Monday, January 3rd, 2011—Bar 358

Day 358—Sunday, January 2nd, 2011
Mumbles
A couple weeks ago I was featured in a Q. and A. on the fine blog, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York. I got some nice emails after it ran and one of them suggested I go check out legendary Bill’s Restaurant and Piano Bar in midtown. The email was signed, Paul Scanlon. The name rung a bell and then I remembered the name from the Rolling Stone masthead from the ‘70’s (yes, I’ve always been a masthead geek) and from books on Rolling Stone and Hunter S. Thompson. I wondered if it was the same guy and then I looked at where his email came from and sure enough, it said wennermedia.com. As In Jann Wenner. As in Rolling Stone. After a couple of emails I found out that after being the managing editor of Rolling Stone from 1970 to 1979, Scanlon moved over to editorial duties at GQ, then went on to book editing and other projects and now he had come full circle and is back at Rolling Stone working on a couple projects there. Because of the holiday craziness we never did get to Bill’s, but we made plans to meet at Mumble’s, a joint nearby where I live. I'm looking forward to meeting him, you know he's got some good stories to tell. And so it’s off we go!

I told you it was close by, here we are already.

The bar is crowded for a Sunday afternoon, but I spy on seat at the bar. Let's go snag it.

And no sooner am I seated, than Hal, the very friendly bartender serves up an ice-cold beer.

Cheers, seven more to go (pretend I have two extra fingers on my hand.)

Joe and Carolyn were seated at the end of the bar and we had a nice chat about my 365 journey.

A view from my perch at the bar. Wow, that TV is bright, someone needs to tone that down a bit!

Some of the drafts available at the bar. As you can see, there's a TV on either side of the bar, Gene, you'd like it in here!

Lou was seated next to me and he's a somewhat regular in here who lives nearby.

There's a long wooden railing and stools opposite the bar to hang out at.

And behind the railing are some tables to sit and dine at.

And the main dining room is located to the left of the bar.

Kimberly, a pretty waitress at the bar waits for a drink that Hal is preparing. Hi, Kimberly!

Speaking of Hal, here he is in action behind the bar.

Carolyn and Joe are enjoying brunch at the bar and chatting with a friend.

Mike took Lou's seat next to me at the bar and we had a nice conversation about modern technology and the horrors of texting.

A vintage Budweiser sign hangs behind the bar, topped with holiday stockings.

Okay, night has settled in and the bar becomes darker, illuminated by round globes hanging overhead.

And here he is, tonight's special guest star, Paul Scanlon. I always tell people, that it's not the bars that are the best part of this 365 journey, but the people inside of them. Well, this turned out to be a real highlight. I knew Paul would have some classic Rolling Stone stories and boy did he ever. I don't have room in this caption area to tell them and most of it were off the record but some of the name's in the stories included, Jann Wenner, Hunter Thompson, Andy Warhol, Chet Flippo, David Felton, Ben Fong-Torres, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Buddy Miles, Cameron Crowe and it just went on and on. Great stories from a great era in journalism that will never be duplicated. Thanks for an entertaining evening, Paul!

By the end of the evening Paul got into the 365 spirit and joined me for a one-finger salute! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Mumbles Restaurant and Bar is located near Union Square and has a real neighborhood feel to it. There’s nothing too spectacular about the place, but it’s a friendly spot, mainly filled with locals from the neighborhood. The bar is dark and wooden and globe lights hang overhead. There’s dining tables behind it and a full dining room off to the side of the bar.

It’s a full bar with a good selection of bottled and draft beers. Mumbles also has a large and varied menu with a decent selection of burgers and sandwiches. There’s also pasta and four types of pizza available and if you have a big appetite some of the main entrees include: Blackened Pork Chops, Oven Roasted New Zealand Rack of Lamb, Chilean Sea Bass and one of their specialties, “Better Than mom`s” Meatloaf. That’s a pretty bold statement, because my mom makes a mean meatloaf, so next time I’ll check that out.

Mumbles has brunch on the weekend, available till 4pm. Delivery is also available.

Mumbles
179 Third Ave. (@17th Street)
212-477-6066

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Bonus Paul Scanlon Photos!
This morning, Paul sent me a few photos from back in the day and here they are.

Paul with Hunter S. Thompson in the spring of 1973. Paul was one of the first people that Hunter showed the original "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" manuscript to.

Here's Paul with writer Fred Exley, best known for his book, "A Fan's Notes." This was taken from 1978 when they were working on an excerpt from his novel, "Last Notes From Home," for Rolling Stone.

And here's a classic photo of a good portion of the Rolling Stone staff watching Nixon resign. Great photos, Paul, thanks for sharing them!

Comments

[tiefighter25]

"Masthead Geek"; that's code right? Happy New Year, good luck in the home stretch.