Monday, July 19th, 2010—Bar 190

Day 190—Sunday, July 18th, 2010
The Rusty Knot
The Village Voice recently named their top 10 Manhattan bars. Coming in at number 10 was a naughtical themed bar called the Rusty Knot. Upon further investigation I learned that the bar serves up what New York Magazine food critic Adam Platt calls the best hot dog in the city. It’s a pretzel dog and since Sunday’s are all about Sunday dinner in a bar, this looks like a good port of call for the 365 bar crawl. Anchors aweigh.

Here's the Rusty Knot. I like the unassuming non-glitzy look of the place. Let's go inside.

Wow, a lot of people in here for an early Sunday evening.

Here's Ted the bartender who quickly serves up a bottle of Red Stripe.

The woman with the umbrella hair is Jennie. It was her birthday and a majority of the crowd were here celebrating this wonderful event.

Here's Jennie and her friend T.J.

Sonya and Krissy were also part of the party.

Birthday shots are being handed out...

And here's the birthday girl drinking one. Happy birthday, Jennie!

Some of the naughtical-themed kitsch in the bar. I have to admit, the clown painting freaked me out a little.

The "autographed" celebrity photos are a hoot. Tony Curtis' says, "I'm really drunk."

John stopped by for a quick beer, he had spent a night in the bushes. It's a long story folks and one you'll have to get it from him!

I like the vintage topless bar sign, but there's that clown painting again, aaaahhhh!

There's lots of comfortable chairs to relax in up front and a nice aquarium to gaze at.

That's a great view of the Hudson River out of the front windows.

There's a well-worn pool table off to the side of the bar.

Meanwhile back at the bar, Ted is busy mixing Island style drinks.

Here's Greg, a regular at the bar and the official Four Square Mayor of the joint.

And a couple of surprise guests show up! 365 commentators, Zioum Zioum the Chainsaw and Jason Hwang.

Cheers!

And dinner is served. Jason and Zioum Zioum split the guacamole and chips and I had the pretzel dog with the house mustard. Adam Platt was right, it's the best hot dog around town. And Jason and Zioum Zioum loved the fresh guacamole and chips.

On my way out I met Paul who decided to dine on the 365 biz card. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Rusty Knot is a combination beach shack/tiki bar and a comfortable spot to hang out. The bar is a cozy setting with a small bar up front that seats about seven people on stools. Up front the setting is decked out like a comfortable living room with pillowy easy chairs and sturdy tables with ships on them. An aquarium adds to the fishy atmosphere and there’s a pool table off to the side. The jukebox (which offers free selections!) has some great selections with diverse artists ranging from Desmond Dekker and the Aces, The Small Faces, Nick Lowe, The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Byrds. The bartenders and patrons are a friendly bunch and there’s a great view of the Hudson River out of the front window.

The beer selection is somewhat limited, there’s cans of Budweiser and Tecate, bottled beers include Red Stripe and Brooklyn Lager and on tap you’ve got a choice of Busch, Stella and Bass. The mixed drinks are island themed and include a Zombie, a Singapore Sling, a Mai Tai and the house specialty and signature drink, The Rusty Knot. There’s also red and white wine available. The food menu is eclectic and unique with such offerings as: spiced pickles, BBQ beef tacos, chips and guacamole and the pretzel dog, which I can highly recommend.

The Rusty Knot is a fine port of call to hitch your ship to.

The Rusty Knot
425 West St. (near 11th St.)
212-645-5668