Saturday, July 31st, 2010—Bar 202

Day 202—Friday, July 30th, 2010
Landmark Tavern
Another day, another generous donation. This one’s an anonymous one, but you know who you are and I thank you very much for the more than generous donation of twenty dollars. Let me know when you get to Manhattan next and I’ll use part of it to buy you a beer, thanks!

And thanks to 365 commentator, Jaws for buying a shirt yesterday from the 365 Bar Store that “Boris” maintains. Jaws is going to send in a picture of himself modeling the shirt but till then he sent in this photo of the world’s largest woodpecker, behold:
Badooomp! Thanks, Jaws!

On the 200th bar post from Puffy’s, Fat Al, who’s one half of the blogging team that creates the fine and often humorous blog, The Half Empty Glass, I go to a landmark tavern coincidentally called, The Landmark Tavern. Fat Al is the one who clued me in about Fedora’s bar, so he knows his shit and I immediately put it on my list. I decided to go tonight because it’s located at the corner of 46th and 11th and is a bit off the beaten paths of all the other Hell’s Kitchen bars, so maybe it won’t be packed on a Friday night. Let’s go see.

My friend and co-worker Decker donated twenty bucks and said it was in honor of my Goodfellas night which wasn't cheap. Thanks Decker!

And now through the magic of Al Gore's internet, here we are at the Landmark Tavern.

So much for off the beaten path, it's jam-packed in here.

I manage to squeeze in at the bar and order a beer and Tom the bartender happily serves it up.

As I take my first sip I look up and see a tin ceiling, the sign of a classic bar. Fat Al did not steer us wrong tonight.

Here's a group of people, let's go bother them with the 365 camera.

They turned out to be nice people and wanted to take a photo with me. Here I am in super goofy-looking mode with Sue and Anup. Really nice people and supportive of the 365 idea.

This woman wanted in the picture as well, but ran out the door before I could get her name. Goodbye Mystery Woman!

I finally snagged a seat at the bar and here's my view from it.

It's a long bar with rows and rows of booze bottles for your drinking pleasure.

Here's Michael Younge one of the proprietors of the Landmark Tavern.

The bar is well-worn and has old-school classic New York charm.
Tom in action on a busy Friday night.

Honest Abe.

Here's Christina and Lisa who were seated next to me at the bar and had just downed a tequila shot.

There's tables opposite the bar.

Surprisingly on such a crowded night these window-side seats are empty. Hey, what's that on the tables...

FIRE!

Okay, a quick glance out the window and I'm on my way out the door. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Landmark Tavern certainly lives up to its name. It’s one of the oldest bars, not only in the Hell’s Kitchen area where it resides but in all of New York. It’s been open since 1868 and survived as a speakeasy in the prohibition years. The saloon still has its old-world charm with dark wooden walls and a long wooden bar and stools. The barkeeps are friendly and there’s a full dining area in the back.

There’s a full bar featuring a good selection of draft and bottled beers and over 16 different single malt whiskeys are available. There’s also a large wine list and specialty coffees including, Irish, French and Calypso. There’s a bar menu that features such offerings as: Irish Bangers And Mash, Popcorn Shrimp, Sirloin Steak Wrap and a Basket Of Fries with garlic mayonnaise. There’s also a full dining room in the back with entrees such as: Long Island Duck Breast, Fresh Herb Marinated Chicken Breast, Grilled Sirloin Steak and Lamb Shanks.

The bar is open early at 11:30 in the morning and doesn’t close till 3:00am the following morning, so there’s always time to fit the Landmark Tavern into your drinking schedule.

Landmark Tavern
626 Eleventh Ave. (@ 46th St.)
212-247-2562

Thursday, June 17th, 2010—Bar 158

Day 158—Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Blue Ruin

We’ve got a special guest star on the bar crawl tonight, Tonya Schwarz! Tonya and I used to work together, then she moved onward and upward with her career, got married, had a child (kudos to her husband Matt who babysat for the evening, check out Matt’s business, MSDS, a branding and design firm here in New York City: MSDS.) and I’ve pretty much just spiraled sideways, as I’ve done for the last two decades or so. Tonya joined the facebook fan page that my friend's Gidget (the coolest DJ in the world, check her out on Woody Radio!) and “Boris” maintain. The facebook page has introduced a lot of people to this site since it went up and I want to thank Gidget for having the idea for it and putting it up and “Boris” who helps with the day to day postings. You guys are the best! And remember if you need artwork, a logo designed, art for your website, a book or CD cover, “Boris” is available for freelance, just send me an email and I’ll forward it along. And as mentioned earlier, Gidget is a faulous DJ goddess and her show rocks! Check out her schedule here: Woody Radio.

Okay, as per tradition and because I get sick of trying to figure out where to go every night, I let Tonya pick the bar. She picked The Blue Ruin, a fairly new dive bar in Hell’s Kitchen. And so it’s off we go!

Deja view, we're headed up the same way as last night.

You've waited patiently, Joey D. and here you are with some ATM loving! It's a laundromat edition, so it's clean ATM, the best kind! Enjoy!

And here we are, the Blue Ruin. Let's see if Tonya's here.

She's here!

And the lovely and fun bartender, Reina Terror promptly delivers a can of Pabst as hellos are exchanged.

Tonya brought along two of her friends from her weekly book club. From left: Debbie, Sheila, Tonya and me. Let's call this shot, "Three fabulous women and a goofball."

The vibe here is care-free with an emphasis on getting hammered if you so desire.

Zoe and Sam were enjoying drinks at the bar.

There's a pool table in the back room.

Bob took a break from his pool game to pose for this photo.

The Blue Ruin's jukebox has some great rock 'n' roll tunes on it.

Here's Shy and Charles who were chilling at the bar.

Pizza!

Cheers from Leif who was seated next to me at the bar.

Reina lets her inner Gene Simmons loose and lets off a flaming shot at the bar. Unlike the scary Apotheke, the flames are behind the bar and safely away from the patrons.

Fire! Reina is an expert fire breather and the bar applauded her efforts.

Photobooth!

That's not my finger in my nose by the way! Thanks to fabulous babe bartender Reina Terror for the hospitality and fire show and to Tonya and her friends Debbie and Sheila for joining me on the crawl! A fantabulous night!

Review
The owner describes this joint as, “Gangs of New York meets McSorley’s meets Hogs & Heifers.” That’s a tall order to fill, but after a year in business, they’ve managed to pull it off. With its tin ceiling, pine floors (uprooted from a Pepsi Cola Factory in Queens), flags, pool table, wacky bric-a-brac and fire-breathing babe bartenders, this place manages to give off an old school Hell’s Kitchen dive bar vibe and experience, despite being the new kid on the block. In addition to the fun atmosphere they boast a great jukebox with tunes ranging from the 101ers to Joan Jett to Supersuckers to the New York Dolls.

There’s a full bar here, but the emphasis is on beer and shots. Happy Hour runs from 5pm to 8pm with two for one drinks. The bartenders are female, friendly and fabulous looking and the clientle is an interesting mix of neighborhood regulars, tourists checking out the area and people grabbing a beer and a shot before their bus takes off from the nearby Port Authority Bus Station.

Stop by and enjoy the antique decor and stay for the cheap beer and shots. Cheers!

Blue Ruin
538 9th Ave. (between 39th St & 40th St)
917-945-3497

P.S. Tonya told me to say hi with everyone she used to work with, but I think the only one left besides me is Frank Scott. And Frank, Tonya wanted me to ask you this: "How do you like your job, Frank?" Goodnight everybody!