Wednesday, January 27, 2010—Bar 17

Day Seventeen—Tuesday, January 26th—Peter McManus Cafe (Original Destination: Maru)
Today’s donation comes in the form of good, sweet cash. My co-worker and manager, Decker Decker (that’s right, just like New York he’s so nice they named him twice!) doesn’t need to bother with no stinking PayPal, here he is forking over a twenty dollar bill to help fund the festivities. Thank you Decker, once again it’s highly appreciated as this crawl is not cheap!

Decker Decker and tonight's twenty! Thanks Decker!

I had such a good time at Red Bar I thought I’d try another bar in Koreatown. A patron of Red Bar told me that a bar/club called Maru was one of the best in the area. So what are we waiting for? Booze and good times await us, so off we go. Whoosh!

And here we are, Maru bar. Their website promised a restaurant, private karaoke rooms and two seperate bars on the third and fourth floors. It sounded too good to be true and it was. I got there and was told by the guy at the door that there was only one bar on the fourth floor. I took the elevator up and entered a cheesy little lounge bar. I took a seat at the bar and was ingored by the bartender and given dirty looks by the waitresses for over ten minutes. After waving at the fucking bartender and having him walk the other way I decided to bolt this dump. Don't believe the fake reviews you read about this place, online (they probably write them themselves) it sucks monkey lungs on toast. Fuck this shitty little cheezoid dump of a shitty shithole.

So I walked over to 7th Avenue and wandered down to 23rd Street and came upon the Chelsea Hotel. I had been in the basement bar here once and had a good time. Sadly the bar was closed tonight. Motherfucker!

So I found this little wine bar on 7th.

But it was closed too. Motherfucker, motherfucker!

Here's Bar Baresco...

Which is also closed. Okay, my mood is officially in the fucking toilet at this time. I almost felt like going home and starting this bar crawl all over again.

But on my way home I saw this bar and restaurant. Light at the end of the tunnel!

But it's not only closed, it's out of fucking business! Motherfucker, motherfucker, motherfucker!

Just as I was ready to throw in the towel, I found a beacon of hope. A bar with actual lights on! The Peter McManus Cafe!

Wow, the joint is packed!

Luckily I got a seat the last seat at the bar and was happily served up a beer by bartender Justin.

I took a swig and tried to erase the memories of tonight's somewhat failed bar crawl.

I couldn't believe how crowded it was in there for a Tuesday! The bad vibe of Maru stuck with me and I just wasn't in the mood to talk to people. I was still pissed off at how they ignored me in there. Peter McManus is a great bar, but I just couldn't shake this shitty mood I was in.

Even seeing the trifecta of condiments, an aquarium and potato chips didn't cheer me up.

Here's a grumpy self-portrait after five bottles of Budweiser.

Even this painting of Saddam Hussein playing bagpipes couldn't cheer me up. Fuck it, it's time for...

The bathroom break!

Not quite as clean as the other toilets on the crawl so far, but not that bad either. It beats the hell out of being ignored and given dirty looks at the fucking Maru bar! Fuck, I have to quit obsessing over that place!

Hey how'd that get there? Goodnight everybody and FUCK MARU BAR!

Review

Peter McManus is the oldest family-run bar in the city. It’s total old school New York corner bar tavern. It’s a no frills joint. You come here to drink, play the well-stocked jukebox and hang out with locals and regulars and maybe have a burger and a bowl of chili. You can knock back a pint or two in the front room or share a table or booth in the back room of the tavern.

In addition to the full bar featuring their own McManus Ale there’s a full menu to be had at this historic New York tavern including five varieties of burgers, grilled specialties and nine deli sandwiches. A couple of TV’s, video games and friendly bartenders round out this historic New York neighborhood joint. Sadly I just wasn't in the mood to enjoy it tonight. That fucking Maru bar!

Peter McManus Cafe
152 7th Ave (At 19th St.)
(212) 929-9691

Tuesday, January 26, 2010—Bar 16

Day Sixteen—Monday, January 25th—O’Reilly’s Off Fifth (originally scheduled for Katwalk)

The old donation board lit up like a Christmas tree today! Three people generously donated five dollars each today! They are Meleah Rebeccah, Jason Childress and Danny “Manny” Maness. All three are writers and you can read/purchase their works by using these links:

Meleah is working on a book and has two blogs she writes and updates frequently. The first one is called Momma Mia, Mea Culpa and the other is called Melevision: TV Junkie. They’re both entertaining, funny and sometimes brutally honest blogs and you should check them out and leave comments for Meleah. I do!

Jason is the author of two books, The Life of St. Dufus  and Mediocrates: The Lost Philosopher of Athens. Both books are hilarious and I suggest you buy two of each today!

And last and certainly least (just kidding!) I give you Danny "Manny" Maness. What I love about Danny is that he’s such a crazy-ass motherfucker he makes me look sane! This guy has led one wild life and you can read some of his hilarious true-life tales by downloading his e-book from Lulu. It’s called, Chicken Butts and Coconuts (Will Ultimately Make or Break You.) I downloaded it the other night and this is one great read and some hilarious, true-life stories. You need to check this out!

Thanks to all three of you! I truly appreciate it!

Okay, onto the next bar. As I said, I’m fucking beat tonight, so I searched and found a bar that looks decent and that is close by where I work called Katwalk Bar and Lounge. It’s about eight blocks  from where I work, so we can walk there in minutes.

And...baboom...here we are. The only problem is that when I walked in they were already having the last call. At 11:45 at night? Motherfucker! Luckily I looked down the block and saw...

O'Reilly's! You know that a good Irish Pub isn't closing anytime soon so I hoofed it over there.

The sign says, "Come inside," so that's what I'm going to do!

John the bartneder serves up a trusty pint of Guiness and assures me they'll be open for the hour I need to spend in there.

And this of course leads to the traditional "wearin' of the Guiness on the head." Cheers!

Some of the many draft beers available at O'Reilly's Off Fifth.

Down at the front of the bar were Ilaria and Fabretti. They've come to New York via Italy and were having drinks and dinner tonight.

And their dinner has just arrived. Mmmm, bacon cheeseburgers!

Lots of tables and room in here if you want to party with a large group.

This is Viv and Anil, they told me they're in here almost every night as they work nearby at Keen's Steakhouse. Hmm...maybe I'll go there this Sunday for dinner. Stay tuned!

I am the God of hell fire and I bring you...FIRE!

A spacious bar indeed.

John mixed and poured me up the signature drink of the house, The O'Reilly Key Lime Martini. It was delicious!

Here's waitress Bibiana. She was just getting ready to end her shift.

John poured me a shot of Jameson's, on the house. Thanks John!

And now I've polished off this bottle of Budweiser I think we all now what time it is...

Bathroom break!

The streak of clean toilet's continues!

Hey, how'd that get there? (Special thanks to Frankie Headbanger for supplying the special reflective material! Cool, huh?)

Obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Goodnight everybody!

Review

O’Reilly’s Off Fifth is the sister bar of the other O’Reilly’s I visited in the first week of this bar crawl. It’s pretty much the same ambience, but bigger. There’s a large bar in the front with three TV’s and lots of tables behind and in the back room. It’s a friendly place with a nice mix of after work clientle, regulars and people having dinner and drinks before a show at Madison Square Garden.

They have a large selection of draft and bottled beers, a full bar menu and their signature drink is the O’Reilly’s Key Lime Martini. I had one and it was delicious and filled with good, sweet booze. The bartenders are friendly and if you stay long enough the odds of a buy back or a free shot are good.

In addition to the bar, there’s a full dining room on the top floor (you can also order from the bar) and a full lunch and dinner menu including standard Irsh fare as Fish and Chips and Shepherd's Pie and non-Irish staples such as Herb-Crusted Lamb Chops and Filet Mignon and Shrimp Scampi.

O’Reilly’s Off Fifth
21 W. 35th Street (Between 5th & 6th Aves.)
212-502-5246

Monday, January 25—Bar 15

Day Fifteen—Sunday, January 24rd—Wechsler’s Currywurst

I thought I’d start a new tradition on Sunday’s here at 365, and have my Sunday dinner at a bar or in a bar at a restaurant’s bar. Sunday dinner’s were always a big deal with my family and I’ve always loved going out for a nice Sunday dinner here in New York. Last night I met Andre Wechsler, the owner of a German restaurant that’s close by where I was last night and he told me there’s a bar in there, so that’s sounds like the perfect place to go. I hope you’re hungry!

Happy hour started at my place with Jason and Zioum Zioum. They brought beer and bagel chips for our pre-dinner party.

This is the first of a goofy non-lipped pose I decided to do for the evening.

And baboom, through the magic of the internet, here we are at Wechsler's Currywurst! Who's that in the window?

It's the lovely Chockie, our bartender for the evening. She not only served us up some very tasty German brews, she gave me some bar suggestions, which I will check out on the 365 crawl soon.

I have my first beer at the tiny bar at the front of the restaurant. This is the second goofy close-lipped pose and I'll never do it again, I promise!

After my beer at the bar I settled into a back table with Jason and Zioum Zioum.

And here we are, cheers and German beers!

Seated next to us was Peter and Adrienne. This was their first time here and they loved it.

Just some of the German beer available at Wechsler's Currywurst.

More beer!

Leslie took my place at the bar and does a lovely job at filling my goofy-ass place. Leslie is a hair stylist to a large portion of the bartenders in Manhattan at Salon 7. Here's their website if you'd like to book an appointment with Leslie: Studio 7.

Dinnertime! Here's the currywurst, this is the best German dish I have ever had, you have to check it out. And it's a known hangover killer food!

They serve up warm pretzels with mustard and the pretzel is bigger than Oprah Winfrey's ass. And twice as delicious!

Here's the giant-sized bratwurst, insert your own John Holmes joke here.

There's a vintage photo of owner Andre's grandparents on the back wall.

Here's a group of NYU students enoying the German brew and food. From left: Sarah, Jeremy, Sebastian, Steve and Max. Cheers!

And now, time for the evening bathroom break.

One wall is lined with cool beer signs for your enjoyment as you relieve yourself of the German suds.

And the toilet is very clean.

And there's a mirror for my obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Woo hoo! (Once again I forgot the Frankie Headbanger stickers, they'll be back tomorrow.)

Review

There’s a slice of Germany on 1st Avenue in the East Village. Wechsler’s Currywurst is a delightful place where it’s Okterberfest every day of the year. There’s a tiny bar up front to enjoy over a half a dozen German imported beers in oversized beer steins. The bartender and waitstaff are friendly and will advise you on which beer to choose if you’re not familiar with the variety to be had. Our waiter suggested the Hofbräu for my taste and he was dead on. It was delicious.

The bar fills up fast, but there’s two tables and a counter in the back and Wechsler’s Currywurst makes the most of the small. cozy space. The decor is vintage German beer hall, all wooden and brick and it’s a comfortable place to enjoy good German beer and food. We had sauerkraut, currywurst and fries and a giant-sized pretzel and mustard and it was truly a German feast. The currywurst is the signature dish and I wholehearedly recommend it. Germans love this dish so much they have a museum devoted to it. Check out the only place in Manhattan to enjoy currywurst and a large selection of German beer—Wechsler’s Currywurst. Auf wiedersehen!

Wechsler’s Currywurst
120 1st Ave. (@ 7th St.)