Sunday, August 29th, 2010—Bar 231
Day 231—Saturday, August 28th, 2010
Essex and Laugh Lounge (Originally headed for Antibes Bistro)
Today my downstairs neighbor Deloy is joining me on the bar crawl and then we’re meeting other tenants from our building at a comedy club to watch our upstairs neighbor in the building, Austin Poplin do a standup comedy set at Laugh Lounge on Essex Street in the Lower East Side. But first Deloy and I are going to Antibes Bistro for an early dinner and a few pre-show drinks. I don’t see a cheeseburger on their dinner menu, so we’ll have a little switch foodwise, I’m going to Queens tomorrow and do the cheeseburger thing there. Okay, let’s go get Deloy downstairs and get going. (P.S. Below this post, check out a mini Australian bar crawl, courtesy 365 commentator, Tim Clack. Tim is a chef at the Maryville Tavern and he sent me some photos of the tavern. He also sent me a fantastic book of Australian breweries, beers and pubs called, “Beer Lovers Guide To Australia.” Thanks so much, Tim! The coasters are cool, too. The beers are on me when you get here, mate!)
Okay, here's Deloy's door, let's see if she's ready.
And here she is, we're ready to roll!
Thanks to a swift taxi, we're at Antibes in minutes.
Hmm...tables on chairs aren't a good sign. It turns out they're not opening till 7pm. Which is weird because Deloy made a reservation for 4pm. They should check with Open Table and get on the same page. So it's time to improvise.
Luckily, the Essex bar and restaurant was just a couple blocks away and right down the street from the Laugh Lounge.
It's a nice bar, but a little too bright for my tastes, I'm not a fan of the sunshine.
Here's Deloy and I at the bar. Aaahhh, I'm covered in sunlight. I'm melting!
Elizabeth, the lovely bartender serves me up a screwdriver which comes along with the brunch.
Here's a view of the long wooden bar from the other end.
There's an upstairs area available for dining.
And there's tables and booths opposite the bar.
And here's the dining area in the back.
And speaking of dining, when I get back to the bar, the food is served and it looks delicious!
Here's Deloy enjoying her meal while being bathed in sunshine.
And here I am inhaling the cheeseburger. Man, it's really bright in there, would it kill them to invest in some blinds for the windows?
Here's Sarah, the friendly nightshift bartender, serving me a beer for dessert. Nightshift? That means the sun is going down soon, hooray!)
As we prepared to leave, we noticed tennis balls on the wall. Why are they there? Why not?
And as the sun sets, we make our way to the Laugh Lounge.
Here's the upstairs lounge area of the club.
Classic comedy album covers line the walls. I had that Steve Marin album!
Comedian and actress Pat Ceasar was on the bill. Check out her website here: Pat Ceasar Website.
And here's our group, from left: Deloy, Sheryl, Eric, Ben and Mark. For those of you keeping score, Deloy, Sheryl, Eric and Ben all work together, Ben is my upstairs neighbors and Sheryl and Mark live on the top floor of the building.
And here's the guy we came to see, Ben's roommate, Austin.
The stage is set.
Ladies and gentlemen, the comedic stylings of Austin Poplin!
Austin killed onstage and got lots of laughs.
After the succesful set, it was time to say..."Goodnight, everybody!"
Review
(I’m running late today and I have to go to Queens for the bar crawl today—you can read all about that tomorrow, so I’m going to cheat and instead of reviewing Essex, I’m going to post this review that was in New York Magazine’s website.)
Indulge your inner lush at this lofty Lower East Side restaurant whose all-weekend brunch special includes three drinks: mimosas, screwdrivers, or horseradish-heavy Bloody Marys. The lively atmosphere and intriguing Jewish-Latin fare can mean long waits, so make reservations. And don't be afraid to take matters into your own hands if the wait staff loses its collective train of thought; a recent Sunday afternoon found one group of hipsters heading to the bar for their refills; the bartender was more than happy to oblige.
Brunch—Sat–Sun, 11am-4pm; cash only.
Essex
120 Essex St. (@Rivington St.)
212-533-9616
(And here’s New York magazine’s review of the Laugh Lounge.)
Marquee lights give this LES comedy club a glitz it's been lacking since vaudeville died. But owners Delilah Ramos (a former Gotham booker) and Sandy Kaul (a Wall Street suit) aren't simply reviving the neighborhood's long-forgotten past. They've added a newfangled twist: a red lounge where clubby, low-to-the-ground furniture lets patrons make out before the actual show. Downstairs, the theater isn't quite so glamorous since exposed plumbing is more basement than boudoir. As to the entertainment, the stand up comics are at that stage where they've appeared on late night talk shows but haven't had their major breakthroughs. When a host screams out "Everything is going to be taken to the next f**kin' level!" you wonder if he's fantasizing about his own career or introducing the next act. After the show, the lounge turns into a nightclub and the performers assume a rock-star status as sweet as the syrupy drink menu. — Shira Levine
Laugh Lounge
151 Essex St. (Near Stanton St.)
212-614-2500
Bonus Photos!
And now as promised, Tim Clack’s bar crawl of the Maryville Tavern, where he’s the esteemed chef. Take it away, Tim and thanks again for the fantastic book, "Beer Lovers Guide To Australia."
The Maryville Tavern.
The front bar at the Mary. It's like having a time machine that permanently stuck in 1962. Usually full of old-timers having a bet on the horses on a Saturday but generally it's a quiet little hide away. The locals are mostly friendly but don't take too kindly to outsiders coming in and winning the raffles.
Some by product of the bar. An ice cold Schooner of VB. Not my personal fave but they don't have Carlton Draught on tap....only reason I took a photo was to make it last longer.
This friendly chap is Steve Price. He's a third generation truck driver. When he's not sinking piss and eating potato wedges he's usually driving a truck.
The Cheeseburger!
The Cajun Beef salad (nice one!)
The Surf and Turf Sirloin (I think I cooked this one Medium.)
The recipients of the Surf and Turf. This is George and Mark. These blokes were up from Sydney for the day and George was appropriately dressed for this photo session!
Another legend of the newcastle food scene: The Chicken Caesar salad.
My Lunch. An open steak burger.
Looks, delicious Tim, mate! Great job and thanks for sharing the photos and giving us a bar crawl down under! Cheers!
26 Comments
Reader Comments (26)
Congratulations on the "Crawl en Masse"!
Looks as it was a sociable night.
(as long as you didn't get stuck with the ENTIRE tab)
Nice change of pace, plus others to take those pics of the Bar Gods
shining their beam of light down upon you.
(like the Blues Brothers)
Gotta check the recent posts as I was oot n' aboot the last few.
Jesus, you've got a good looking neighbor Marty! All I have to look at around here are some fat, surly trailer babes in short-shorts that proudly display the cellulite on the backs of their thighs! It's a good thing you DIDN'T melt in all that sunlight Marty, you old vampire, and it's probably all for the best that they didn't put any garlic in your cheeseburger...that would have been the end of you for sure! You should have posted a photo of Deloy's neck last thing, so we could check it for the two red bite marks that I suspect may be there!
@"Boris:" Mark generously picked up the entire tab and I want to thank him again for that! It was a fun night out on the town and thanks to Deloy for setting everything up.
@Jaws: Deloy's neck is safe, but you're right, I'm glad there was no garlic in the cheeseburger, it gives this vampire heartburn!
Wow, this was an epic crawl! It pained me to see you and your friend in all that sunshine! And the comedy club looked like a fun stop. Thanks also to Tim C. for taking us down under for a crawl! That food looks great, Tim must be a 4 star chef!
Wow , this is a 3 for 1 Crawl , Great except for to much sun light , it was blinding me as well & it was just pictures .
TO : Tim Clack , Great Food !! I am making French onion soup today , 1 of the few things I can cook , & it's odd that I am not a Great Cook , coming from excellent Cooks in my Family . The one thing I keep fucking up is rice , fucked it up so many times I brought a rice cooker , I guess thats why I am the only Artist in my Family , but I keep trying since I like to cook .
"Let's get small. Sometimes when I'm on drugs, I get REALLY small."
@Splitsville Guy: That was a great album! I wish Steve Martin would get back into standup. Especially since his movies suck these days. Please stop with the Pink Panther remakes already!
Any Comedian trying to act like another Comedian who is dead is just wrong !!!
TO : Peter Sellers
Way too bright, Essex, not too good,,,,laugh factory is actually better,,,,and best of all, your neighbors are great. Tim Clack,,,,good grub
@ Tim Clack , do you know about the seventh annual World Testicle Cooking Championship, ?
This year they included kangaroo Balls , have you ever cooked that ?
To: Peter Selllers! A comic genius!
oh wow...wow...wow...wow...where to start....damn i see 365 is using an evil mac that adds letters or should i say characters...without his knowledge...hey now tim thanks for tour of your wrok place...the cheeseburger looked 365 acceptable...the other plates had me drooling...until jjhwang' threw in some testicles...boris....good to see back on the crawl...holy moly 365 looks like you got some great neighbors... not like the stones rave about...raising one to mark for picking up that tab...if we ever cross paths i got it...essex was way too bright...am sure that deloy would look good in any light...hope austin put 'em in the aisles...tim where was your pic with the under shirt?...KOC
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p.s. hey 365 where are the cheap "cheaters" you recently acquired/...KOC
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@Jhwang: I'm not so worried about the idea of a testicle cook off, I'm worried about the folk who actually go out of their way to judge it!! Thats a serious amount of balls to cook! never heard of it but sounds like a Northern Territory thing to me. I've cooked kangaroo before but not it's nuts. I guess out in the bush nothing goes to waste.
@rajinrr: Or was under the apron?...I'll send a photo of my 365 shirt when it arrives.
@365: Thanks for putting up my pix. Too bad about the sun....at least you didn't start sparkling like they do in that hideously terrible Twilight movie. Love tennis balls up the wall. That looked cool.
damn tim thought you already had your shirt...fucked up again...my bad....KOC
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@Tim Clack: Thank you for sending the photos in. The food looks really great, you are on hell of a chef!
@raginrr: What cheaters? It's probably something obvious, but I just got back from Queens and have about nine beers in me.
Hey thanks for the show and especially for the information, I really like it. Great work, keep going! replica iwc|
@marty....you ol' dog you!!! was that a date with the delightful Deloy??? good onya matey!!!!
@clacky, great tucker mate!! got some bad news from work yesterday...did some blood tests on Barry on Friday for his scolliosis, got the results yesterday....looks like the poor old bastard has only got a couple of months left in him...pretty pissed off....got shitfaced with me boss yesterday after we found out, feeling it today....
Marty, your neighbor Deloy looks nice! What about if I give you my old bitch neighbor and you give me yours?!!
@ Jason: "Not a great cook" ... haha that guy is nut and I should cook his nuts! HAHAHA Jason is a very good cook and my mom said she wants him to cook in her kitchen when he comes!! haha! So what are you going to cook for your mom-in-law, mister Hwang??? MOUHAHAHAHAHHAHA :D
@Tim: nice place and the food looks so good, especially the Surf and Turf Sirloin !! yum!
365...back in the day that was how some referred to sunglasses...i seem to recall that you picked up a pair the day you visited southwest porch...KOC
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Mmmm...Jewish-Latin fare. Gefilte empanadas, lox and higados, challah ubre, matzo mollejas. Really, any cuisine found west of the Mason-Lopez line is okay by me. I'm not sure I can see the connection with your cheeseburger and sausage scramble, but whatever. It all looked delicious! Glad you had fun at the Laugh Lounge and thanks to Tim Clack for the beauty shots of Oz. Sometime soon, I'll send you some pics of Cowtown, complete with our own special version of the tennis balls. But, for now, thanks for the mini tour of Manhattan and congratulations on not melting!
@rafinrr: I lost those a few bars ago.
@Biff: "Mason Lopez line" Ha ha ha! You still gots it, Bifferoonie!
hey i got a pair....why do they call eye ware "a pair"?...oh well another time to ponder that...anyway i gat a pair of eliminators somewhere around here somewhere...put these babies on and could be in the brightest sunlight or over lit bar and you will believe you're in a candle less single bare bulb lit gin mill of the past...will try and find them and send if you like...KOC
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