Tuesday, January 4th, 2011—Bar 359

Day 359—Monday, January 3rd, 2010
Formerly Bill's Gay Nineties
Okay, first things first, a live donation has been made by my friend and co-worker, Dorothy Niemczyk! Dorothy contributed a generous twenty dollars for the last night of the bar crawl and here she is presenting it to me below:
Thanks, so much, Dorothy, that’s very nice of you. And in a work-related message: Your proof is done and on the table in the ink jet room.

Alright, on to the crawl! If memory serves me correctly (and it often does not), Bill’s Gay Nineties Piano Bar was one of my co-pilot Al Rizo’s earlier suggestions. I filed it away and people keep mentioning it to me and I was originally going to meet Paul Scanlon, who we met yesterday at Bill’s, but that didn’t work out so we met at Mumble’s. Well, I’m just about out of days here, so I better get there while the bar crawl is still crawling. Ready, set...crawl!

Here we are, Bill's Gay Nineties, let's go check it out.

Here's Rita, the lovely coat-check woman and hostess. She pointed me to the direction of the bar.

Which is right throught the swinging saloon doors.

It's Monday, so there's plenty of seats at the bar, let's settle in.

And here's beer number one, served up by the friendly and hospitable bartender, Marc.

A shot of the festive bar.

Bob and Tony were holding down the end of the bar and posed for the 365 camera. Cheers, guys!

Vintage photos line the walls in here.

Many of them are old-time sports photos, like these two baseball players.

Here's a wall of antique boxing photos.

And a photo of a horse, of course, of course! Even if that horse isn't the famous Mr. Ed.

A long shot of the dark wooden bar.

The lone chandelier that illuminates and hangs over the bar.

There's tables for dining opposite the bar.

Which is where I found this party enjoying drinks and the ambiance at Bill's. From left: Molly, Carrie, Tony and Ashely.

There's a piano player on duty every night at Bill's, let's go check him out.

It's Elliot Paul and he's quite the entertaining Piano Man. Billy Joel would be proud of this guy!

Here's Elliot in full swing.

And now he's got some of the crowd up on there feet dancing.

It looks more like Friday night than Monday in here.

But, alas it is Monday and I have to hit the road to get my beauty sleep for the last few nights. Here's a parting shot with everyone from the bar. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
In 1924, Bill Hardy opened up Bill's Gay Nineties as a speakeasy and it became a roaring success, housing three floors of rotating entertainment. After prohibition ended, the shutters came off the window and you know longer needed to know the secret word to get in the door. And today the bar pretty much remains the same, which is nice in this era of cookie cutter sports bars that get thrown up and then go out of business just as soon. The bar is classic old school New York from the well worn bar itself to the blue-checked table-clothed tables and chairs opposite and in front. The walls are lined with vintage photos from the past and you could spend the evening perusing them and not see every thing in one night. It’s a true classic New York bar in here.

They have a full bar at Bill’s with friendly and expert bartenders who can handle any drink selection you throw at them. Bill’s has a lunch and dinner menu and the kitchen is open till 11:30pm. All entrees are served with a potato and vegetable and here’s a few selections from the menu: Pan Seared Maryland Crab Cakes; Broiled Filet of North Atlantic Salmon; Shrimp Scampi sautéed with Garlic and White Wine and Bill’s New York Strip Steak.

Bill’s is one of the last original piano bars in town and there’s three pianists on duty Monday through Saturday. The piano gets fired up around eight o’clock at night. Feel free to request a tune, and while you would think that “Free Bird” isn’t in their repertoire, request away, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Bill's Gay Nineties
57 E. 54th St (Near Madison Ave.)
212-355-0243

Mucho Thanks as always to my Co-Pilot, Al Rizo for suggesting this place months ago!

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Bonus Photos From Clacky’s Bunt Custer's Bar!
Our friend and commentator Tim “Clacky” Clack in Australia has opened his own bar in his backyard and sent in some photos from the opening party. Here’s part one of the photos from the celebrations from his bar, fondly known as “Bunt Custer’s.” Take it away Clacky!

Opening day at Bunt Custer's, Maryville, Newcastle.

The Cliff Richard "Wired for Sound" memorial corner...Is Cliff even dead?

Party ready to go!

Shan does first drinks. Margarita time!

This happy chap is Dr. Nay Field. Doctor, beer drinker and co-builder of the Bunt Custer's Bar.

Things got lively when Gerant rocked up in a dress and Nay put on a Mexican wrestling mask.

Hey it's a 365 salute all the way from Australia! (keep in mind Shots of tequila had begun buy this point.)

Thanks for the photos Clacky, stay tuned for Part II, tomorrow!

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010—Bar 338

Day 338—Monday, December 13th, 2010
P.J. Carney's
I’ve been meaning to go to P.J. Carney’s for some time now. It’s a bar that’s been around since 1927 and it’s within spitting distance of Carnegie Hall. So how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice? No silly rabbit, subway, subway, subway!

The first snow here in New York. Fuck.

And here at the subway stop my luck continues to run afoul. It's empty which means I just missed a train. Double fuck.

And five minutes later it's starting to fill up, but still no train.

Finally!

And through the magic of the internet you're spared a ride that included a seven minute wait in Times Square while sitting next to a 309 pound man that smelled like curry that had gone bad last century.

Nice and dark in here and a decent crowd for a Monday night. Time to find a seat at the bar.

And no sooner do I settle in than the friendly and beautiful bartender, Susie serves up an ice-cold beer.

Festive holiday lights hang from the wooden walls.

A shot of the circular bar from where I was seated.

Glasses and lights hang overhead the bar.

Some of the drafts available at the bar.

Tables and chairs line the walls opposite the bar.

A Christmas wreath hangs in the window.

All the artwork in P.J. Carney's is by local artist, Robert Cenedella. If you're a longtime reader of this blog, you'll remember we ran into Robert's art at the Nancy Whiskey Pub. Things really move in a circular motion on this bar crawl.

John was seated next to me at the bar. He's in town on business from San Antonio, Texas.

Meghan was the other pretty bartender on duty and she was nice enough to buy me a shot. And John was nice enough to take the shot of the shots. And speaking of things moving in a circular motion on the old bar crawl, I met Meghan's boyfriend, Rufus, the other week at The Watering Hole.

These people have gone for a "puff." Is there some wacky tobacky action going on here? I'll never tell.

These two just walked in, let's go say hi.

It's Jennifer and Anna. Does it get any cuter than this? No, and that's my cue to leave on a high note.

And how do you get home from Carnegie Hall and/or P.J. Carney's? Taxi, taxi, taxi. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
P.J. Carney’s has been an institution on this block since 1927. Inside the dark bar is a circular dark wooden bar in the center with tables and chairs on the perimeter. The cliental is a mix of locals and tourists who have just caught a show at the nearby Carnegie Hall and sometimes the entertainers from the show stop by as well. The bar has a nice and lively atmosphere and the bartenders are quick with a drink and friendly to all.

The bar itself is circular and cozy and plentiful with drinks. There’s eight bottled beers to be had and an impressive amount of twenty drafts including: Boddington’s, Blue Moon Belgian Ale, Brooklyn Lager and in a tip of the hat to my hometown of Peoria, Illinois and Frank Booth, Pabst Blue Ribbon. There’s also a decent wine and whiskey list and five varieties of cocktails. The kitchen is open till two in the morning and in addition to such standards as burgers, wings and sandwiches, they also offer these specialities: Shepherd’s Pie; Beer Battered Fish and Chips; Irish Chicken Curry over rice and Beef Chili in a tortilla bowl with cheddar cheese, onions and sour cream.

P.J. Carney's
906 Seventh Ave. (Near 57th St.)
212-664-0056

Thursday, November 25th, 2010—Bar 319

Day 319—Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
Dervish (Originally headed for Via Brasil)
Tonight’s bar choice comes over the river, through the continents and straight to the 365 blog. Yesterday an amazing thing happened, I met and took a photo of a couple at last night's stop and the man in the photo was a roommate of a follower and sometime commentator here at 365, Pops. Pops lives in Brazil and left the following comment: “Incredible. In 1997 I went to UC Berkeley to do an MBA. While I was there I was the roommate of a guy called Alok, the same one you took a picture at Savoy! Unfuckingbelievable! I haven't seen his face for almost 10 Years! Thanks for showing me that he´s alive and ok! Also, you should check a Brazilian bar sometime. I talk to some friends that live in NY and they pointed me to: Cabana Carioca, Ipanema, Via Brasil, Favela Cabana or Brasilia. They said you can have the best caipirinha money can buy! Take care and keep crawling!”

Pretty nuts, huh? I’ve been to Ipanema, but none of the others and I promise I’ll try to visit them all before it’s though. Tonight I’ve decided on Via Brasil. So, there you go, Pops, this bar’s for you!

Via Brasil is on 46th Street, so we'll hoof it up there, it's starting to get chilly out.

Goddamn slow walkers in this part of town!

And these people are creating a huge jam-up on the sidewalk by gawking at the window display in Macy's windows. It's not a TV show people, let's move along!

The barricades are up for tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day parade. Something I'll never attend as I have a tradition of sleeping through it.

And here we are, 46th Street, Little Brazil.

Via Brasil, let the crawl begin!

Sadly, I was informed by the bartender that the owner doesn't allow pictures inside. Sorry, Pops, I tried. Time for a lonely walk in search of a bar.

I remember going to the Upstairs Bar in this hotel. A great stop along the crawl.

And look who's outside, the owner of The Upstairs Bar, Frank with his cigar-smoking friend who I forgot to ask his name. Frank told me he's a faithful follower of the 365 bar crawl. Cheers to Frank!

A lot of the bars I'm passing are jammed with people. This is like a Friday night because most people don't have to work tomorrow. I wonder if there's a bar in here?

Not only is there a bar, it's empty. This may not make for the most exciting stop on the crawl, but fuck it, I've walked a lot and I'm beat, this is tonight's stop.

I've got my choice of seats here, nice!

And even nicer is friendly and beautiful bartender, Julia who serves up an ice-cold bottle of Corona!

Cheers and Happy Rockefeller, everybody!

There's a nice painting of the bar behind the bar.

Some of the beers available on draft.

Swanky red leather booths line the walls opposite the bar.

There's a dining room above and a giganzo TV for Gene!

Julia deep in thought behind the bar.

A long shot of the highly-polished wooden bar.

Ha, that should be the motto of the bar crawl!

About a month ago, my friend Rick Halberg who pens the Groovyrick's Blog, sent in a donation and said all he wanted was a pretty girl to wave to him. I keep forgetting to do this, but tonight this wave is for you Rick! And goodnight, everybody.

Review
Okay, it’s a holiday and I have places to go and a bar to visit later, you can read all about that in tomorrow’s post. But since it’s a holiday, I’m going to slack and post a review from New York magazine.

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The large, multi-chambered Turkish spot is ornate in a distinctly pre-theater way: In the mezzanine lounge, dramatic wall sconces are framed by crimson trompe l’oeil curtains; on the ground floor, a mural painted with the words “The Show Must Go On!” hangs behind the long, mahogany bar. The dinner menu is clearly priced for the theater crowd, though dishes, once ordered, are slow to arrive at the table. But the food’s quite satisfying once delivered. Especially good are appetizers like lemon-and-basil-infused yogurt cacik (akin to Greek tzatziki); dolmas stuffed with spinach and ground pine nuts; and hearty, nicely spiced red lentil soup. The entrees are less consistent, so it’s best to stick to lamb dishes like traditional doner and hunkar begendi, cubes of meat in a baba ghanoush-style puree of eggplant and roasted tomato. — Sarah Gold

Recommended Dishes
Red lentil soup, $6.50; Saray-style lemon cacik, $6; Traditional doner, $15.75

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Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I don’t say this enough, but THANKS for reading and supporting this blog, it means a lot to me. Cheers to you all!

Dervish
146 W. 47th St. (Near Seventh Ave.)
212-997-0070