Saturday, February 27th, 2010—Bar 48

Day 48—Friday, February 26th
Markt

First off I want to thank Jason Hwang for contributing 20 bucks to the 365 cause! Jason’s a friend, a co-worker, a commentator here and has been part of the crawl here when his girlfriend/commentator Zioum Zioum the Chainsaw was in town. Thanks, Jason, tonight’s beers are one you!
Jason display's his 20 dollar contribution and hides his unshaven face.

Okay, it’s a real fucking mess in New York tonight. It started snowing yesterday and continued all day and into the night and I believe we got close to twenty inches. So I’m not going to venture far away to a bar tonight, it’s too sloppy outside. In fact there’s a bar I pass by every night called Markt. And for once, that’s not a typo, the name is Markt. Tonight I went online and found out it’s got a huge selection of bottled Belgian beer. I’m not really in the mood to talk to people and do the usual 365 meet, greet and take a photo thingy tonight. Instead, I’ll take some shots of the bar and then introduce a show I’m going to call “My Three Beers.”

“What’s that?” You ask. I don’t know, if you haven’t guessed yet, I kind of make this shit up as I go along.

Okay, it finally stopped snowing, but look what a mess it is outside.

Bicycles are buried on the sidwwalk.

And on every corner there's a sea of glop to step through.

We're here, Markt Cafe-Restaurant.

In spite of the snow, there's a big Friday night crowd at the bar.

This is my view from my perch at the bar.

And here's the view from the other end of the bar.

There are tables and booths on the opposite side of the bar and in the back room.

And now it's time to begin this week's episode of, "My Three Beers." Do doo do do, do doo do doo.

Bartender Steve pours the first beer of the evening.

It's a Troubadour Blond and it's delicious and loaded with alcohol. Hooray!

Beer number two is a bottle of Kwak. Every beer here comes with its own unique glass. And what can I say about Kwak? Kwak is wack!

We now pause for this commercial break, starring a young Sam Wong.

Bartender Frankie pours the third and final beer of the evening.

It's called Palm and here I am with it in the palm of my hand. It was delicious. I hope you enjoyed this edition of "My Three Beers."

And this is just my opinion, but I always thought Uncle Charlie was a pedophile. What gave it away was that apron he wore while staring longinly at Ernie. Yikes! Goodnight everybody!

Review

Markt restaurant and bar has a casual elegance from the long and winding antique bar to the friendly bartenders and waitstaff who work there. If you want rowdiness you should go somewhere else, but if you’re looking for huge selection of great Belgian beer and cuisine Markt is your spot.

They offer a selction of over 40 draft and bottled Belgian beers. Some of them include: Duchesse De Bourgogne, Troubadour Obscura, St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Grimbergen Dubbel. Yeah, I’ve never heard of them either, I’m a guy who drained six cans of Pabst last night at the Trailer Park Lounge, but the ones I had were delicious. Plan on coming here on payday, because it’s not cheap. Beers run from 8 to 15 dollars per beer, but they are imported and uniqely tasty. Markt also offers 10 unique cocktails at twelve bucks a pop and they have an extensive wine list.

Markt also has a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. Some of the entrees include six different variations of mussels, grilled lobster, red snapper and shrimp poached in a shellfish cream broth and tender beef slow simmered in Corsendonk Brown ale, served with Belgian frites. What caught my eye was the Macaronis au gratin, which is four-cheese macaroni & cheese topped with a panko crust and black truffle oil. I gotta get some food next time I go here!

Markt
676 Sixth Ave. @ 21st St.
212-727-3314

Friday, February 26th, 2010—Bar 47

Day 47—Thursday, February 25th
Trailer Park Lounge

You’d think a trailer park in Manhattan would be as hard to find as a drive-in movie, but there’s one on 23rd street and it’s loaded with booze, kitsch and mountains of kaboodle. The Trailer Park Lounge is an ode to white-trash, tin can dwelling and a slice of our culture that’s fine with French-kissing their younger sister. So put on your best trucker hat and pack a wad of chewin’ tobacky in your jaw and let’s head over to 23rd street and the Trailer Park Lounge!

Another fucking snowstorm! Oh well, at least it's only seven blocks away.

And here we are, the Trailer Park Lounge. Let's get inside away from this goddamn mess outside!

Wow, a nice crowd in spite of the weather out there.

Chris the bartender serves me up my first Pabst of the evening. Drunk chicks dig him!

Now it's time for my patented point at the Pabst can pose. Cheers!

The beer is chilled in this lovely bathtub.

One of the prized possesion's in the bar is the Penthouse X-rated tape of Tonya Harding's wedding night.

A sampling of some of the vintage kitsch on display.

Mead was sitting next to me at the bar. He's a regular here and pointed out a couple of things to me, like...

The pregnant woman atop the bar who's nursing a Pabst and a cigarette. And dig those pink flamingo slippers!

Mead also pointed out this hidden gem, an Elvis Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. It's got a layer of banana on underneath the peanut butter.

These two fellows, both named Chris are enjoying some of the comfort food at Trailer Park Lounge.

You gotta love the hula dancer lamp! I'd like to take all this stuff home to my apartment!

The Elvis lamp really lights up the tiki bar.

Megan and Soyoung were relaxing in the booth at the front room of the bar.

Here's the back room of the bar.

And seated back there was Stephanie and Cristina. I call this shot, "Two Women and a Tater Tot."

The walls are jam-packed with fun signage and vintage knick-knacks.

Tinsel and yard lamps adorn the ceiling.

I'm going to let the Elvis lamp have the last word. "Goodnight everybody...and thank ya, thank ya very much!" Okay, that's all, Elvis has left the trailer park.

Review

Trailer Park Lounge is a combination trailer, truck stop, tiki bar and a vintage thrift shop all rolled up into one fun package. The decor is equal parts Elvis and pink flamingo style with a dash of Hee Haw thrown in for good measure. One wall is an actual side of a trailer, the bar is done up tiki style and there’s plenty of booths and lawn chairs strewn about the joint to get comfortable in.

There’s a daily Happy Hour featuring three dollar cans of beer and drafts and five dollar margaritas. You get one free mug of beer with a sandwich between noon and 4 pm, with subsequent drinks charged at Happy Hour prices. Monday and Tuesday the Trailer Park Lounge features a $7.49 burger and beer special all night long. In additon to the burgers, you can munch on sloppy joe’s, BLT’s, mac and cheese and tater tots. For dessert you can satisfy your sweet tooth with an authentic Moon Pie.

The margarita is their signature drink and there are four other specialty cocktails in addition to a full bar. Bottled beers include Budweiser, Heinekin and Corona. Pabst and Rheingold are available in cans and there’s Rolling Rock, Miller Lite and Sam Adams on draft.

They also sell Trailer Park t-shirts and if you fill one out like the woman below, let me know the next time you’re going to be at the bar and the drinks will be on me.

Trailer Park Lounge
271 W 23rd St. (between Seventh and Eighth Ave.)
212-463-8000

Thursday, February 25th, 2010—Bar 46

Day 46—Wednesday, February 24th
Café Charbon (Original Destination: Gallery Bar)

When I first heard of Gallery Bar, my mind immediately flashed to a mid-’70’s, cheap porno rag and I wondered if it was something like the Hustler Club. But upon further investigation, they mean Gallery as in Art Gallery. I guess I should get my mind out of the gutter, but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Basically in the day this place is a working art gallery with art exhibitions and at night they throw booze into the mix and it becomes the Gallery Bar. While I admit I’m a little sad there won’t be any ‘70’s porn stars there, it still sounds like a cool concept, so let’s go check it out.

I walked past this place like three times because there's no sign outside. Already I'm a little wary of this joint.

As I walk inside I'm really wary of this joint, there's painted guys in their underwear everywhere. It's like a bad Jackson Pollock painting come to life.

It's hotter than fuck in here, there's no chairs, bad techno music is blaring at ear-shattering volume and there's painted guys drinking in their underwear. Auntie Em, we're not in Kansas anymore. Help!

I have to try and wade through these motherfucking painted guys in their underwear just to get a drink. I'm not that thirsty, maybe the downstairs bar will be a little better.

Holy Mother of Fuck! The bad techno music is just as bad down here and those that aren't covered in body paint and underwear look like real pretentious assholes. Hi Assholes! I think it's time to find someplace else for tonight's bar crawl. Exit, stage left!

I peeked in the window here and there are no painted underwear men and it looks like a nice place to soothe my jangled nerves. Hello Café Charbon!

It looks like a nice place to relax and booze it up in here.

The two bartenders on duty were really friendly. They are Michelle and Cyriaque.

Here's the beer list available at Café Charbon. A nice selection of drafts and bottled beer to be had here.

Here's Greg the manager who wanted super-cute Michelle to be included in the picture.

Since everybody else was getting to have their picture taken with Michelle, I decided to join in.

The draft beer selection at Café Charbon.

Seated next to me was Alan, who was enjoying a fresh glass of Stella Artois.

Some of the wine specials for the night, this is just a partial list.

They've got a whole freakin' wall of wine here!

Birger and Patricia were having a nice quiet time at the end of the bar.

Hey who's that tucked away in the corner of the back room?

It's Alex and Anna! Cheers!

Occasional bathroom mirror shot! Goodnight everybody!

Review

Café Charbon is a great French-themed, easy-going Lower East Side bar and café. The bar is low-lit, relaxing and roomy. There’s plenty of room at the spacious bar and comfortable well worn leather couches and tables surround it. The bartenders are friendly and it’s a nice chill bar scene.

The café menu is full of French delights including, Escargots a L Ail, Pate De Canard Aux Poivre, Jarret D'Agneau and Raviolis Aux Champignons. I of course was more interested in the bar and it has a large selection of bottled beers featuring Red Stripe, Tsing Tao and Negra Modelo. They have a huge wine list and there are eight martinis to choose from as well as a number of signature cocktails.

If you want to unwind after work, Café Charbon has a daily Happy Hour, Monday through Friday from five till eight. And best of all there’s no painted men in underwear to be found within blocks from the café!

Cafe Charbon
168 Orchard St. (@ Stanton St.)
212-420-7520