March 31st, 2010—Bar 80

Day 80—Tuesday, March 30th
White Rabbit

Ilisha Helfman has a blog called, Sunday Magazine Paper Doll Challenge, you can check it out here: Sunday Magazine Paper Doll Challenge. It’s really a genius blog and lots of fun. Well, Ilisha felt sorry for me, because I never have a date on any of my bar crawlings. I explained to her that it’s best to do this job alone, it would be impossible to pay full attention to a woman and do my bar crawl meet and greet thing. Well, Ilisha solved my problem, she arranged for me to have a date with a real doll. And she just arrived in the mail today! Check her out!
She’s so pretty, I need to take her to a classy place. I Googled best date bars and found a place in New York Magazine’s top five best date bars called White Rabbit. It looks perfect and as a kid I loved the song White Rabbit by Jefferson AirplaneJ, and I had a huge crush on Grace Slick, the lead singer of the Airplane. I was wondering what to name my date and now that solves it, from here on in, she’s Grace. Come along Grace, it’s time to go.

I think Grace is a little nervous, but don’t worry, I’ll let you out of the bag soon. I promise!

Here we are, the White Rabbit on Houston Street. It's a cold and rainy night and not too many people are out.

Here's the spacious bar at White Rabbit.

I decide to try a chocolate martini here, just one of their many specialty cocktails. The bartender is David and he's friendly and fast with a drink!

And it's delicious! David is a master mixologist! Oh shit...I forgot about Grace!

Don't worry Grace, you'll be out soon!

Here you go, out in to the wild blue yonder.

Yikes, I think she's a little pissed off.

Okay, she's royally pissed off. Luckily I know what to do in a situation like this.

Ply her with booze. Have some wine, Grace, it'll loosen you up.

Here's the front room of White Rabbit with comfortable seating and tables.

They have original artwork on display that changes at the first of every month. This month's artist is Dave Tree.

There's more comfortable seating in the lounge area in the back room.

David pours the next drink, the Mad Hatter Margarita, it's delicious!

And Grace is feeling much better after a couple glasses of wine. In fact, maybe she's feeling a little too good, she's dancing on the bar.

Here's the state of the art DJ booth in the back room, DJ's spin tunes on the weekend at White Rabbit.

Some of the many beers and tequila availble at the bar.

And speaking of beers, I close the night out having a beer for my mate Fitzi, who thinks I've lost it drinking these specialty cocktails!

And speaking of lost it, Grace has settled into her bed after too many glasses of wine. Say goodnight, Grace. "Goodnight Grace." And goodnight everybody!

Review

It would be easy to pass the White Rabbit by on the street as there’s no neon, no awning and no chalkboard on the side walk announcing the nightly specials. Subtlety be thy name. The White Rabbit doesn’t hit you over the head with gimmicky tricked out signage inside or out and that’s refreshing. Inside you’ll find front and back rooms that are comfortable to lounge in while enjoying cocktails and the eclectic music and films that are displayed on the back screening wall. The bar is in the middle of this cocktail oasis and it’s spacious and the bartenders are friendly and happy to point out specials and alert you to their signature cocktails.

There’s a full bar available with a good selection of beer, wine, single malts & liquers. But the specialty here is cocktails, so save your beer thirsts for another night when you’re kicking back in a dive bar. White Rabbit offers up five martini’s including: Chocolate Hazelnut Martini, Lychee Apple Martini and a Ginger Spice Martini. Some of the unique specialty cocktails include: Peach Lemonade, Paradise Cocktail and a Raspberry Gimlet. The food is a combination of Latin and Asian flavors including: Grilled Mini Burgers with Shoestring Fries, Shrimp Wontons, Bolinese Beef Skewers and Mushroom Empenadas.. All the food is bought fresh daily and made in house.

The daily happy hour runs from 6 pm to 9 pm offering up $4 beers, well drinks, frozen margaritas, and daiquiris. There’s occasional live music and DJ’s spin tunes every weekend.

So if you want to experience a great date night, don’t bother asking Alice, just head over to the White Rabbit.

White Rabbit
145 E. Houston St. (Near Eldridge St.)
212-477-5005

And thanks to Ilisha for supplying my doll date, Grace! Here’s some information about Ilisha, who’s a talented artist and jazz knitter. I pulled this off her blog:

My name’s Ilisha Helfman. My husband, Joe Freedman, and I have a laser design studio in Portland, Oregon called LEAF display. We make customizable pop-up cards for paper appreciators and corporate clients. We also make paper pop-up toys and optical toys and have a new store in Portland called LEAFpdx where you can visit our wares. In addition, I have another site for my miniatures and jazzknitting here: Hestia House.

March 30th, 2010—Bar 79

Day 79—Monday, March 29th
Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar

A lot of people have asked me in my tavern travels so far, what’s my favorite kind of bar. The answer is dive bars. Really if I had my preference I’d be hitting a dive bar every night. But one of the points of the website is to visit diverse bars and occasionally wander out of my comfort zone. Today while Googling around I found a wine and chocolate bar that’s only blocks from where I work called Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar. Normally I would never think of going to a place like this, but then again, why not? It’s got wine, it’s got chocolate, how bad can that be? They’ve also got a peppermint chocolate martini, I’ve gotta try that. Get your sweet tooth ready for a treat and let’s go!

It's a rainy night out tonight, but they've put up a plastic shield so patrons can still sit on the patio seats outside.

The bar is small and intimate, but lucky for me I spy an empty seat.

Being a dope about wine, I asked the bartender Yulia to pick the wine. I told her I liked dry, white wine that's not too sweet. Within seconds she found the perfect wine and here it is.

It was perfect! And notice the extended pinkie while drinking. Who says I ain't got class?

Andre and Tro are two of the friendly staff on duty.

Krissy and Chris were visiting from Las Vegas. This was their first time in New York and they were having a great time in the city and in Ayza. I want to take this moment to say hi to their friend, Todd, who they told me could probablly match me drink for drink on this bar crawl. Hi Todd!

there's tables on either side of the bar for patrons who come here to sample the wonderful appetizer and main course menu.

Bartender Yulia serves up a peppermint martini with a gorgeous smile, thanks Yulia!

Here's some of the wine bottles that are on display over the bar.

Annie gets a glass of wine to take to a table.

Fire! (I'm sorry, this just never gets old for me! Although I know everyone else is sick of it.)

Ayza also offers outside seating. Smokers take note!

Steve was seated next to me at the bar and we learned that we both work within the same industry. In fact, after talking, we discovered his company makes the magnetic boxes for the mettalic ink jet prints I make. As Steven Wright once said, "It's a small world, but I'd hate to paint it." Cheers, Steve!

Yulia taking care of business at the bar.

In addition to the wine, there's a full bar available.

And Yulia pours the final drink of the evening, a champagne martini. Thanks for the great and hospitable service and conversation Yulia! And goodnight everybody!

Review

I saw both versions of Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and never saw him touch a drop of alcohol. If he did develop a liking to booze, this would be the spot he would definitely hang at. Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar is a wine and chocolate lover’s paradise. The place is classy and cozy, but be forewarned, it ain’t cheap in here, but as they say, you get what you pay for and if you like wine and chocolate, it’s worth the extra bucks. The bar is a small one, but if you’re lucky enough to snag a seat and Yulia is the bartender, you’ll have a wonderful evenging. Yulia and the rest of the staff are super friendly and knowledgeable about the wines, house cocktails and chocolates. Yulia is an expert mixologist and I highly recommend the chocolate peppermint martini.

Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar more than live up to their name. There’s over 90 wines and champagnes to choose from and a large selection of gourmet chocolates. They also offer three different types of chocolate martinis and four selections of beer. And if you’ve got an appetite for something more than vino and chocolate, they have a full lunch and dinner menu. Some of the unique appetizers include: White Truffle Pizza, Wild Mushroom Pita Tart, Asian Steak Tartare and Carpaccio Di Manzo. There’s a large variety of panini available and some of the entrees to choose from include: Medallions Of Filet Mignon, Stuffed Chicken Paillard and Pasta Radiatore. Save room for dessert, because they have a large and enticing menu. Next time I come here I’m trying the Warm Chocolate Molten Cake.

Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar
11 W 31st St. (Between 5th Ave & Broadway)
212-714-2992

March 29th, 2010—Bar 78

Day 78—Sunday, March 28th
Johnny’s Bar

First off, I have to say Happy Birthday to 365’s resident artist, “Boris!” “Boris” is double nickels today, that’s right, he’s the age Sammy Hagar can’t drive, 55! "Boris" not only created the banner here at the 365 site, he also did artwork at my old website, The Marty Wombacher Show, which is on hiatus now. Check out the artwork here: TMWS Home Page Art. “Boris" did the majority of the artwork there (I did the shitty stuff!) and did a great job. Thanks for all your great work, Daddio! And don’t forget, “Boris” has designed this new logo for t-shirts that will be available soon:

Alright, “Boris” Happy Birthday to you! And if you have a website that you need artwork for, “Boris” is your go-to guy. He also designs logos, CD covers, book covers and anything you can think of when it comes to art. Just send me an email and I will pass it on to “Boris.”

Okay, on to tonight’s bar. Last Monday I went to Bunga's Den and met bartender Mark, who graciously invited me to stop by Johnny’s Bar tonight as he bartends there every Sunday from 9pm to 4am. If you read that post, he’s the only one who knows the secret of the name, Bunga’s Den. I wonder if there’s a secret behind the name of Johnny’s Bar. Well, let’s go hoist a few and find out!

This sign says it all!

There's a familiar face behind the bar.

It's bartender Mark, serving up the first of many beers on this Sunday evening.

It's a Mod Squad of walls in here. One stucco...

One brick...

And the wooden wall completes this trifecta of wall designs.

Willow and Nick were seated in front at the window seats. They were visiting New York and Nick is the Executive Chef at Lucky's Lounge in Boston. He told me I would have a free meal if I ever visited there and I may take him up on that! Look out Nick, I'll bring a large appetite!

Books line the top of the wall opposite the bar. I wonder what titles are available?

Well, now, there's some interesting choices!

Ian multi-tasks by drinking his beer and flashing the 365 card all at once.

The bar at Johnny's. You gotta love it!

The Bronx Prep Crew were having fun in the back of the bar.

Some of the specials at Johnny's Bar. It's better than sex! Someone alert Tiger Woods.

Some of the draft beer selections.

Peanuts!

The mysterious woman known only as "Bar Lady" starts a card game.

I finish off the night with a Red Stripe and I'm ready to hit the road. Goodnight everybody!

Review

They say good things come in small packages and Johnny’s Bar proves this point. Johnny’s is one of New York’s quintessential dive bars and a neighborhood favorite in Greenwich Village. The red, neon outside sign says it all: BAR. What you see is what you get. The walls are faux brick, stucco and wood and the interior design is retro-modern throw it on the wall and see if it sticks. Old license plates intermingle with bumper stickers, vintage beer signs, stickers and a guitar hangs on one of the walls. Books line the top of the wall opposite the bar and an internet jukebox awaits you at the back of the 55 person capacity bar which is mainly filled with locals from the neighborhood.

Johnny’s has a marathon happy hour that runs from noon to seven in the evening with various specials happening in these seven hours. There’s a large selection of draft and bottled beers to be had and there’s a long list of specialty shots for $3.50 with inviting and exotic names such as: Shit on the Grass, Citron my Face, Dirty Girl Scout Cookie and Witch's Clit.

Johnny’s is open 365 days a week, from noon to four in the morning, so there’s no excuse not to work it into your schedule. You’ll be glad you did.

Johnny's Bar
90 Greenwich Ave. (near 12th St.)
212-741-5279