Tuesday, September 14th, 2010—Bar 247
Day 242—Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Sophie’s
The PayPal donation bell has rung again and it’s a donation from Ryan Borho who joined me on the bar crawl about a month ago, check it out here: Bar 225 with Ryan. Well, Ryan sent in a generous 30 dollar donation and said he had a good time at McAleer’s and wished me good luck with the remaining bars. Thanks so much Ryan and I hope you can join me again on the crawl.
Okay, the last couple nights we’ve been to a wine bar, an off Broadway play and a lobster bar, time to get back to the basics and hit a good old-fashioned dive bar. 365 commentator, Al Rizo wrote to me today and suggested Sophie’s bar in the East Village and like all of his suggestions, it’s golden. Sopphie’s is a classic neighborhood dive that’s been on this Lower East Side block since the mid-80’s. The bar is named after the original owner, Sophie Polny, a tough as nails Ukrainian woman. You can read about the bar’s history in this posting on Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York blog: Sophie’s on JVNY.
Here we are at Sophie's bar. There's no sign outside, but the neon in the windows tells me we're here.
Nice and dark inside, looks perfect.
And before I sit down, the lovely and friendly bartender Ama serves me up a pint of Yuengling.
And just as it's served Jason and Ama's husband David join the party. From left: Jason, Ama and David.
Here's a photo of actor Jeff Bridges playing guitar in the window of Sophie's.
And here's a vintage shot of the bar before Sophie took over the place.
Here's the beer selection and as you can see, you won't go broke buying a round in here.
A full shot of the bar in all its lit-up glory.
Here's Benno enjoying a beer at the bar. Benno says he's been coming here 365 days in a row with a zero added at the end. Translation: He's a regular here at Sophie's.
There's a well-worn pool table in the back of the bar.
Ama announces that it's time for pickle back shots for the night. Yeah, I didn't know what a pickle back shot was either.
You start out with Tito's Handmade Vodka, of course.
And then Ama pours pickle juice into smaller shot glasses and the bigger ones contain the vodka.
Then you drink the shot and follow it up with the pickle juice and it takes all the sting away from the shot. Pickle shots, a first on the bar crawl, cheers!
A shot of the bar from the other end.
There's tables opposite the bar and local artwork hangs on the walls.
Some of the art hanging on the wall at Sophie's.
Krystine and Eddie mugging it up at the end of the bar. They're great people and were very supportive of the 365 bar crawl idea.
And one more for the road. Cheers and goodnight, everybody!
Review
Like it’s sister bar, Mona’s, you’ll find no sign outside telling you you’re at Sophie’s, but if you find the bar, you’ll find one of the true Lower East Side dive bars in all its glory. Sophie’s bar has been on the block since the mid ‘80’s and thankfully little has changed inside the well-worn tavern. The bar is in the front with bric-a-brac tables and chairs opposite. There’s a pool table in the back and a jukebox featuring such varied artists as: The New York Dolls, Duke Ellington, Nick Lowe, The Ramones and Bo Diddley.
There’s six beers on tap for under three bucks a mug. Bottled beers can be had for between four and five bucks with selections including: Corona, Red Stripe, Sierra Nevada and Heineken. There’s also a full bar with inexpensive mixed drinks.
Sophie’s is a cozy, friendly, low-lit oasis on the Lower East Side that reminds you of better days gone by. Turn off your Crackberry and belly up to the bar for good times.
Sophie’s
507 E. 5th St. (Near Ave. A)
212-228-5680
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Bonus Photo
Want a baby, but don’t want the mess of having sloppy sex with someone and nine months of pregnancy to get one? No problem, Old Navy is selling them for five bucks a pop. It's a parade of cute! I got one and it was delicious. It tasted like chicken.
30 Comments
Reader Comments (30)
And where is raginrr? His computer must be fucked up again.
A lot of great bars within a few blocks there. Sophie's, Otto's, Horseshoe, Double Down, Manitoba's, etc., etc., etc ...... Marty: you gotta go back to Double Down and see that chick and get some Ass Juice ! Party !!!
not the computer this time...we must be running in some kind of parallel universe...the job sorta "drove me to drink"...and damn by the time i got here i could almost see let alone key some thing...any way another classic stop on the crawl...the bonus photo looked like sumthing from tmws...KOC
rr
@365: Nothin' like a bad day at work to build up a quality thirst.
@Fitzy: You should write Oprah and ask her to stop by. Ever since the Crocodile Dundee franchise went bye-bye, the biggest Australian-association for Americans is the koala bear. Well, except for maybe Fosters, but we all know how you feel about that! And, plus, Oprah's on a diet - can't have beer. So, back to my point, write her and tell her how those cute, adorable, Australian creatures need her help and maybe she'll stop by with the camera crew. And if she does, please, please, please let that horny koala hump her leg!
As for Sophie's, looks like a great place and what a great idea for a shot! Pickle juice! Who knew?! Love the selection of tunes on the jukebox and all the patrons seem laid-back and friendly. Especially Benno, whose comment made me laugh right out loud. And they even have Miller Lite! BONUS! Anyhoo, I'm definitely putting Sophie's on my list of places to go and enjoy. Thanks again for letting us tag along to all these cool bars, Marty. If it weren't for this site, I'd end up at the same three bars every time I came to town. TO 365!
In France we can't buy babies for 5 bucks, so that's why we're obliged to get pregnant, then to put the babies in the freezer! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8090556.stm MOUHAHAHHAHAHA!!!
Yeah, I agree with rr that bonus looks like something from TMWS! I miss TMWS!!!!!
Very nice bar, people looks cool in here!
whiskey with pickle juice chaser has been popular with my boys here in Parkston for a long time now...and we use my momma's homemade pickle juice...it's the best!