Monday, December 6th, 2010—Bar 330

Day 330—Sunday, December 5th, 2010
Walker's
Tonight we dine with Fat Al, one half of the blogging team that produces the fine blog, The Half Empty Glass. He chose Walker’s tavern in Tribeca to meet at, so that’s tonight’s destination. And I think that jco, a frequent commentator at The Half Empty Glass is going to be there as well. Some of you will remember them from the last time we met at The Winner’s Circle in midtown, a classic night on the bar crawl. And I’ve heard rumors that Fat Al’s elusive blogging partner, anonymous271 might show up as well. And who knows who else might show up? We’ll never know till we go, so let’s hit the fucking road.

I was going to take a cab, but traffic was nuts and there were none to be had, so we'll be traveling on the subway. I'll probably get there faster anyway.

Here comes the train, take Fat Al's advice and lean back, motherfuckers!

And through the magic of the internet, I'll spare you a train ride that included skipping the Franklin Street stop and doubling back to get here, anyway, here we are!

Wow, it's crowded inside, but I see a spot at the end of the bar.

Alright, all settled in. Hey bartender!

Steve the bartender serves up an ice-cold Budweiser. Nice Elvis shirt!

Bar number 330. In 35 days you can stick a fork in me because I'll be done.

I had a feeling this place would have a tin ceiling and a glance upwards proves it to be true.

You don't have to be named Steve to work here, but I think it helps. Here's Steve, part of the friendly waitstaff.

Vintage photos and paintings line the walls which are also made of tin.

A quick glance outside the festive window.

Here's the dining area. That waitress looks like she could use a break.

And here's a the quick break. Her name's Linder and I call this shot, "drinking on duty." That's my kind of woman!

Phil and Roy were seated next to me and were very supportive of the whole 365 idea.

Phil even bought shots for the three of us. Cheers! We had a nice conversation about work, marriage, children and two-headed women. Phil had the quote of the night when he said, "I thought I was fucked up till I met you!" Ha ha ha!

And look who's at teh end of the bar, the Fat Al party! From left, anonymous271, Katie, Fat Al hidden by the NY Times and jco! Time for Sunday dinner.

A painting of this woman hung over our table and I'm really curious as to who she is and what she's doing right now. If she's making the world's largest belly button lint ball right at this moment, all would be perfect in this world.

Our dinner came, but my twice baked potatoes had beans in them, so I took a photo of the crayons on the table instead. And you know what happens when crayons are on the table...

Tic tac toe quickly follows. I had just made a remark about how no one ever wins when Katie quickly defeated an embarassed anonymous271 to all our amazement!

Oh the agony of defeat! (Update: anonymous271 has just posted about his defeat at the Half Empty Glass. Read about it here: "A Drumbeat of Humiliation.")

And Katie proudly holds the crayon that drew the winning game.

And then seconds later, Fat Al trounced jco with this Ballatine Ale triple X victory! Unbelievable. So what do these two tic tac toe losers have to say for themselves?

Exactly what I would say! Thanks to Fat Al, anonymous271, jco and Katie for meeting me and for a great night out. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Walker’s is an old-school, no frills neighborhood tavern in the heart of Tribeca. There’s a long, well worn wooden bar to enjoy beer and cocktails and a green tin ceiling hovers overhead. There’s a dining area with wooden tables adorned with white table cloths opposite the bar. There’s also a second room in the back with tables set up for people to eat and drink at. It’s a friendly neighborhood place and the bartenders and staff are fun and treat everyone like they’re life-long regulars.

There’s a full bar here with plenty of choices of bottled and draft beer as well as wine and mixed spirits. The food menu has such offerings as: Pasta Primavera; 12 ounce Angus Shell Steak; Cornmeal Crusted Willapoint Oysters with cajun tartar sauce and Walker's Chopped Sirloin Steak with green peppercorn demi glace, served with mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Live jazz is played here every Sunday night and the twice baked potatoes have beans in them. I’ll be obsessed with that forever.

Walker's
16 N. Moore St. (@Varick St.)
212-941-0142

Sunday, December 5th, 2010—Bar 329

Day 329—Saturday, December 4th, 2010
Craft
Live, from New York, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night! Starring Craft Restaurant and the ready for prime beef player, Marty Wombacher. Ladies and gentlemen...Craft!

Okay, last Thursday I met the head bartender at Craft restaurant and he invited me to bring the bar crawl by. Since it's only about three blocks from where I live, I thought it would be a handy place to spend Cheeseburger Saturday Night. Goddamn, it's getting cold out here.

I had no idea that Panty and Mini Dog were in jail, but I agree, free them immediately!

And here we are, I told you it was close by.

These two lovely ladies greeted me at the door. From left: Reine and Rosa. They pointed me in the direction of the bar.

Which is right here. Wow, it's crowded for 6pm on a Saturday night, but I spy one empty seat.

And here's Sean, on the other side of the bar tonight!

Fabricio is the other bartender on duty for this evening.

Karen and Mike were seated next to me. They were in town for the weekend from Boston.

There's tables opposite the bar to dine at.

A giant Christmas tree stands in the dining room, but I'm walking into bars not dining rooms, so let me get back to my environment.

Aaahhh, that's more like it!

A shot of the lit up bottles behind the bar.

Sean's a master mixologist, so I told him to pick the cocktails for the evening.

The first one is called "The Firefly" because it involves...FIRE!

I believe this is an orange peel Sean is grilling.

Sean adds some finishing touches to the drink.

And Karen took a picture of me drinking it. Delicious and loaded with booze!

And Sean wastes no time in starting drink number two.

This one's called, "The Venetian." I'm not sure why it's called that, maybe because if you drink too many you'll get blind drunk? (Rimshot.) (Sorry about that, I just couldn't help myself.)

These drinks are all Sean's inventions by the way.

And here it is, "The Venetian." It tastes even better than it looks.

Mike and Karen have left and these two ladies have taken their spot at the bar. Let's say hi to them.

Hello! It's Rebecca and Patty. Rebecca is looking for an apartment in Manhattan and it turns out her friend Patty lives about two blocks from me. Howdy, neighbor!

For my dinner drink, Sean suggested this beer. Who am I to say no? Bring it on!

The beer was great. It had a smoky taste to it and I told Sean it was kind of like drinking a cook-out.

Speaking of cook-outs, dinner is served! I know it's Cheeseburger Saturday Night, but sadly there's not a cheeseburger on the menu. Happily though, there is beef short ribs. I also got an order of gnocchi. They were both delicious and this shitty photo doesn't do the food justice. I need Clacky back to take the food shots!

Burp!

But dinner isn't over yet, Sean brought me some ice-cream on the house!

As well as this chocolate and mini tarts. Looks like I'll be waddling home.

And Sean sets to work on one more drink for the road, a "Ramos Gin Fizz."

Shake...

Shake...

Shake!

The well-shook drink is poured into a tall glass.

And Sean serves it up.

And it's...delicious! Thanks to Sean for making the night a great one on the old bar crawl! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Since I’m a bar reviewer and not a restaurant reviewer I thought it would be unfair for me to review Craft. Plus it’s a good excuse to slack on this Sunday afternoon, so here’s a review of Craft by Adam Platt from New York Magazine. The place is a critics pick by New York magazine and they rate it four stars. After having eaten there, I wholeheartedly agree!

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Tom Colicchio is a fanatic for the integrity of fresh ingredients and simplicity in cooking, and this much-discussed, much-imitated restaurant is the extreme, almost priestly expression of his views. You may not like the conceit of building your meal one spare ingredient at a time (many food aristocrats actively hate it), but there’s no denying the quality of Colicchio’s sweet day-boat scallops or bluefoot mushrooms lovingly foraged in the piney forests of Oregon. Craft gets four stars for its huge influence on the way restaurant meals are conceived, presented, and eaten in this new Greenmarket era, and also for Jennifer McCoy’s impeccable desserts—toffee-steamed pudding bombed with fresh-made rum-raisin ice cream—which are the best in town.  — Adam Platt

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Craft
43 E. 19th St. (Near Park Ave. South)
212-780-0880

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Okay, Al mentioned Warren Zevon in a comment, so what better excuse to throw up a Warren Zevon song? This song has one of my favorite Warren Zevon lines in it: "And if California slides into the ocean, like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing, until I pay my bill." Genius!

Saturday, December 4th, 2010—Bar 328

Day 328—Friday, December 3rd, 2010
The Pizza Pub
I’ve spent almost an entire year now whining about Friday nights and how I’m burned out by the end of the week, don’t feel like dealing with the drunken Friday night happy hour crowds and I just would rather not do this. Well, tonight is no exception to the rule. I had to work late last night, so I didn’t get much sleep due to the fact I had to go to last night’s bar extra late. And yes, I'd like more ice with my whine please. Anyway, I’ve found a place called The Pizza Pub which is a combination pizza parlor and bar all in one. I’m figuring their big crowds happen around dinner time and it’s now after 11pm, so this may be a good choice. Let’s go see.

Here we are, The Pizza Pub, let's check it out.

I spy a seat at the end of the bar, let's snag it.

Bartender Yam was pretty, friendly, fun and nice, but didn't want her picture taken, as this shot proves.

I thought this place would just have beer and wine, but as you can see, it's a full bar with lots of selections.

There's booths and tables in the front of the bar.

Smaller tables line the wall opposite the bar.

And there's Coney Island Lager here.

Along with these other draft beers.

And they have their own house Pizza Pub Lager.

The original art on the walls is by fine artist, Ryan McCarthy.

His art is done by a cigarette lighter.

Pizza!

Pizza!

Pizza!

Wow, the bar is filling up, better get back to my seat.

Cynthia and Sarah were down at the end of the bar ordering pizza and beer and looking lovely. Cheers, ladies!

Michael was seated to the left of me. He's an actor and a member of Dark Luna Productions which is a Theatre Company here in New York. Their next show is "Miracle On 34th Street" on December 18th. You can check out the details here:  Dark Luna Productions.

And here's Michael with his friend, Philippe. Philippe is an actor and performance artist and is on the board of directors of Unity For Progress, a non-profit organization. Check it out here: Unity For Progress.

Some of the liquor on the shelf. See that bottle of Jameson? You think it's a bottle of Jameson...

But armed with a black sharpie marker, Yam has turned Jameson into Yameson, her signature drink at the bar.

And she's even invented her own brand of a "Yameson shot."

It's not one, but two shots of "Yameson" and then you clink the shot glasses together and toast to yourself.

Cheers to Yam and Yameson and to ourselves! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
What’s better than pizza and beer? Nothing, that’s what, and that’s what makes The Pizza Pub a genius joint. From the outside you see the red leather booths and assume it’s your run of the mill pizza parlor, but if you step inside you’ll find a full bar awaiting you and if Yam is bartending, her hand-picked music will be playing and the joint will be rocking. Don’t forget to order the Yam shots!

There’s a good selection of bottled and draft beers available and mixed drinks and wine are available as well. Staying true to their name the Pizza Pub offers up 8 different styles of pizza including a classic cheese only, white pizza, five cheeses and The Pub which is topped with sun-dried tomatoes, plum tomatoes goat cheese, mozzarella and pesto sauce. In addition to the pies you can also snack on: Jumbo Chicken Wings; the Burger Deluxe; Mozzarella Sticks and the house special, Pizza Fries which are crispy fries with melted mozzarella served with their classic tomato sauce. Mangia!

The Pizza Pub
294 Third Ave. (Near 23rd St.)
212-477-8100

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Bonus Video

Gonna See The Rollers, Got A Ticket For The Bay City Rollers!