Day 341—Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Max Fish
First off thanks to Beth Robinette who has sent in a generous donation of 20 dollars here on the home stretch. She found the site through her friend Rick Halberg, so I thank both of you. Beth wanted me to mention the fine website, Atlanta Culinary Tours and whoops, I just did! Check out this site here: Atlanta Culinary Tours. Thanks for the donation, Beth, you’re helping me make it to the bitter end here on the bar crawl.
And speaking of bitter ends, Max Fish is a bar that has been a fixture in the East Village since 1989. I remember going there in the mid ‘90’s when you couldn’t find an ATM anywhere in the East Village. Now sadly, the area is slowly turning into one huge cash machine. The bar is owned by German artist, Ulli Rimkus and sadly her greed-head, dick-snot landlord tripled her rent and is forcing her and the bar out of the neighborhood and a death knell is sounded for another East Village landmark. Ulli said in an interview with Grub Street that she plans on finding a new place and re-opening and keeping it the same as it ever was. I hope she can pull it off, it’s sad it’s closing and I dread to even wonder what will go into that space. Yesterday, Jeremiah Moss advised me to check it out soon, so here we go.
Here we are, over 30 years on the block and then the landlord triples your rent and you're fucked.
Wow, it's after one in the morning and there's still a huge crowd in here.
It's packed at the bar, but there's no turning back now.
I finally made it to the bar and here's Daniel, the funny and friendly bartender who not only posed behind the bar...
He climbed up on the bar...
Almost there...
Baboom! The 365 card is flashed from atop the bar. Daniel told me it's pictures like this that continually get him fired. Luckily Ulli rehires him afterwards.
And he captured a shot of me from up there. Cheers to Daniel, a great bartender!
I managed to squirm into a seat at the bar and here's a shot from my perspective.
Here's a full shot of the bar.
Daniel's chatting with a couple of people at the bar, let's go meet them.
This is Anton who's a photographer and you can check out his work here: Anton Perich. Anton's work has appeared in Interview magazine and he publishes his own magazine, NIGHT magazine.
Andrea is working on a TV program with Anton. She's an actress and an artist and a regular at Max Fish.
Happy birthday Max Fish. Sadly, the last one in this location, thanks to a greedy-ass landlord.
Some festive decorations above the bar.
A nod to the past, a graffiti covered pay phone.
Blue banquettes and polka dot wallpaper line the wall opposite the bar.
Some art and photography on the walls. Max Fish has always supported local artists and shown original work on the walls of the bar.
More photos next to a mod painting on the wall.
The back room has a pool table and a jukebox with an eclectic selection of tunes.
However, the jukebox was off this evening because a DJ was spinning tunes.
Here she's getting the next selection ready. She told me her name and I forgot to write it down. Yes, I've had several drinks by now.
Two turntables and a microphone.
Meanwhile back at the bar the night moves along.
Malik walked in and approached the bar.
And bought shots for the two of us. Thanks and cheers to Malik!
Okay, time to say goodnight to Max Fish.
Max...
Fish. Goodnight, everybody.
Review
There’s no sense in reviewing Max Fish since it’s going to be closed in about eight weeks. Instead I applaud Ulli Rimkus for creating a space where artists and free-thinking people could gather, drink, share ideas and display their works. The cliental has changed somewhat since the bar has opened, but some of the old regulars remain and it stills retains a vibe of the East Village of yesterday. I wish Ulli all the best luck finding a space for the new Max Fish and I raise a glass to the old one. The New York Times reports that on the last night, January 31st, the staff plans on painting the walls in pitch black paint. Paint it black, people, paint it black. Cheers to Ulli Rimkus and Max Fish.
Max Fish
178 Ludlow St. (Near Houston St.)
212-529-3959