Day 158—Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Blue Ruin
We’ve got a special guest star on the bar crawl tonight, Tonya Schwarz! Tonya and I used to work together, then she moved onward and upward with her career, got married, had a child (kudos to her husband Matt who babysat for the evening, check out Matt’s business, MSDS, a branding and design firm here in New York City: MSDS.) and I’ve pretty much just spiraled sideways, as I’ve done for the last two decades or so. Tonya joined the facebook fan page that my friend's Gidget (the coolest DJ in the world, check her out on Woody Radio!) and “Boris” maintain. The facebook page has introduced a lot of people to this site since it went up and I want to thank Gidget for having the idea for it and putting it up and “Boris” who helps with the day to day postings. You guys are the best! And remember if you need artwork, a logo designed, art for your website, a book or CD cover, “Boris” is available for freelance, just send me an email and I’ll forward it along. And as mentioned earlier, Gidget is a faulous DJ goddess and her show rocks! Check out her schedule here: Woody Radio.
Okay, as per tradition and because I get sick of trying to figure out where to go every night, I let Tonya pick the bar. She picked The Blue Ruin, a fairly new dive bar in Hell’s Kitchen. And so it’s off we go!
Deja view, we're headed up the same way as last night.
You've waited patiently, Joey D. and here you are with some ATM loving! It's a laundromat edition, so it's clean ATM, the best kind! Enjoy!
And here we are, the Blue Ruin. Let's see if Tonya's here.
She's here!
And the lovely and fun bartender, Reina Terror promptly delivers a can of Pabst as hellos are exchanged.
Tonya brought along two of her friends from her weekly book club. From left: Debbie, Sheila, Tonya and me. Let's call this shot, "Three fabulous women and a goofball."
The vibe here is care-free with an emphasis on getting hammered if you so desire.
Zoe and Sam were enjoying drinks at the bar.
There's a pool table in the back room.
Bob took a break from his pool game to pose for this photo.
The Blue Ruin's jukebox has some great rock 'n' roll tunes on it.
Here's Shy and Charles who were chilling at the bar.
Pizza!
Cheers from Leif who was seated next to me at the bar.
Reina lets her inner Gene Simmons loose and lets off a flaming shot at the bar. Unlike the scary Apotheke, the flames are behind the bar and safely away from the patrons.
Fire! Reina is an expert fire breather and the bar applauded her efforts.
Photobooth!
That's not my finger in my nose by the way! Thanks to fabulous babe bartender Reina Terror for the hospitality and fire show and to Tonya and her friends Debbie and Sheila for joining me on the crawl! A fantabulous night!
Review
The owner describes this joint as, “Gangs of New York meets McSorley’s meets Hogs & Heifers.” That’s a tall order to fill, but after a year in business, they’ve managed to pull it off. With its tin ceiling, pine floors (uprooted from a Pepsi Cola Factory in Queens), flags, pool table, wacky bric-a-brac and fire-breathing babe bartenders, this place manages to give off an old school Hell’s Kitchen dive bar vibe and experience, despite being the new kid on the block. In addition to the fun atmosphere they boast a great jukebox with tunes ranging from the 101ers to Joan Jett to Supersuckers to the New York Dolls.
There’s a full bar here, but the emphasis is on beer and shots. Happy Hour runs from 5pm to 8pm with two for one drinks. The bartenders are female, friendly and fabulous looking and the clientle is an interesting mix of neighborhood regulars, tourists checking out the area and people grabbing a beer and a shot before their bus takes off from the nearby Port Authority Bus Station.
Stop by and enjoy the antique decor and stay for the cheap beer and shots. Cheers!
Blue Ruin
538 9th Ave. (between 39th St & 40th St)
917-945-3497
P.S. Tonya told me to say hi with everyone she used to work with, but I think the only one left besides me is Frank Scott. And Frank, Tonya wanted me to ask you this: "How do you like your job, Frank?" Goodnight everybody!