andalucia
533 Ninth Ave. (Near 40th St.)
212-736-9411
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Bonus Illustration
Jaws just sent in this illustration in regards to what I drank last night. Nice work, Jaws!
26 Comments
Reader Comments (26)
ATM! ATM!
I like when the owner is there and hands on. Too many places these days have absent owners and rely on managers to run the place. Guillermo was friendly to you and that is very important for word of mouth business. I love tapas and those bars are everywhere here. Tortilla with ham and shrimp with garlic,,,etc,,,small plates just right for the bar. I like that long wood bar. I hope he has success in this tough business. That house special skirt steak/loin of pork sounds fantastic. Across the street from Holland Bar? Im happy now.
I think I might have to stop here on my way in from the airport. I love a good sangria (they're harder to come by than you might think), and mojitos are yummily in my tummily. But mostly I'm interested in taste-testing their delicious-sounding menu. I hope your bartender's there (is it Melba or Mabel?) - she seems super friendly!
@Dorothy: Nice catch, eagle eyes!
@Biff: It's Melba, thanks for catching the typo, eagle eyes II!
Looks like Biff and I are on the same page...that menu sounds great! Sausage, peppers and mozzarella and/or provolone cheese in the hands of a cook that knows what he or she is doing = gastronomic heaven! And you know what sangria means in English Marty...of course you do....it's blood Marty...blood...blood....Mouahahahahahahaaaaa!!!
Looks like a great place! I agree with Al and love it when you can meet the actual owner of the place. It's cool that the bar supports local art too. And the sangria looks delicious and the menu sounds great! Great suggestion by Carliss, I need to check out her books!
@ Jaws and Marty : and do you know what means Sangria in french? "Sang = Blood and ria = laughed" !!! But still the same pronounciation than "Sang grilla" which means "burned Blood" !! HAHA
Cool place, the food makes me feel hungry! Oh and I'm working in a kebab place since yesterday, and today the boss makes me tasted "fritter mozarella", this is so good :) yum
I think Guillermo is the spitting image of the "Capitain Haddock" in The adventures of Tintin!! ;)
Cool place & in my Hood !!!
Oh shit ZioumZioum , your right , he is the spitting image of "Capitain Haddock" !!!
@ Marty , when will you call me to hangout when ur in my hood !! , again ur in my hood !!! Do I have to give you a beat down , Hells Kitchen Style !!! OK just kidding .
@Zioum Zioum: Check out Jaw's illustration he sent in below, I think he knows!
@Jason: I didn't decide to go there till after you left, you will definitely know about the next one.
i love the character and feel of this place. and i agree that its cool the owner sat down and chatted with you, he seems like a nice guy.
Roland Amps suck but thats OK it wasn't plugged in.
I checked out Carliss' cookbooks. They'd be great to have on hand. Brilliant photos and recipies....
@Jaws: I think I've said this before....you are a genious. Nice red eyes!!
@365: Ever thought of becoming a cartoon character?Jaws is your go to guy for animation....he just seems to have a knack for making everything seem ....drunk. A nice leisurely night on the crawl. Quiet night for Guillermo. All Chefs need a quiet one every now and then to go and socialise
and to make an attempt to develop what most would call 'People Skills'.
This place reminds me of a Tapas bar that I went to in Melbourne a few years back. Can't remember the name of it though.
cool place and cool owner !
looks like a nice, low key place to just chill out and have some good food
@ Grompf : Have you changed your old 54bit web subscription or are you hacking the AB bar connection? LOL That's cool to see you back in here!! ;)
PS: If you changed your subscription, does that mean you will take an apointement to the dentist soon????? LOL JDCJDR !
@Jaws; Your the best for cartoons :D
Oh and a shout-out to the great city of Kenosha! Hi Schroeders!
@zioumzioum : you forgot that i can do anything i want/need with a 12 year old computer (yes...i said an old computer... not a PC...). i just need time for that . No need to change a web subscription : Add some brain juice in your life (and a few beers in order to get a good dilution ratio) and everything goes smoother... JDCJDR :)
@Al, could'nt agree more on your owner/ manager call....we have an even bigger problem down here with supermarket giants Coles & Woolworths have gone thru Queensland & alot of New South Wales & bought up all the old school family pubs....they gut them & totally refurbish them into pubs that are sadly lacking any form of personality or character....these guys have realised the "REAL" profit does'nt come in over the bar in drinks & meals but in the ownership/licenses of the poker (lottery) machines.....its a sad state of affairs....gone are the days of sitting with the owners & letting them shout drinks after close into the wee early hours of the AM....only to have the owner throw you a key to a room upstairs at the end of the session so you dont drive...cheers to Guillermo!
@Tim Clack: Maybe when the website is done I'll pitch it to the Cartoon Network!
@Fitzy: cheers to Guillermo!
@Fitzy: Too true. The Owner of the pub where I work is there EVERY day but not during nights The bar staff are trust worthy and loyal so every now and then we get to "clear out" the beer lines.
The Pokies, although sometimes fun and good for personal gain, have in many ways destroyed pub culture especially in NSW...the one huge thing they seriously hurt was a great Aussie tradition called PUB ROCK. We struggled for many years trying to get gigs....many live music venues faded away due to the TAB and Pokies and big screens for the footy.
The sad reality is that these places simply can't survive on drinks and meals alone especially these days when every pub on every corner is flogging off steaks and schnitzels for $10 a pop!
I lived in Perth last year where they've outlawed the pokies. It's a really strange vibe but somewhat relaxing at the same time....go figure.
To add on....
This site is the best pub on earth!
I can get as drunk as I want.
I'm not gonna get kicked out or cut off...(that remains to be seen)
I can go to New York every day!
...and the juke box fucking rules!
@Tim Clack: Thanks, mate!
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damn everyone on this crawl knows who who's....why waste a keystroke?...i know off topic... this looks like a nice stop on the crawl....after "waldorf and sardi's cooked my modem...hope you don't see me and my ragged company and alll...jason that shot of the tower was awesome...sorry all .usually run a day or two behind and a dollar or two short...KOC
rr