Tuesday, October 12th, 2010—Bar 275

Day 275—Monday, October 11th, 2010
Nancy Whiskey Pub
Okay, first off, let me whine a little bit. As I’ve said before, I don’t blog about my job because I don’t feel like getting dooced  in this shitty economy of ours, but I will let you in on one fact: I’m working the dayshift for two weeks. And I fucking HATE the dayshift. I hate morning, I hate the sunshine, I hate morning people and I don’t drink coffee. I’ve worked a nightshift job since 1986 and working the dayshift really fucks with my system. Plus if there’s a lot of work, I have to work the nightshift also. So I could be putting in some twelve hour plus days. So be prepared for some rough bar-crawling ahead!

Okay, enough whining and on with the crawl. About a month ago, jco who’s a commentator over at the fine Half Empty Glass blog, run and written by Fat Al and his blogging buddy, anonymous271 suggested I check out the Nancy Whiskey Pub in my travels and I made a note to check it out. Well last week, my bar-crawling co-pilot, 365 commentator Al Rizo suggested the same place, and as we all know Al’s never picked a bad spot. So it’s off to the Nancy Whiskey Pub to drown my daytime workshift sorrows.

And we're here, time for beer!

Wow, looks great in here! A fine suggestion from jco and Al.

And it just gets better as the lovely, fun and friendly bartender Kat serves up a beer.

The bar recently made the cover of the Village Voice as one of the top 10 dive bars in Manhattan. Rumor has it that they used models for the cover. Now you know these broads have never paid for a drink, much less poured one! Come on Village Voice, you've got a fine bartender like Kat behind the bar and you use models for the cover? For shame, for shame!

Lawrence and Matt were enjoying some brews at the end of the bar. Lawrence tends bar at Peter McManus Cafe, which was the 17th bar on this bar crawl.

And of course there's a tin ceiling above.

Colored lights and a string of glowing pumpkins add to the festive spirit of the bar.

A shot of the center of the bar.

This sign made me think of Johnny Rotten's autobiography.

The front window has a nice view of Sixth Avenue.

A long-shot of the wooden bar.

Here's Lauren and Sarah who were hanging out by the front window.

Kat plays her tambourine as the jukebox wails "Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones.

The Nancy Whiskey Pub houses New York's only shuffleboard table.

Here's Larry getting blinded by my flash as he takes a shot at the table.

The bar proudly hangs a 9/11 Flag in the corner. The Nancy Whiskey Pub was one of two bars that stayed open directly after September 11th. And they stayed open round the clock for weeks, feeding and pouring drinks for cops and firefighters on the job.

Here's a painting featuring every regular in the bar by artist Robert Cenedella. Check out more of Robert Cenedella's work here: Robert Cenedella Gallery.

And speaking of regulars, here's Erick, one of the shuffleboard enthusiasts at the bar.

And here's Erick and his son featured in Robert Cenedella's "regulars" painting.

Here's a shot from the opposite end of the bar.

I was going to leave, seeing as I have to get up early in the morning, but it was raining like crazy...

So what the hell, let's have another beer and I'll be sorry in the morning. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Nancy Whiskey pub has been a popular neighborhood watering hole since 1967. As they say on their website, they were here before it was Tribeca. The bar has a cozy, inviting atmosphere with friendly bartenders and local patrons. The Village Voice may have declared it one of Manhattan’s top ten dive bars, but owner, Billy Wall will humbly tell you it’s just a “gin joint.” In addition to being a fine and inexpensive drinking establishment, the Nancy Whiskey Pub is home to Manhattan’s only bank shuffleboard table. The game gets a lot of action during week and on Saturday and Sunday nights they have tournament play going on.

The bar is well stocked and there’s a half a dozen beers on draft and eight selections of bottled beer including: Amstel, Corona, Heineken and Magner’s Cider. Happy hour runs from 4pm to 7pm, Monday through Thursday with Bud and Bud Lite pints and bottles going for $2.50 a pop. Monday through Thursday you can also get ten buck pitchers of Bud, Bud Lite and St. Pauli Girl from 5pm to closing.

Some of the pub grub on the menu includes: Burgers, chicken wings, a chicken cutlet sandwich and fried shrimp and chicken baskets. Saturday afternoon’s from noon to five there’s Nancy’s College Football Special which offer two one-half-pound burgers deluxe along with a picher of Bud or Bud Lite for fifteen bucks. Sunday’s feature’s an NFL Sunday Brunch from noon to 4pm.

Nancy Whiskey Pub
1 Lispenard St. (@West Broadway)
212-226-9943
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Bonus Photo!
The other day when I posted the Circa Tabac post, Gidget made a comment about when she was a cigarette girl. I asked her to send in a picture and here she is (on the right, cute as a smoking button! Thanks for sending that in Gidget! And if you haven’t heard her show on Woody Radio, you’re missing out on great music and a lot of fun. Gidget’s the coolest DJ in the world and you need to check out her show. It’s simple and free, just go to the Woody Radio site and check out her schedule. Click here and check out Gidget’s schedule: Woody Radio.

Saturday, August 7th, 2010—Bar 209

Day 209—Friday, August 6th, 2010
Blarney Cove
Alright, day two of the early bar crawl. It’s just a little after noon and I just posted yesterday’s bar crawl and I’m heading out in the cruel, cruel sunshine for today’s stop before my parents come over for a drink before dinner. Since it’s so sunny, I thought I’d go to one of Manhattan’s darker, dive bars. If you come to Manhattan there’s two bars you have to visit if you’re a true dive bar fan. One is the Mars Bar, which I went to on Easter Sunday and the other is the Blarney Cove, which is today’s stop. This place is a legendary joint on the Lower East Side and I pray I can get some pictures in there. I’ve drank in the Blarney Cove and it doesn’t seem like a camera friendly bar, so let’s go see what happens.

Baaahh, sunshine! It's too fucking bright out here!

Through squinted eyes, I spy a hot dog cart.

A dog and some mustard. The breakfast of bar-crawling champions.

Here's Avenue A, we're almost there.

It looks like it's closed, but I think they don't uncover the front window until the sun goes down.

Here it is in all its darkened glory. As soon as the bartender saw my camera, he told me to put it away. But I took a few shots on the sly, I had to include this joint on the bar crawl. Sometimes you have to break the rules a little. The flash was turned off, so I really wasn't bothering anyone in here.

The sun may be bright outside, but it's nice and dark in the Blarney Cove.

A beer, a shot and today's paper, pretty much all one needs to while away some time in the Blarney Cove.

This guy was enjoying some peanuts with his drinks.

Here's a shot of the Formica bar. Some of the regulars are a little shaky in here, but I doubt that much booze has been spilled. They're serious drinkers in here.

After shooting this self-portrait I was busted by the bartender. He told me in no-uncertain terms to put it away. So I put it in my bag and ordered another Budweiser. I wish I could've gotten more shots, but I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse of a true New York dark dive bar. There aren't many like it left in the city and I truly enjoyed this stop on the old bar crawl.

And later on it was Happy Hour with my parents at Chez Wombacher on 16th street. I showed them yesterday's comments and they got a kick out of them and said to say, "Cheers" to everyone.

Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Blarney Cove is one of the last true dive bars in the East Village. The front window is usually shuttered in the daytime and it’s a dark, slim shotgun bar. The bar itself is a long Formica-topped fixture that serves as a holding fixture for the pickled and sloshed masses that are the regulars here. The vibe is not unfriendly, but strangers are viewed with a questionable eye. The first thing the seasoned bartender asked me after I ordered a beer was, “Where do you work?” I’m sure it was a way to see if I was a local guy or not. After I spat out that I worked on 30th Street between 6th and 7th near the Garden I was deemed okay, until he caught a glimpse of my camera and then told me to put it away. They don’t like cameras in here.

What they do like is a beer and a shot and the Yankees. The jukebox is popular in here as well and you’ll here everything from the Drifters to Frank Sinatra to the Beatles to a Spanish song that you’ll have no idea who the artist is. There’s two peanut machines in the back and the booze flows freely in here from 8am to 4am. And some of these snozzled regulars look like when the lights go out, they just pass out on their stools till the dim lights come back on at eight in the morning and have a pint and a shot for breakfast. The Blarney Cove is a true dive bar and a nice blast of the past on 14th street in the East Village.

Blarney Cove
510 E. 14th St. (Near Ave. A)
212-473-9284

Sunday, July 18th, 2010—Bar 189

Day 189—Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Blarney Stone on Third
Alright, it’s request day today, which I love because It means I don’t have to pick the bar. A while back I got an email from Mark Smimmo suggesting that I stop at the Blarney Stone on Third Avenue. He told me to ask for Caroline whom he said was the best barmaid in the city. And so, it’s off to the Blarney Stone we go. It's just that easy.

It's Saturday, so we'll take a leisurely walk to the place.

Aaaahhhhhhh!

This old school shoe and watch place is a nice antidote for what we last saw.

And after a long, sweaty walk, here we are at the original Blarney Stone bar.

Lots of specials dot the lime green colored entrance.

Okay, to quote the Talking Heads, this must be the place.

Yvonne and Maggie were the two pretty and friendly bartenders on duty.

Caroline wasn't on duty, but she was enjoying drinks at the end of the bar. When I asked if I could take her picture, Caroline said no, but she did ask me to say hi to "Big Mark." So hi from Caroline, "Big Mark." And cheers to the late, great, Andy. "Smirnoff and water, NO FRUIT!" She remembered that Mark and it brought a smile to her face.

And how funny is this, the first person I meet is named Mark as well. This guy has been a regular for close to a year and was like a tour guide for me, introducing me to some of the regulars and showing me how the bar works and how the different areas house different people.

Mark poses with his grandfather, Tommy who's been perched on a barstool here for over 36 years.

Mark explained the division of the bar to me. The front area is the horse betters who bet in the neighboring OTB and watch the results on the TV's in the front of the bar.

The middle of the bar is friendly regulars and as you get to the right end, it gets a little rough. Mark is right about this, I asked a guy at the end of the bar if I could take a picture and it looked like he wanted to punch me in the mouth. I quickly retreated to the middle before my camera got smashed.

Mark told me the tables were mainly filled with tourists and first-timers to the Blarney Stone.

Here's a list of beers available and as you can see, you won't go broke drinking in here.

Alright, it's cheeseburger Saturday night and it's time to eat.

And master chef Julio is happy to grill me up some sliders.

Here he proudly displays the finished product. They look delicious.

And they are, I love cheeseburger Saturday night!

Mark's brother Jeff joins the party.

Jeff's got an ipad and everyone checks out the 365 Bar crawl.

Shit, I forgot to write down this guy's name. He's a great musician and a friend of Mark's. Mark if you're reading this, please leave his name in the comments section and I'll update this. UPDATE: I just got a comment from Pablo that this fine musician's name is Paulivio.

Yvonne serves up a special Blarney shot of whiskey on the house. This thing is huge, equal to about three ounces.

So of course I decide to down it in one gulp.

Bomb's away!

Wow, that was rough! The sliders about slid back the wrong way.

I think I'll survive though.

Feeling better and back to the beer.

Goodnight everybody!

Review
There’s a lot of Blarney bars in Manhattan. There’s Blarney Stones, Blarney Rocks and a Blarney Cove on 14th Street which I plan on visiting in a daytime episode of this bar crawl, but that’s another story and another bar crawl. The Blarney Stone on Third is the original Blarney bar. It’s a definitive working class bar and the crowd is varied and changes with the hours. In the daytime regulars bet at the neighboring OTB parlor and then watch the races on the TV. The bartenders are Irish, pretty and friendly and as nightime draws the crowd includes construction workers, local plumbers, suits from nearby office buildings, tourists and the grizzled regulars who never seem to leave the joint. Christmas lights intermingle with shamrocks over the bar and the beer flows freely.

There’s a good selection of bottled and draft beers and the prices are happy hour styled with pints running between $2.50 to $3.50 all day and all of the night to quote Ray Davies. The steam tables up front feature home-styled meals such as roast turkey and stuffing, baked ham, brisket of beef and meat loaf. All the meals include potato and vegetables and are served up in genuine Styrofoam buckets. There’s a large selection of sandwiches and the cheeseburgers are grilled to perfection before your very eyes.

There’s a lot of pretenders to the Blarney Stone name, but this is the real deal.

Blarney Stone
710 Third Ave (Between 44th and 45th Street)
212-490-0457