Tuesday April 6th, 2010—Bar 86

Day 86—Monday, April 5th, 2010
Westside Tavern (Originally scheduled for the Half King Bar)
Okay, so first things first, I’m a little damaged this week. After over-celebrating at the Mars Bar last night I went home, collapsed and then fell out of my loft bed and my eye snagged the corner of a bookshelf on the way down. Check it out:

So tonight will be a little more settled down, I think I’ll stick close to my three drink minimum. I don’t plan on any bar for any given night. Usually I find it during my dinner break at work using Google. There are a few however that I plan on visiting and tonight’s bar is one of them. The Half King Bar is known as a literary bar as a good portion of the patrons who visit this tavern are writers. This makes sense when you learn that two of the three owners are writers and the third is a director and producer. The most famous of the three is Sebastian Junger who penned the best selling novel, The Perfect Storm, which was later turned into a movie starring George Clooney. The bar hosts a weekly reading on Monday nights and while we’re too late for that, I’m sure there’ll be interesting people left over and of course there’s drinks to be had, so let’s go.

Okay, so here we are at the Westside Tavern. I know I said we were going to the Half King Bar and I did go there. Oh, and I should mention here too that tonight I’m being “shadowed” by a writer from the NBC blog “Niteside.”  The writer is James Jung and he’s a great guy who did a hilarious blog that’s now on hiatus: The Foggy Monocle.  You can see the post James wrote about 365 here: On The Town With Booze Blogger Marty Wombacher. So, anyway, James and I went to the Half King and I was told I could take pictures inside, but couldn’t take photos of any signs or anything that had the Half King logo on it. They were very nice about it, but I couldn’t really stay and do the 365 thing without being able to take a picture of the signage. The bar is partially owned by novelist Sebastian Junger, so it would be a little bit like him saying, “You can review my book, but just don’t mention the title.” Anyway, like I said, they were nice about it and said I could email the D.M. and gave me a business card. I don’t really have the time to email the D.M. (and I have to confess I really don’t know what a D.M. is), so D.M. if you’re out there and would like some free publicity, feel free to email me. Anyway, we tried a couple other spots, one had just called last call and the other didn’t want me taking pictures either. At this point I accused James of being a jinx and we eventually ended up here, at the Westside Tavern. I told James I had a good feeling about this place and I was right, so after the longest picture caption in the world, away we go!

It looks friendly inside and there's a good vibe. I think we'll get the thumb's up here, it looks picture friendly.

And indeed Colm the friendly bartender said I could do my 365 thing in here. He was a little mystified as to why any bar wouldn't want to join in and I always am too.

James took a break from his note-taking to take a shot of me swilling some beer to help my sore and somewhat broken eye.

Super-cute Siri was seated next to me and told me she was waiting for a friend.

And as if on cue, moments later the aforementioned friend arrived. His name is Ben and he came all the way from England. Welcome to the states and to the Westside Tavern, Ben!

The walls are brick and black and white photos decorate them along with candles on the tables.

There's a lounge area in the back with black leather couches, candles...

And a pool table. Let's see who's back they're playing.

From left it's Lauren, Tegan, Smith and Nick. A friendly group who was enthusiastic about the 365 idea.

Colm in action at the bar.

A group of people checking out the game on one of the bars HD TV's.

Erin, Charles, and another Charles and Mandy were enjoying drinks at the front table.

Bo and Fred were having fun and drinks at the bar. They too loved the 365 Bar Crawl idea. In fact Fred wanted to get in on the action and wanted to shoot a picture.

So I surrendered my camera and Fred took this shot of Bo and I.

They then introduced me to their friend Damian who was drinking a pint of Guinness at the bar.

And then they wanted to donate some drinks to the cause, so they generously bought me a beer and a shot! Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Cheers! Okay, it was time to head home, I didn't want to overdo it tonight and take my other eye out. Goodnight everybody!

Review

The Westside Tavern combines the ambiance of an Irish workingman’s pub with a bit of a low-lit lounge feel. It sounds like a dichotomy that can’t work, but they pull it off here. The front is a brick walled room, with a sturdy wooden bar and tables, candles and black and white photography. The bartenders are friendly and the crowd is mainly Chelsea regulars from the neighborhood. As you head towards the back, the mood get a little more loungey and there’s black leather couches, an internet jukebox boasting over 3,000 songs, TV’s and a pool table. There’s also a lower level lounge which can be booked for private parties.

The Westside Tavern has a full bar with a good selection of bottled and draft beers. Ther’s a generous Happy Hour that runs daily from 5 pm to 9 pm with various drink specials. They don’t have a kitchen, but patrons are encouraged to bring in their own food to enjoy at the bar or the candlelit tables. And if you’re a Dave Matthews fan, you might want to hang out here the next time he’s in town, this is reported to be one of his favorite New York bars to hoist a drink or three in.

And you can take pictures here! Special thanks to James Jung from NBC Niteside for hanging out on the 365 Crawl and writing a great post on our night out. Cheers.

Westside Tavern
360 W. 23rd St. (Between 8th and 9th)
212-366-3738

Monday, April 5th, 2010—Bar 85

Day 85—Easter Sunday, April 4th
Mars Bar

Okay if remember from last Saturday I had planned on meeting John Strausbaugh at New York’s legendary dive bar, Mars Bar. Well, I met him there, but the bartender nicely told me I had to get permission to do photos, so we went here and had some drinks and did the interview. Well this week I got permission to shoot photos inside and what better place to spend Easter Sunday than the Mars Bar in the East Village? I’m going to see if I can order some takeout there and have my Easter dinner at Mars Bar.

Easter Sunday at the Mars Bar, what could be better?

Hammlet took this photo of me getting into the swing of things at Mars Bar.

Fausto was working on a piece in the sketch pad that was being passed around the bar.

Some of the booze selections at Mars Bar.

Terry displays an Easter piece of art he drew for the day.

One of Terry's pieces of art on the wall at Mars Bar.

One of the colorfull walls at Mars Bar.

Images by Niko. Check out his website here: Niko Says.

One of the bars regulars, Raymond, enjoying a glass of wine. Cheers!

Peanuts!

Easter Sunday at Mars Bar.

I loved the fact that my name is on the cash register! I swear I didn't put that there either.

Hammlet and Terry. After this photo Hammlet asked me to draw something in the bar and wanted to take photos of me drawing. So here goes!

I decided to do a self-portrait on a mannequin's knee cap.

Hammlet documents the artist at work.

And the finished product. I'm an official Mars Bar artist, huzzah! Thanks for the photos, Hammlet!

And here's a piece of art that Hammlet has on display at the bar.

Easter dinner at Mars Bar! I ordered two pizzas from Two Boots pizza and they were delicious!

Here's Denise and Rafael enjoying slices.

Steve and Leela arrived to late for pizza, but were having a good time in spite of the fact.

Here's me with Steve and my notepad conveniently tucked under my chin.

And my final bit of graffiti on the wall before leaving. Goodnight everybody!

Review

As the Bed Bath And Beyonds and Barnes and Noble “superstores” continue to ruin New York City, thank God for institutions like the Mars Bar. This concrete rectangle of graffiti and art-filled madness is a testament to old school New York artists, free thinking folks and people looking to drink and have a good time. The only Blackberry you’ll find in here is brandy and the only thing close to and iPad is an artist pad that’s passed around the bar where the locals add their original sketches.

You’ll find no TV’s at Mars Bar, but the jukebox is probably the best in the city if not the country. It’s packed with everything from mariachi to cha-cha to Chuck Berry to the Cramps to the Beach Boys and everything in between. And everyone takes turns putting on tunes at Mars Bar, so the music is always flowing along with the endless liquor. The selection isn’t huge here, so have a Budweiser and one of their massive whiskey shots and shut up and enjoy the eccentric and non-judgmental crowd.

There’s no food or kitchen here, but they have a huge pile of menus from neighborhood take-out joints. I suggest you order a pie from Two Boots for the crowd. I did and a good time was had by all! God bless the Mars Bar!

The Mars Bar
25 E 1st St (@ Second Ave)
212-473-9842

Sunday, April 4th—Bar 84

Day 84—Saturday, April 3rd
The Stoned Crow
Yesterday I wrote about how I don’t like going to bars on Friday and Saturday nights. I decided to start going to hotel bars on Fridays and have decided for a new theme on Saturday’s. I’m calling it, Saturday Night Cheeseburger. I’ve decided to go to a bar in the early evening and have my favorite bar food, a cheeseburger along with several beers. So, in addition to reviewing the bar, I’ll also be reviewing the weekly cheeseburger. I hope you’re hungry because it’s off we go!

Here we are at the Stoned Crow, home of the Crow Burger, one of the best cheeseburgers in New York City!

Here's the massive front bar and who's that sitting there?

It's  Ben, my cheeseburger sidekick. Ben lives upstairs from me in my apartment building and will be joining me in some of these cheeseburger expeditions.

Josh the bartender is quick with a bottle of Bud.

There's a full bar and lots of photos to gaze at at the Stoned Crow.

Illustrations of Elvis Costello, Kurt Cobain, David Bowie and others decorate part of one wall.

Nico and Michael were enjoying beers at the bar.

Stools a mirror and more pictures line the wall opposite the bar.

For Joey D!

The back view of the bar.

There's a massive back room with tables, more pictures and...

A pool table!

Stuffed crows peer down at the pool table. Are they stoned? Only their dealer knows for sure.

Back up front I found Becky and Steve at the bar. Cheers!

And waiting for me was my Crow Burger. You can't really see the cheeseburger as it's covered in a mountain of bacon. But take my word for it, it's a cheeseburger masterpiece.

Here's the massive stack of cheese fries.

The burger is so big it's tough for some to get it in your mouth. Luckily, as anyone who knows me will attest to, I have a big mouth, so I had no trouble.

The bathroom at the Stoned Crow has a unique feature.

Just like the rest of the bar, it's plastered with photos.

Look, Madonna's tits! The unique feature is that if you want any of these photos for your own collection, you can ask the owner of the bar, Betty. She has copies of most of them and will give you one if it's in stock.

And speaking of Betty, here she is! Hi Betty, thanks for putting together a great bar and a world-class cheeseburger! To Betty!

And of course since it's such a unique bathroom, I have to close with the obligatory bathroom shot. Goodnight Everybody!

Review
With it’s basement entrance, it’s easy to walk past the Stoned Crow, but it’s definitely a bar to seek out. The inside brick walls are a massive collage of vintage movie and concert posters, pictures of movie stars old and new, rock ‘n’ rollers and one wall is dedicated to caricatures torn out of magazines. Even the ceilings are covered with photos to gaze at while enjoying a drink at the massive, wooden bar in the front room. The back room boasts a pool table that black stuffed crows perch overhead. The jukebox is eclectic and there’s three large screen TV’s usually tuned to sports. The bartenders are friendly and it’s an unpretentious neighborhood crowd that populate the bar on a nightly basis.

There’s a daily Happy Hour from 4 to 8 pm, featuring four buck Yuengling draughts, Pilsner Urquell bottles and well drinks. Some of the ongoing nightly specials include: three dollar Miller High Life bottles, four buck Bud and Bud Light bottles and five dollar well drinks. They also have a menu with items ranging from Buffalo Wings to Chicken Fingers to a Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Tacos. The signature dish here however is The Crow Burger: it’s a half pound of ground beef topped with american or cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, white onion and pickles on the side. It’s a legendary New York cheeseburger and having sampled quite a few through the years I heartily recommend it.

The Stoned Crow is a New York institution and if you’d like a copy of one of the photos in the bathroom, just ask owner Betty and she may have a copy or two in her files. I got dibs on the one of Madonna’s tits!

The Stoned Crow
85 Washington Place (near 6th Ave.
212-677-4022