Saturday, November 27th, 2010—Bar 321

Day 321—Friday, November 26th, 2010
Oro Bakery and Bar
Okay, first off I want to thank Greg Batton and Dan Diorio the hosts of the Greg and Dan Show on 1470 WMBD—Peoria’s News and Talk Station. They interviewed me by phone yesterday and as always, it was a fun interview. Greg and Dan have supported my kooky projects dating back to People of Peoria magazine and I thank them for that. If the audio portion makes it into their archives, I’ll put it up and you can listen. Thanks again to Greg and Dan and their producer Jessica for setting up the interview.

I also want to note that the donation bell has rung once again after being silent for quite some time. John Lee from Brooklyn sent in a generous donation of 25 bucks and this note: “Try the other White Horse downtown. Also Hank's Saloon and the Tip Top in BK. Love the site!” Thanks so much, John! I’ll check those bars out and maybe I can meet you at the Tip Top some weekend and buy you a beer back! I’ll send you an email.

Way back in May, my friends Tim and Coleen Carey came to visit. Instead of the standard sight-seeing, I of course took them to bars. One of the bars we stopped in was the Oro Bakery and Bar. Tara, the friendly and pretty woman behind the bar told us it opens at 7am. I made a mental note to try and visit it in the morning, for something a little different on the bar crawl. Since I had done the interview with Greg and Dan around nine in the morning, my plan was to go to Oro after the interview and do an early morning crawl. One thing got in the way of that plan. It’s a three letter word called, “nap.” I was still full from Joanna’s Thanksgiving Day feast and thought, “I’ll just lay down for a couple of minutes and then I’ll go. A couple of minutes turned into hours and when I woke back up around one in the afternoon, I decided to switch from an early morning crawl to a mid-afternoon crawl. So that’s what I did and here it is.

And here's the place, the Oro Bakery and Bar.

There's plenty of seats and a familiar face behind the bar.

Even before I opened up my big mouth, Tara pointed at me and said, "You're the bar guy, right?" I had told her about what I was doing back in May when Tim and Colleen and I stopped in here and I was amazed she remembered me. She quickly poured me a beer and the crawl has begun!

There's a case up front that houses freshly made sandwiches, quiche, salads and other delectable delights.

The top counter is loaded with more bakery goods from croissants to sweet rolls to cupcakes to brownies. I was starting to get my appetite back!

While the place is primarily a coffee/bakery in the daytime and a wine bar/restaurant at night, they do have a few bottled beers for non-wine drinkers such as myself. Very nice!

But if you do enjoy wine, there's plenty to choose from here...

And over here. The staff is knowledgeable and can help you pick the right glass or bottle.

There's a comfortable front room to sit and relax in.

Nice to see somebody drawing by hand and not pecking something out on a laptop. Let's go get a closer look.

Kelsey is the artist and her black and white drawings are drawings within drawings and they are fantastic. You can read more about Kelsey and her art at her website right here: Kelsey Montague Visual Artist.

Daily papers!

This guy came in and was kidding around with Tara, he looks to be a bit of a character, so let's go say hi.

Well, he turned out to be quite a colorful character indeed. He told me he was a filmmaker and wrote down his name in my notebook as Toetoe fuz Fuz and told me to put it in exactly as he wrote it. So there you go Toetoe, good luck with...um...everything!

Wow, it can fill up quickly in here! These two fellows were seated next to me at the bar, but they quickly retreated to the back room.

But they soon learned that you can run but you can't hide from the 365 camera! From left: Luis and Valentin. Valentin told me he's a real estate broker for Transvilla Real Estate and Development Group.

Okay, I've had a few beers and now I'm starvin' like Marvin, let's check out the menu.

I got the Croque Monsieur which is a hot pressed sandwich consisting of country ham, gruyere cheese and pickles on a fresh baguette roll. My fuzzy photo (where's Clacky when I need him?) doesn't do it justice, but it looks great!
And here's Juan, the man who prepared and served me the sandwich, well done Juan!

Very delicious! Cheers!

Wow, the bathroom is awash in red light, so naturally this calls for the obligatory bathroom mirror shot. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Okay, it’s a holiday weekend, so once again I’m going to slack off and not write a review. Instead, I’ll let Oro tell you about Oro. This is from their “About” section on their website.

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Warm and inviting Cafe by day, we transform into a relaxed, fun Wine Bar in the evenings with a seasonal dinnermenu inspired by French county fare. We offer Classic French and American sweet and savory fare complemented by noted wine, beer and sake selections with a focus on using local and artisanal ingredients.

Our cafe offers ever-changing selections of savory lunch items, cookies, cupcakes, croissants, and tarts, as well as many other items all inspired by classics from the French and American kitchen. We also take our coffees seriously, from getting the best beans to being properly trained to making a great cup.

Our wine bar offers a relaxed, cozy atmosphere where you can enjoy the company of friends over a glass of wine paired with a French-country inspired menu or linger on a romantic date. Many of our wines are organically made and from generational wineries. We also offer house made cocktails using seasonal fruits.

We strive to provide the best experience for our clients and we customize our events accordingly. We have hosted many private parties at Oro and we would love to help you plan your next event. We offer Full catering service for when you want to entertain at home.

Open daily from 7:00am, except Sundays, we open at 8:00am. We close at 12 midnight or later. Join us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
Let us help you plan your next event! Private parties and catering available, please inquire.

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Oro Bakery and Bar
375 Broome St. (Near Mott St.)
212-941-6368

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P.S. Happy Birthday, Jimi Hendrix!

Friday, November 26th, 2010—Bar 320

Day 320—Thursday, November 25th, 2010
Ryan's Daughter
It’s Thanksgiving and before I go to tonight’s bar, I’m going to have my Thanksgiving dinner. My friend Joanna invited me to her dinner last year after finding out I had no place to go to. It turned out to be a lot of fun, good food and a few drinks as well. She invited me back this year and so that’s where the bar crawl will start out. And then I’ll waddle over to tonight’s bar, Ryan’s Daughter, which I’ve been meaning to go to and it’s just about five blocks from Joanna’s apartment, so it works out perfectly. Okay, time to put on the old feedbag and start up Thanksgiving!

I love Manhattan on Thanksgiving because everybody leaves to go somewhere else for Thanksgiving and the streets empty out for once. Joanna lives on the Upper East Side, so let's go hail a cab.

It seems you can't escape TV sets these days, they even have them in cabs and they ruin the scenery.

So I'll glance out the side window and ignore the thing. As you can see, it's a bit of a rainy day outside, but it's better than snow. That'll be here all too soon.

And through the magic of the internet, here we are and Thanksgiving has begun! Here's the lovely hostess Joanna with her two daughters, Winkin' and Blinkin.' Let the festivities begin!

The table's all set and the turkey will make its appearance in due time. First let's meet some of the other guests.

Here's Jason whom you've seen on this blog before, but usually he's pictured with Zioum Zioum, but she's all the way back in France. Maybe that's why Jason looks so glum. Cheer up, Jason, it's a holiday!

And here's Sebastian, who's motto is: "An apple a day, brings another week's pay."

John poses with Blinkin' who's transformed herself into a combination of Santa Claus and a catwoman.

While the rest of us have a drink or three, Joanna's busy making a string bean dish that was the hit of the evening.

Hey, it's Thanksgiving, time to put this Halloween shit away!

And the first course is served! John made this dish of fresh antipasto and it's made from an Italian family recipe that's been handed down through the years. It was delicious and I ate too much of it.

A few beers later and it's turkey time! The bird looks beautiful and I'm not sure, but I think Sebastian supplied the apple.

Gobble...

Gobble...

Gobble...I'm not a mind reader, but I think Joanna's thinking, "Will you put that goddamn camera down and eat your dinner?"

Gobble...

And of course since it's Thanksgiving, somebody had to flip the bird, so I decided to be the guy.

Okay, now everyone is completely stuffed. A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner!

These two watched the festivities rather nervously fearing that they may be the next birds in the oven.

And the tryptophan kicks in, part I! I thanked Joanna and everyone and headed out for tonight's bar before I fell asleep.

And here we are, Ryan's Daughter, let's see if anyone else is out tonight.

As I suspected, not a huge crowd, so there's plenty of places to sit.

Mike the friendly bartender serves up a vodka and orange juice. I was afraid if I had another beer on top of all the food I'd explode.

The bar is known for having free bags of potato chips scattered all over and here's a pile of them.

And here I am with a bag of them. I didn't open them as I could barely fit a few drinks into my filled to the brim stomach.

Joe was having a drink at the end of the bar and had a duck umbrella handy in case he didn't find any turkey. Luckily the turkey was found and the duck is safe for another year.

A poster of the movie that the bar is named after hangs on the wall.

And just in case you don't happen to see that one, another poster hangs next to it.

There's a pool table in the back and on most night's its probably pretty busy. This isn't most nights it's Thanksgiving, so it's not in use.

Tables and stools sit opposite the pool table.

A shot from the opposite end of the long, wooden bar. Hey two more people are down there, let's go say hi.

The two lovely women are Peggy and Shana. But who's Mickey?

Why it's none other than Mick the bartender who just came on duty to relieve Mike. In accordance with the bar's theatrical name, they also have a theatre company and they put on plays in the space above the bar occasionally. Mick's a thespian in the group and told me their last play was titled: "A Man Walks Into A Bar." I wish I could've seen that one, as usual my timing is great.

Mashha lives in the neighborhood and told me she loves the bar.

Joe told me he was part of some Scandinavian group, but my notes are garbled and I couldn't find the website. Feel free to put it in the comments section, Joe.

And the tryptophan kicks in, part II! Okay, maybe the drinks had something to do with it too. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving and goodnight, everybody!

Review
Alright, I have the day off and I have a ton of things to do, so I’m going to copy and paste the review of Ryan’s Daughter from New York magazine. And here it is!

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Among the crush of the UES frat-boy establishments (the Big Easy, Aces & Eights) is this pub venerated by neighborhood old-timers. And by old-timers, we mean an over-30 post-work crowd and longtime Yorkville locals. Movie memorabilia—mostly from the namesake seventies David Lean film about an Irish girl smitten with a British soldier—line the walls, along with vintage photos of Dubliners and assorted tchotchkes like a collection of beer steins, cast-iron pots, and a saddle. Two prosthetic legs hang from the ceiling behind the bar. The twelve-inch TVs with dodgy reception have finally been replaced with flat-screens, but the Chuck E. Cheese–style basketball game still stands in for darts. The staunchly anti-gimmick attitude (unless you count the free bags of chips on tables in the back) and slightly dated aura make Ryan’s Daughter the sort of cozy neighborhood haunt you’d want on your block. Try their amber house ale on tap—it’s somewhere between a Guinness and a Sam Adams. — Abbe Benson & Rachel Wolff

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I really want to thank Joanna for having me over to another wonderful and fun Thanksgiving feast! A great time was had by all!

Ryan's Daughter
350 E. 85th St. (Near First Ave.)
212-628-2613

Thursday, November 25th, 2010—Bar 319

Day 319—Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
Dervish (Originally headed for Via Brasil)
Tonight’s bar choice comes over the river, through the continents and straight to the 365 blog. Yesterday an amazing thing happened, I met and took a photo of a couple at last night's stop and the man in the photo was a roommate of a follower and sometime commentator here at 365, Pops. Pops lives in Brazil and left the following comment: “Incredible. In 1997 I went to UC Berkeley to do an MBA. While I was there I was the roommate of a guy called Alok, the same one you took a picture at Savoy! Unfuckingbelievable! I haven't seen his face for almost 10 Years! Thanks for showing me that he´s alive and ok! Also, you should check a Brazilian bar sometime. I talk to some friends that live in NY and they pointed me to: Cabana Carioca, Ipanema, Via Brasil, Favela Cabana or Brasilia. They said you can have the best caipirinha money can buy! Take care and keep crawling!”

Pretty nuts, huh? I’ve been to Ipanema, but none of the others and I promise I’ll try to visit them all before it’s though. Tonight I’ve decided on Via Brasil. So, there you go, Pops, this bar’s for you!

Via Brasil is on 46th Street, so we'll hoof it up there, it's starting to get chilly out.

Goddamn slow walkers in this part of town!

And these people are creating a huge jam-up on the sidewalk by gawking at the window display in Macy's windows. It's not a TV show people, let's move along!

The barricades are up for tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day parade. Something I'll never attend as I have a tradition of sleeping through it.

And here we are, 46th Street, Little Brazil.

Via Brasil, let the crawl begin!

Sadly, I was informed by the bartender that the owner doesn't allow pictures inside. Sorry, Pops, I tried. Time for a lonely walk in search of a bar.

I remember going to the Upstairs Bar in this hotel. A great stop along the crawl.

And look who's outside, the owner of The Upstairs Bar, Frank with his cigar-smoking friend who I forgot to ask his name. Frank told me he's a faithful follower of the 365 bar crawl. Cheers to Frank!

A lot of the bars I'm passing are jammed with people. This is like a Friday night because most people don't have to work tomorrow. I wonder if there's a bar in here?

Not only is there a bar, it's empty. This may not make for the most exciting stop on the crawl, but fuck it, I've walked a lot and I'm beat, this is tonight's stop.

I've got my choice of seats here, nice!

And even nicer is friendly and beautiful bartender, Julia who serves up an ice-cold bottle of Corona!

Cheers and Happy Rockefeller, everybody!

There's a nice painting of the bar behind the bar.

Some of the beers available on draft.

Swanky red leather booths line the walls opposite the bar.

There's a dining room above and a giganzo TV for Gene!

Julia deep in thought behind the bar.

A long shot of the highly-polished wooden bar.

Ha, that should be the motto of the bar crawl!

About a month ago, my friend Rick Halberg who pens the Groovyrick's Blog, sent in a donation and said all he wanted was a pretty girl to wave to him. I keep forgetting to do this, but tonight this wave is for you Rick! And goodnight, everybody.

Review
Okay, it’s a holiday and I have places to go and a bar to visit later, you can read all about that in tomorrow’s post. But since it’s a holiday, I’m going to slack and post a review from New York magazine.

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The large, multi-chambered Turkish spot is ornate in a distinctly pre-theater way: In the mezzanine lounge, dramatic wall sconces are framed by crimson trompe l’oeil curtains; on the ground floor, a mural painted with the words “The Show Must Go On!” hangs behind the long, mahogany bar. The dinner menu is clearly priced for the theater crowd, though dishes, once ordered, are slow to arrive at the table. But the food’s quite satisfying once delivered. Especially good are appetizers like lemon-and-basil-infused yogurt cacik (akin to Greek tzatziki); dolmas stuffed with spinach and ground pine nuts; and hearty, nicely spiced red lentil soup. The entrees are less consistent, so it’s best to stick to lamb dishes like traditional doner and hunkar begendi, cubes of meat in a baba ghanoush-style puree of eggplant and roasted tomato. — Sarah Gold

Recommended Dishes
Red lentil soup, $6.50; Saray-style lemon cacik, $6; Traditional doner, $15.75

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Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I don’t say this enough, but THANKS for reading and supporting this blog, it means a lot to me. Cheers to you all!

Dervish
146 W. 47th St. (Near Seventh Ave.)
212-997-0070