Monday, December 6th, 2010—Bar 330

Day 330—Sunday, December 5th, 2010
Walker's
Tonight we dine with Fat Al, one half of the blogging team that produces the fine blog, The Half Empty Glass. He chose Walker’s tavern in Tribeca to meet at, so that’s tonight’s destination. And I think that jco, a frequent commentator at The Half Empty Glass is going to be there as well. Some of you will remember them from the last time we met at The Winner’s Circle in midtown, a classic night on the bar crawl. And I’ve heard rumors that Fat Al’s elusive blogging partner, anonymous271 might show up as well. And who knows who else might show up? We’ll never know till we go, so let’s hit the fucking road.

I was going to take a cab, but traffic was nuts and there were none to be had, so we'll be traveling on the subway. I'll probably get there faster anyway.

Here comes the train, take Fat Al's advice and lean back, motherfuckers!

And through the magic of the internet, I'll spare you a train ride that included skipping the Franklin Street stop and doubling back to get here, anyway, here we are!

Wow, it's crowded inside, but I see a spot at the end of the bar.

Alright, all settled in. Hey bartender!

Steve the bartender serves up an ice-cold Budweiser. Nice Elvis shirt!

Bar number 330. In 35 days you can stick a fork in me because I'll be done.

I had a feeling this place would have a tin ceiling and a glance upwards proves it to be true.

You don't have to be named Steve to work here, but I think it helps. Here's Steve, part of the friendly waitstaff.

Vintage photos and paintings line the walls which are also made of tin.

A quick glance outside the festive window.

Here's the dining area. That waitress looks like she could use a break.

And here's a the quick break. Her name's Linder and I call this shot, "drinking on duty." That's my kind of woman!

Phil and Roy were seated next to me and were very supportive of the whole 365 idea.

Phil even bought shots for the three of us. Cheers! We had a nice conversation about work, marriage, children and two-headed women. Phil had the quote of the night when he said, "I thought I was fucked up till I met you!" Ha ha ha!

And look who's at teh end of the bar, the Fat Al party! From left, anonymous271, Katie, Fat Al hidden by the NY Times and jco! Time for Sunday dinner.

A painting of this woman hung over our table and I'm really curious as to who she is and what she's doing right now. If she's making the world's largest belly button lint ball right at this moment, all would be perfect in this world.

Our dinner came, but my twice baked potatoes had beans in them, so I took a photo of the crayons on the table instead. And you know what happens when crayons are on the table...

Tic tac toe quickly follows. I had just made a remark about how no one ever wins when Katie quickly defeated an embarassed anonymous271 to all our amazement!

Oh the agony of defeat! (Update: anonymous271 has just posted about his defeat at the Half Empty Glass. Read about it here: "A Drumbeat of Humiliation.")

And Katie proudly holds the crayon that drew the winning game.

And then seconds later, Fat Al trounced jco with this Ballatine Ale triple X victory! Unbelievable. So what do these two tic tac toe losers have to say for themselves?

Exactly what I would say! Thanks to Fat Al, anonymous271, jco and Katie for meeting me and for a great night out. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Walker’s is an old-school, no frills neighborhood tavern in the heart of Tribeca. There’s a long, well worn wooden bar to enjoy beer and cocktails and a green tin ceiling hovers overhead. There’s a dining area with wooden tables adorned with white table cloths opposite the bar. There’s also a second room in the back with tables set up for people to eat and drink at. It’s a friendly neighborhood place and the bartenders and staff are fun and treat everyone like they’re life-long regulars.

There’s a full bar here with plenty of choices of bottled and draft beer as well as wine and mixed spirits. The food menu has such offerings as: Pasta Primavera; 12 ounce Angus Shell Steak; Cornmeal Crusted Willapoint Oysters with cajun tartar sauce and Walker's Chopped Sirloin Steak with green peppercorn demi glace, served with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Live jazz is played here every Sunday night and the twice baked potatoes have beans in them. I’ll be obsessed with that forever.

Walker's
16 N. Moore St. (@Varick St.)
212-941-0142