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.