Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010—Bar 51

Day 51—Monday, March 1st
Rudy’s Bar & Grill

First off the Donation bar rang big time tonight! My friend and former co-worker James Mollo sent me the following donation:

Donation Details
Total amount: $87.00 USD
Currency:  U.S. Dollars
Purpose:  living the dream
Contributor: James Mollo
Message: Hello! Got a bunch of overtime on my last paycheck, so here's some fazooles.

That was very generous I thank you James for the fazooles! After last Saturday’s bill I can use it! This also gives me a chance to say something about the Donation button. I decided last week I wasn’t going to try and sell advertising on here right now. Between working a full time job and doing the 365 Bar Crawl, then writing it, resizing photos and posting a column a day, I just don’t have time for it. This can get expensive, so if you’re enjoying this advertising-free site and can donate just five bucks once in a while it will really help keep this going. I know a lot of people can’t these days and to those people I say, just enjoy the site. But those of you who can, consider it a cover charge for the entertainment this brings to you. If you're paranoid about online donation, send me an email and I'll give you my address of where to send a donation for drinks. If you come to New York, I'll buy you one back!

Okay, enough begging for change! I haven’t hit a dive bar for awhile on the 365 crawl, so tonight I thought I’d dive in head first to one of New York’s original dive bars, Rudy’s Bar & Grill. Rudy’s was one of the first bars opened in New York City after prohibition ended. So put on your drinking trunks and let’s dive head first into the sauce at Rudy’s!

Nice neon sign at Rudy's, deep in the heart of Hell's Kitchen in New York City.

A giant ceramic pig is there to welcome you to Rudy's.'

Here's the original door that opened the bar way back in 1933.

There's a full crowd for a Monday night. The joint is jumping!

Joe the bartender serves up the first Budweiser of the night and after I tell him about the 365 website he comps the beer! Thanks, Joe!

Some of the art and pictures on the wall at Rudy's.

Kyle and Scotty were enjoying drinks at the bar and Kyle advised me about Google analytics, which I'll look into after a few more drinks.

The crowd at the bar.

Seated next to me at the bar were my drinking neighbors, Melanie and Borey. Borey had some bar suggestions which I will follow through with on the bar crawl.

There's many beers to be had here, all at a price we can afford in these tough economic times.

Here's Eclson and  Guilherme, they are from Brazil and heard about Rudy's from a friend who had been here. It was their second night in New York and their second night in Rudy's. Welcome to the U.S.A. guys!

Joe holds court at the bar.

Seated at one of the red vinyl banquettes that line the walls were, Elaine, Henny and Michael.

Some of the drafts available at Rudy's.

Joe and Sasha were having a nice quiet time in their banquette, till I bugged them for a photo. They were gracious enough to oblige. Cheers!

The grill always has plenty of scrumptious hot dogs cooking up.

And they're free!

I took a short video, but the lights on the camera were freaking people out and Joe asked me to shut it off. He was nice about it though, so all was cool and I had another beer. (P.S. If you're having trouble viewing this, try using the Safari Browser, for some reason, Firefox isn't working for me. And thanks to Sam Wong for finding the camera lights for the bar crawl!)

Here's a quick video of the outside of Rudy's. Goodnight everybody!

Review

Hell’s Kitchen has been made over in the last decade and it’s a far cry from the days when gangsters from the Irish American Mob ran the neighborhood back in the day. There’s new restaurants, the shops and deli’s are squeaky clean, but one joint refuses to join in the gentrification: Rudy’s Bar and Grill. The door on the bar is the original door that opened the saloon back in 1933 by the Rudy family. Jack, the current owner started swilling suds in Rudy’s when he was 16-years-old and has made sure the bar stays true to its bombed-out, dive bar roots.

The space is small and it fills up quickly with thirsty drinkers lining up at the bar to purchase pitchers of Bud for nine bucks. Other brews on draft include, Bass Pale Ale, Stella Artois and there’s Rudy’s very own blonde ale at just $2.50 a pint. The bar offers up a selection of 14 bottled beers including, Rolling Rock, Budweiser, Corona and Pork Slap Ale in a can. Most of the bottles are three bucks and none are over four, so if your wallet’s thin, this is the place to tie one on.

Rudy’s has an eclectic jazz and rock 'n' roll jukebox, friendly bartenders and a fun and thirsty crowd of interesting characters. Plus a giant ceramic happy pig greets you at the door. And did I mention the free hot dogs? The hot dogs are FREE! That’s the cherry on top of the dive!

Rudy’s Bar and Grill
627 9th Ave (near 44th Street)
212-974-9169

Monday, March 1st, 2010—Bar 50

Day 50—Sunday, February 28
Dram Shop

One question I keep getting asked is, “Have you gone to any bars in Brooklyn?” And I haven’t, so I look like some kind of a Manhattan snob. But I just don’t get out of Manhattan much because...well, because I’m a Manhattan snob. Har-dee-har-har!  But my friend Alex Tirpack (if you’ve been following 365 regularly, he was the bartender in the 2nd night’s episode right here: Alex at the Parkside Lounge, don't miss him on their Wednesday Trivia Night, one of the most fun bar night specials in the Lower East Side) has invited me out to Park Slope, Brooklyn where he lives, so I’m going to go. He’s going to be the co-host tonight and he’s picked a place called the Dram Shop to have the Sunday night feast and lots of drinks! So let us be on our way to Park Slope, Brooklyn!

We'll be taking the F train to Brooklyn.

Goodbye Manhattan...

Hello Brooklyn!

Here's the Dram Shop, just a short walk from the subway station.

Some of the specials of the night.

Wow, there's a massive wooden bar inside.

Like an idiot I forgot to write down this bartender's name, but he was very friendly and flashed the 365 card as he served me up a Budweiser.

And in honor of this being the 50th bar of the night, shots were poured and drank. Cheers!

Some of the draft beers available at Dram Shop.

Bartender Calvin serves up another in a long line of Budweisers for the evening.

It's Sunday night and the night for my weekly feast. Alex suggested the place because they specialize in cheeseburgers and he was right. It's one of the best I've ever had.

Here I am scarfing it down.

They have tons of board games here, so you'll never be bored.

Will and Clarissa were holding up the end of the bar and having a fun Sunday night at the Dram Shop.

The booths here are massive and can hold a large party unto themselves.

Here's Alvin, Katrina, Beth and Alex. Beth and Katrina were on duty and Alvin and Alex are brothers. Cheers!

There's a huge shuffleboard table at the bar.

Alex and Patrick are in the middle of a game and I probably threw them off with my flash.

The game's over and here's Alex and Patrick with their pal, Andy.

There's a lively game of pool happening in the back room of the bar.

Here's Jerry a true two-fisted quadrophenia drinker! Cheers, Jerry!

Here's bartender Brian, who it turns out spent five years of his childhood in my hometown of Peoria. As Steven Wright once said, "It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it."

And after 20 Budweisers my duty is done.

Okay, I found out that I can make movies with my camera and here's the first one. It's really dark and shitty, but I plan on getting a light for it so be patient. I'm just starting out with this shit. Here's the bonus video one.

Here I am waiting freezing my ass off waiting for the train back to Manhattan.

Hooray, the train finally shows up!

And ode to the sleeping man on the train. Goodnight everybody!

Review

If you’re a sport’s fanatic, an old school game person, a specialty beer fanatic, a cheeseburger lover and a whiskey and scotch enthusiast then you’ve found the dream bar at the Dram Shop.

Walking in you’ll be floored by the giant wooden bar and the voluminous booths that are available for seating. There’s usually a good sized crowd filling up the space and the several high definition TV’s are all tuned into sports programs. The music is primarily old school MTV style ranging from Phil Collins to Night Ranger. There’s also a huge shuffleboard table, a pool table and board games ranging from Yahtzee, Chutes and Ladders, Sorry and many more to enjoy while seated at the massive booths and tables in the bar.

There’s a wide drink selection to be had at Dram Shop. They have a huge whiskey and scotch menu, there are microbrews available as well as a large selection of bottled beers including Corona, Lone Star, Pilsner Urquell and Sugar Bill Harlem.

The Dram Shop also has a full menu including Cobb Salad, Deep Fried Mac and Cheese and the specialty of the house, the Cheeseburger and Home Cut Fries. The Cheeseburger is one of the best in the Tri-State area and it’s got a history of it’s own that you can read about on the menu. There’s a little something for everyone and a friendly atmosphere at the Dram Shop and it’s well worth making the trip from Manhattan to Brooklyn to check it out and enjoy.

The Dram Shop
Park Slope, Brooklyn
339 9th St. (between 5th & 6th Ave)
718-788-1444

Sunday, February 28th, 2010—Bar 49

Day 49—Saturday, February 27
King Cole Bar (In the St. Regis Hotel)

Okay, it’s Saturday night which means it’s hotel bar night. Last week, if you’re a faithful reader of 365, you’ll remember I skipped the hotel bar night and went to Manitoba’s. While there I met two fine and fun people, Joe and Jessica.
Joe and Jessica

I told Joe that I usually got to hotel bars on Saturday nights, because most bars are too packed and noisy for my taste on Saturday night. Also, hotel bars have a different ambiance to them. Joe suggested I check out the King Cole Bar in the St. Regis Hotel. He told me there’s a painting there of King Cole and Joe told me that there’s a secret in the painting. The secret is that supposedly Old King Cole, that merry old soul just let loose with a fart in the painting. I checked online sure enough I found this article. Within the article is this paragraph:

“Through decades of mixed-drink conviviality, bartenders have shared with their regulars a secret of the painting that is considerably less elegant than the hotel, the bar or indeed the mural itself. The legend, repeated by generations of bar patrons, is that the king’s sheepish grin, and the startled reactions of his knights, were occasioned by the flatulence of the monarch.”

Okay, I gotta see this myself and you’re welcome to join me, bring some Beano if you have any!

Alright, here we are down in the bowels of the Union Square subway station. These guys are making a horrible racket down here. I'm tempted to give them a twenty to shut up, but I have a feeling I'm going to need my money for the bar.  I'm pretty sure the King Cole Bar ain't cheap.

More subway entertainment on a Saturday night. This guy's whole schtick is that he's painted himself gold. Whoopie-dee-fucking-doo! You want a tip, Goldie? Move your act to Time's Square and maybe some tourists/hicks will find this shit amusing enough to fill your gold tip box.

As I hit the steps to go down to the tracks I double-time it because a train has just pulled up. Woo hoo, perfect timing!

Some of my fellow travelers in the car.

Okay, we're close now, here's the exit sign to take us above ground.

Midtown Manhattan on a Saturday night.

And here we are, the St. Regis Hotel in all its glory.

Here's the fancy, schmancy lobby. Whoops, I think I'm a little underdressed. Oh well, it's not the first time.

And here we are, the glassed-door entry way to the King Cole Bar. It looks crowded in here!

It's a full house. All the seats are taken at the bar, but I managed to squeeze in a standing spot at the left end.

There's just one bartender and he's busy filling all the drink orders.

But I managed to get his attention. His name is Bob and he was very hospitable and served me up the house specialty, The Red Snapper.

And here I am in all my under-dressed glory with the aforementioned Red Snapper. I gotta learn another pose, this pointing at the drink thing is getting old!
Free snacks!

Look at these guys! Hi assholes!

The leather chairs and tables were all occupied.

Now it's time to check out the mural. Here's Old King Cole smiling a devilish grin. Has he let loose with a ripping fart?

I'd say from the look on this guy's face, there's definitely more than dust in the wind! Joe was right and I'll buy him a drink when we have dinner in Forest Hills in an upcoming Sunday bar crawl.

Okay, I had an 18 dollar Red Snapper and two 10 dollar bottles of Budweiser. May as well blow the rest of my dough on a cab ride home. Goodnight everybody!

Review

King Cole Bar is an elegant bar one of the city’s swankiest hotels that is a throwback to the old days of New York City. Some people who have lived here include Ernest Hemmingway, Salvador Dali, Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio. John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived here before they moved into the Dakota on the Upper West Side.

The signature drink is a Bloody Mary, which they call the “Red Snapper.” Legend has it that the King Cole Bar is where the Bloody Mary was first served in America. Behind the bar hang’s artist Maxfield Parrish's 25-foot King Cole mural, which was taken down and cleaned and restored to it’s original appearance a couple years ago. The bar area is a small room with high ceilings and glass doors. It’s low-lit and the small wooden horseshoe bar seats between 12 to 14. There are polished wooden tables, leather chairs and banquettes lining the dark wooden walls. The clientle is old money New Yorkers, out of town Yuppies and curious tourist’s.

In addition to the Red Snapper the King Cole Bar has eight specialty cocktails. But bring your credit card because it ain’t cheap to drink with the King. The Red Snapper is 18 bucks and is the cheapest of the specialty cocktails. Some of the bottled beers include Budweiser, Sam Adams, Duvel and Becks, but again, be prepared. A bottle of Budweiser is the cheapest of the lot and it goes for 10 dollars a bottle. There’s also a full bar and an extensive wine list.

There’s a bar menu that includes Tuna Tartar, Chicken Saté and Sliced Steak in Brioche. The bar menu is available till midnight. And if you’ve spent all your money on booze, don’t fret, the almonds, pretzels and green wasabi peas that are on the bar and tables are free!

King Cole Bar (In The St. Regis Hotel)
Two East 55th St. @Fifth Avenue
212-753-4500