Monday, March 8th, 2010—Bar 57

Day 57—Sunday, March 7th
White Horse Tavern
Today’s the last day of my daytime bar crawl as my parents are leaving and it’s back to the sweet night time for me tomorrow. Today I thought we’d travel to Greenwich Village and visit the legendary White Horse Tavern. Legend has it that poet Dylan Thomas drank himself to death here at the bar after downing 18 shots of scotch and then returning to his Chelsea Hotel apartment to sleep it off. Instead of sleeping it off, he died in his sleep. Other famous patrons through the years include: Bob Dylan, Mary Travers, Jim Morrison, Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson. Let’s go check out this legendary watering hole, just watch the shots, I don’t want any drunken deaths on my 365 watch! Oh, wait, I don't have a watch, so do whatever you want to do.

Here we are at the White Horse Tavern, deep in the heart of New York City's Greenwich Village.

Wow, it's crowded for an early Sunday afternoon. I spy one empty stool though and it's mine!

Behind the draft beer pullers stands Bob the bartender. Ready to serve up a cold beer.

I think this sign went up after they served Dylan Thomas those 18 shots of scotch.

John told me he was a semi-regular in the joint. He lives in the neighborhood, but also has a place in New Orleans. He was waiting for his better half to show up.

And baboom! Here she is, the lovely Lea.

Eddie and Anitra came in from Park Slope to have a couple beers and lunch. Cheers!

A giant white horse painting in the back room.

Seated nearby were Carl, Anne Marie and Mitch, enjoying drinks and the ambiance of the White Horse Tavern.

There's tables in front to relax and drink too.

Phil stopped by for a quick glass of wine at the tavern.

Some of the beers available and more white horses adorn the top perimeter of the bar.

Bill and Gigi were seated next to me at the bar. It was Gigi's first time at the bar and she had been trying to find the owner of a lost Blackberry earlier.

Here's a painting of Dylan Thomas at the bar. Can we buy you a shot Dylan?

Koaus came in for a drink and told me he works in the fashion industry.

After talking to Joe and Stephanie who were seated at a corner table I found out that both of them live on my block! Neighbors at the bar. See you round the hood, Joe and Stephanie!

And finally with the aid of some prop glasses and beers, I perform my Dylan Thomas impersonation. Goodnight everybody!

Review

The White Horse Tavern is a legendary literary watering hole. In the ‘50’s beat poets and writers gathered here, drank and listened to the Clancy Brothers jam in the bar. Legend has it that poet Dylan Thomas pounded 18 shots of scotch and then retired to his Chelsea Hotel residence and died a John Bonham-like death. There’s a large portrait of Thomas to be seen in the bar along with a painting of a white horse and other memorabilia and photos from the past.

Today the crowd consists of neighborhood regulars, curious New Yorkers and college kids looking to drink and reminisce of literary and beat days gone by. Tourists also flock to this haunt where drinking is still the main focus. There’s 13 bottled beers to choose from including, Sierra Nevada, Widmer (Hefeweizen), Budweiser, Woodpecker Cider and Amstel Light. There are seven drafts to wet your whistle among them are, Guinness, Sam Adams, Newcastle, and Stella Artois. In addition to the booze, food is also available and the menu has burgers, sandwiches, nachos and Shepherd’s Pie and Steak and Kidney Pie.

When the weather permits they have an outdoor patio with tables and seating. Stop by and admire a chunk of New York’s writerly past and one of the city’s legendary drinking haunts. Just remember though, if you’re doing shots, keep it sensible, limit yourself to a dozen or so. Cheers!

White Horse Tavern
567 Hudson St. @ 11th St.
212-243-9260

Sunday, March 7th, 2010—Bar 56

Day 56—Saturday, March 6th
Reservoir Bar & Grill

Okay, as you saw from yesterday, my folks are in town and tonight we’re going to celebrate my mom’s 80th birthday. A couple of my nieces are coming in and we’re going to have a little party in my apartment and then go to dinner. And you’re all invited! In between shopping and cleaning my place I have to do my 365 duty, so I thought I’d go to a little bar called Resevoir Bar & Grill that’s in my neighborhood. I’ve walked past this place many times, but never gone in. So let’s go there and then you can all take a nap and then it’s birthday party time. You say it’s your birthday?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...The Reservoir Bar and Grill. Let's get inside, it's too fucking bright out here!

Aaahhh, shelter from the sun!

And the friendly bartender Liz serves up an ice-cold Rolling Rock.

Cheers!

The bar is highly polished wood and it's long so it can seat a lot of revelers.

And in the back there's a pool table and table and chairs for dining and drinking. Oh look, they match, how cute!

Here's William and Justine who were chilling at the bar with drinks.

Now this is a movement I can get behind!

Megan, Jack and Eugene were enjoying the game and some daytime drinks.

A stuffed boar's head hangs over the bar surronded by baseball caps and other assorted kitsch.

Stephanie, Denise, Ramon and Doug were getting ready to enjoy a game of pool. Till I came along with my camera and halted the action. Okay, thanks for the photo guys, as you were!

Here's the aquarium behind the bar. I didn't see any fish though. Maybe they only come out at night, I don't blame them!

Will and Leslee were holding up the end of the bar, and no that's not a typo on Leslee's name. She said to blame her parents for the spelling.

Review

The Reservoir is an aptly named dive bar. No frills, no gimmicks, just a place to come and get shitfaced with the locals from the neighborhood. The wood paneling makes you feel as if you’re in someone’s rec room and there’s a nice sized wooden bar in front and tables in the back where you can swill your suds and eat your wings. Beer ads from days gone by, vintage photos and a mounted boar’s head above the bar decorate the low-lit tavern. Threre’s a jukebox with artist’s ranging from Joan Jett, Etta James, The Isley Brothers and Warren Zevon.

There’s a full bar including 20 bottled beers and 16 draft beer selections. Some of the bottled beer selections include Rolling Rock, Sierra Nevada and Magner Irish Cider. The drafts include Budweiser, Bass Ale, Stella Artois and their own Reservoir Ale. Happy Hour is Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 featuring four buck well drinks and daily pint specials. On Tuesday all drafts are $3.50.

Standard pub grub at Resevoir includes wings, potato skins, waffle fries, burgers and sandwiches. Nothing is over 10 bucks on the menu, so you’re not going to break the bank by eating here. Be sure to check out the house salad dressing, the recipe comes from the owners mom and it’s the house specialty. I’d say, “dive into the Reservoir” but about 2,700 other reviewers beat me to that one, so stop on by and have a beer and some wings and enjoy a local neighborhood joint.

Reservoir Bar & Grill
70 University Place (between 10th & 11th St.)
212-683-3333

Bonus Post!

After my review, I cleaned up my apartment a little and we had a nice celebration and dinner for my mom.

I put up a banner over the fireplace, that way I didn't have to clean under there.

And here's the crowd stuffed into my little pad, from left: My mom, the birthday girl, my niece Caylin, my dad, my niece Cara and her boyfriend John. Their sister Casie had to work, but hopefully she'll make the next celebration. I'm behind the camera contemplating opening another beer.

After a couple drinks and opening of some presents (Godiva chocolate from my nieces and John and a canned ham—this year I'm trying to prove that canned hams are more than a Sunday dinner, they're a delectable birthday gift—and a heart from the Heart Art Store on 18th St. Check out the store here: Heart Art Website) we walked a block down to Steak Frites for dinner. Faithful followers of the 365 Bar Crawl will remember Steak Frites from this post: Steak Frites Post.

Hostess Carla met us with a smile and took us to our table in the back.

Doreen the super-cute and friendly manager helped us set up the dinner. Here she is posing with the birthday girl!

The lovely Kate was our waitress and happily answered our menu questions and provided great service. Hey, where's bartender Allen?

The dinner was great and at the end we surprised my mom with a huge chocolate birthday cake! Hooray and happy birthday! Special thanks again to Doreen who set up the evening! Goodnight everybody!

For my review and posting of Steak Frites click here: Steak Frites Post.

Saturday, March 6th, 2010—Bar 55

Day 55—Friday, March 5th
The bar at the Water Club Restaurant
I’m meeting my parents again tonight for dinner. Today I was swamped with errands, paying bills, scratching my toes, rubbing my ear lobes and pulling up my socks that I didn’t have time to go to a bar. So I thought I’d do the bar at the place where we’re going out to dinner. My mom and dad don’t know it yet, but they’re not only going out to eat with me, they’re going to be part of the 365 bar crawl. Hello Muddah, hello Faddah!
Here's the hotel my folks are staying at in midtown. We're going to have a pre-dinner drink there.

Obligatory elevator mirror self-portrait!

And here we are, the twelfth floor.

And here they are, my mom and dad enjoying a drink neat the mini-bar in the room! Welcome to New York, mom and dad, cheers!

I surprised them by dressing up for dinner. Here I am with my mom performing my suspended Budweiser over the head trick. (Kids, don't try this at home.)

By magic of the internet and a swift taxi, here we are, The Water Club restaurant and bar.

I guess they don't want people smoking pot before dinner. You'd think they'd encourage it, people would order more.

Here we are at dinner and we were lucky enough to get a window seat here. The view is spectacular from here.

It was tough to get a photo through the window, but here's one without the flash that shows you what we were looking at. Really beautiful.

My mom always gets a dish of ice cream for dessert, and my dad always hopes she can't finish it, so he can do clean up duty.

And tonight he's in luck! Okay, enough of this dinner crap, we need to get to the bar pronto.

And here we are, it's a classy yet comfortable place.

Nicalina was the beautiful and friendly bartender on duty.

Fire!

Lisa and John were enjoying the fire in the lounge area.

The talented and friendly Robert Mosci is the nightly piano man at the bar. My mom requested "Purple Haze," but he had trouble getting feedback from the piano, so he performed, "Chicago" in honor of our midwestern roots. Check out Robert's website here: Robert Mosci Website.

Max and Jessica were relaxing on the couch, enjoying a drink and Robert's piano stylings.

Liam and Nisa live here in Manhattan and were enjoying a drink at the bar. Cheers!

And there's two familiar faces! Time for a family portrait at the bar.

It's the Wombacher's! Once again, kids, don't try the suspended Budweiser trick at home, it took me years of training to perfect. Goodnight everybody!

Join me on an elevator ride at my folks hotel. Fun, fun, fun!

Review

The breathtaking view is reason enough to visit the Water Club in New York City. The restaurant overlooks the East River and the large windows that line the perimeter of the wall showcase this stunning view. If you’re lucky enough to get a table with a window view you get a great view of the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Brooklyn skyline. As the sun goes down watching the lights go up on the bridge and buildings and reflected into the water is a show unto itself.

The restaurant is spacious and you have plenty of room between tables. The waiters are friendly and swift and the menu includes Lobster Bisque (and take it from me, it’s the best in town!), a Raw Bar featuring Littleneck Or Cherrystone Clams, Shrimp Cocktai and a Chilled Ocean Platter with a selection of lobster, clams, oysters, shrimp and lump crab. Some of the entrees include, Olive Oil Poached Halibu, 14 Oz. Rib Eye Double Cut Colorado Lamb Chops and Maine Lobster with an 8 ounce Filet Mignon.

The bar at the water club is as nice as the restaurant. In keeping with the restaurant’s name, the bar has an aquatic theme with large models and pictures of boats on the river decorating the classy saloon. There’s a full bar, a lounge area with a roaring fireplace and comfortable chairs, couches and nightly live piano music by Robert Mosci. They have a full bar, a wide array of bottled and draft beer and a nice wine list. You can eat at the bar and the bar menu includes a steak sandwich, the Water Club burger and crab cakes. The place is a popular after work spot and on a lot of tourists must-see places. When you experience the Water Club, you’ll see why.

The Water Club
The East River At 30th St. (@ FDR Dr)
212-683-3333