Friday, November 19th, 2010—Bar 313

Day 313—Thursday, November 18th, 2010
Kenny's Castaways
Kenny’s Castaways has been a fixture in New York City since that magical summer of love, 1967. The name refers to the original owner, Patrick Kenny who opened the doors to a bar and original live music, originally on E. 84th St. and then moving to the current location on Bleecker St. in Greenwich Village in 1974. In the 43 years since its opening, a diverse group of musicians have played at Kenny’s Castaways, many cutting their musical teeth on the stage in the back of the bar. They include: Professor Longhair, Koko Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, The New York Dolls, Danny Gatton, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, The Allman Brothers, Ray Davies, Peggy Lee, Doc Pomus, Suzanne Vega and many other legendary names in the musical world. They have live music, seven nights a week, so let’s go see who’s playing tonight.

Bur first, a pause for this commercial announcement:
I just got an email from Printfection, who is the hosting site for our 365 Bar Store maintained by our in-house artist, “Boris.” The store features t-shirts and various items all emblazoned with the 365 Bar Crawl logo that “Boris” designed. Here’s the email:

The season is flying by and it's time to get ready for the next holiday sale. Starting Wednesday, November 24 to Sunday, November 28 we will be offering free shipping on all orders with a subtotal of $35 or more. Including International!

So there you go, if you’ve been thinking about buying something from the store, there’s no better time than now. We now return to our program already in progress (on the subway.)

Welcome to Greenwich Village!

And welcome to Kenny's Castaways.

Holy mother of fuck! It's packed up front, let's go towards the back and see if it's any better.

Wow, it's just as crowded back here, but I do see an empty stool where a couple are standing, maybe I can squeeze in there.

They encouraged me to sit down and I told them about my 365 journey and they were very supportive about the idea. Their name's are Jaclyn and Hiroshi and they're very nice people who moved so I could sit at the bar. Thanks for the kindness!

Andrea was one of the bartenders on duty, and as you can imagine she was swamped, but still humored me with a photo, thanks Andrea!

Jaclyn took this photo of me with my first drink of the night. I read online that they had a specialty vodka lemonade drink, but Andrea told me they were out of lemonade, so I settled for a vodka tonic. A small disappointment, but you learn to roll with the punches on the 365 bar crawl.

My view of the bar from where I was sitting.

There's a couple of shots of Kenny's back in its heyday. The top one features Bruce Springsteen and Handsome Dick Manitoba. Handsome Dick now owns a bar in the East Village and it was stop number 42 all those bars ago.

Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's a tin ceiling, always the calling card of a classic bar.

Mark was seated next to me at the crowded bar. He's a DJ and a photographer and he pointed this out to me...

A little devil bottle opener behind the bar. He asked me to take a photo of it and I happily obliged. I take all requests here!

There's a signed Danny Gatton promotional poster behind the bar. Danny Gatton played Kenny's many times in his career.

A framed photo of Joey Ramone who used to come here to see the New York Dolls.

A shot from the other end of the bar.

There's a second floor upstairs, let's go have a look.

Plenty of seats at the bar up here, probably because there's not a bartender behind it. I bet it's open on weekends.

There's couches and comfortable chairs up here, giving it a lounge-like vibe.

The lonliest can of Pabst in the world.

Hey, the band is starting, let's go down and check them out.

The back room has candle lit tables to sit at and enjoy the music.

Tonight was jam night with Big Jason's Jam, hosted by Jason Rosen. It was a great night of music with jams ranging from funk to rock to sweet soul music.

On the way out, Glenn the security/door man asked if I was with a magazine because he had seen me taking so many pictures. I told him about the 365 bar crawl and he gave the idea a thumbs up.

Out the door and on to Bleecker Street and suddenly...hats! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Original owner Patrick Kenny died in 2002, but the Kenny family has kept Kenny’s Castaways alive. The front bar is always lively with a large wooden bar and chairs opposite. Vintage photos and press from days gone by line the walls. There’s also knick-knacks and various bric-a-brac that’s been collected through the years hanging from the bar and walls. In the back room there’s tables and the stage that houses whatever bands are playing that night. There’s live music here seven nights a week.

There’s a full bar at Kenny’s and happy hour is all day and all of the night, to quote Ray Davies who has performed at Kenny’s. Six bucks will get you a beer and a shot, a can of Pabst is three dollars, domestic drafts are four bucks a glass and well drinks are five dollars. They have a decent selection of draft and bottled beers including: Guiness, Newcastle Ale, Corona and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

If you’ve gotten a contact high from the musicians van outside and have the munchies, you’re in luck, there’s food to be had at Kenny’s. Some of the offerings on the menu include: Shrimp Tacos, Kenny's Burger, three styles of pizza and meat, chicken and shrimp Empanadas.

Kenny's Castaways
157 Bleecker St. (near Thompson St.)
917-475-1323

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Bonus photos from Gidget!

Gidget, the coolest DJ in the world, recently took a trip to California and one of her stops was at a Tiki Bar that she deemed 365-worthy. After reading her blog about her trip, I agree. Here’s some photos shot by Gidget’s friend Rachelanne with captions by Gidget.

Rachelanne sneaking a sip of Gidget’s virgin mango daiquiri.

A shot of the bar from the back.

Gidget makes and gropes a new friend.

The money shot (almost better than a tin ceiling.)

Gidget’s brother Glenn, Best homey Dan and Gidget.

Gidget and Rachelanne at the tiki water fountain.

Don’t forget to tune in to Gidget’s wonderful show on Woody Radio, it’ll make you rock hard!

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Bonus Woody Radio with “Boris!”

And speaking of Gidget and Woody Radio, the "Secret Weapon" (for those of you that don't know, is the automated bot of all "Boris" music, featuring past and present favorites, obscurities and a few guilty pleasures thrown in) will be broadcast tonight from 10pm ET until Saturday Morning. Sort of a "Friday Night Pajama Party" on the radio. Thanks tol DJ Gidget for running the bot and archiving the music “Boris” has sent her. Listen in on Woody Radio, iTunes or here: Woody Stream Server. Tune in and enjoy the tunes!

Thursday, November 18th, 2010—Bar 312

Day 312—Wednesday, November 17th, 2010
Biddy Early's
It’s been a while since I turned the reins over to my co-pilot and 365 commentor Al Rizo, who lives in Miami, but always finds a great bar for me to visit here in New York. Biddy Early’s is a bar that Al picked and it looks to be a classic Irish pub in the Financial District. Plus I just found out via email that both the BBC and ABC (see photos below), went there last week and they highly recommend it as well. Even though Clacky got thrown out of their kitchen.

Biddy Early was a tradtional Irish healer and if you want to read about her, you can do it here: Biddy Early. Personally I’m more interested in a beer than history, so I’ll read about Biddy later and check out the Biddy bar right now.

Here we are at Biddy Early's in the heart of the Financial District.

It's nice, dark and woody inside. (Subtle plug for Woody Radio!)

And hospitable bartender, Keith serves up a perfect pint of Guinness, which leads to...

The traditional wearin' of the Guinness.

Some of the many draft beers available at the bar.

Biddy Early was a healer back in the day and now she's hawking t-shirts. Welcome to 2010.

Here's a group of guys seated next to me at the bar. From left: Bryan, Rob, Nick, Ray and Yours Fooly.

And they were kind enough to buy shots for us. Cheers!

Here's Bryan with his friend Gerard.

Irish sport jerseys line the wall opposite the bar.

An instructional vintage Guinness sign on the wall.

Here's the kitchen that Clacky got thrown out of.

There's a large dining area in the back.

Meanwhile back at the bar, Keith is busy filling drink requests.

Time has worn on and my neighbors at the bar have left leaving empty drinks and a tip for Keith.

Caitlin and Shawn were enjoying drinks at the end of the bar.

Shawn Washburn is an artist and part of an art installation called, Visual Vaudeville. Check it out here: Visual Vaudeville. I'll be going soon and you can see a full report of it in the future here.

A look out the window and it's time to hit the road.

Cheers and goodnight, everybody!

Review
Imagine an Irish garage sale and you have the interior decorating scheme of Biddy Early’s. Irish road signs, miniature trolleys, vintage Guinness beer signs and Irish sports jerseys hang from the walls and the ceilings in this dark, wooden bar. The front area is a long narrow space complete with a dark wooden bar and friendly bartenders behind it just waiting to pour you that perfect pint of Guinness. There’s a dining room in the back with plenty of tables and chairs to sit and enjoy drinks and food.

Biddy’s has a huge selection of beers to choose from. Here’s just some of the selections to be had on tap: Old Speckled Hen (you reading this, Gene?), Guinness, Smithwick's and their own Biddy's Brew. The bottled beer selection includes: Hoegaarden, Red Stripe, Rolling Rock and Brooklyn Lager. Oh, and they also have Miller Lite (are you reading this, Biff?)

If you’re in the mood for a top of the mornin’ snack or dinner, Biddy Early’s kitchen is open till 2am, seven days of the week. The menu is large and includes such standard tavern fare as wings, calamari, sliders and potato skins. Some of the tradional Irish dishes include: Bangers and Mash, Dublin Style Fish ‘n’ Chips, Homemade Irish Stew and a Traditional Irish Breakfast featuring, sausage, black & white pudding, irish bacon, eggs your style and baked beans.

Biddy Early was a legendary Irish healer, who I wish was around today. Maybe she could get rid of this fucking hangover before I have to go to work!

Biddy Early's
43 Murray St. (near Church St)
212-732-2873
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Great Choice, Al!

Bonus Photos by Gene of the BBC!

If you follow the 365 blog reguarly, you’ll know I had visitors in last week. There was meeting of the bar crawlers as the infamous, BBC (Baltimore Bar Crawlers featuring, Gene, Smoopy and Terry) met the new kids on the tavern-hopping block, the ABC (featuring Clacky and Shannon.) Gene was snapping pictures the whole time and he sent me some photos from the trip and here they are! And once again thanks to all five of you for hanging out with me on the bar crawl, a wonderful time was had by all. Okay, take it away Gene!

The BBC meets the ABC. From left: Terry, Clacky, Shannon and Smoopy.

Terry gets horny.

Everybody dance now!

A Pabst-wrapped Smoopy.

Shannon and Clacky show off Ninja dance moves and flippage.

Well-worked elbows!

Goodnight, everybody! (Here's a link to a slideshow Gene put together of their trip: The BBC Invade NYC again!)

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010—Bar 311

Day 311—Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Fred's (Originally headed for The Dead Poet)
I’ve had more than one person suggest I try the Dead Poet in my travels, so I think I’ll go there tonight. What’s funny is I wrote a review years ago about this place for newyork.citysearch.com. This is before they started letting anyone who thought they were a critic post reviews up and they paid freelancers to write the review. I did a search and I found my  review on their site, although they’ve removed my byline and replaced it with, “by Contributor at Citysearch.” Thanks citysearch, you fucking assholes! Oh, I guess they have the right to take away my byline, I did get paid the princely sum of thirty bucks to write the stupid thing! Now they’ve gone all Yelp and let any jackass put a review up without paying them a dime. And before you say it, yeah, I may be a jackass at times, but at least I held out for the thirty bucks. Anyhoo, in the long run, what does it matter? Let’s go see if it’s changed.

Okay, here we are at the Dead Poet on the Upper West Side.

It's hard to tell from this photo, but the bar is packed and it's way too crowded to do the 365 thing in here. Time to improvise...

And take a lonely walk on this rainy-ass night.

Hey, here's a familiar place, let's take a break and have a beer in here.

And who's on duty, but Nas, the same friendly bartender who served us back on August 23rd. Hi Ryan!

Stephanie was seated nearby and she's also a bartender. She invited me to stop by the bar she works at, Reunion Surf Bar, but I remembered I had been there already. I told her I'd stop by on day 366.

I wandered around and stumbled upon a place called Fred's. Hmmm...that triggered a memory...

Oh, yeah, these people recommended Fred's when I was at Do Hwa about a month ago. They were nice people, so let's take their advice and check it out.

Wow, nice in here. All wooden and candle-lit, let's grab a seat.

And friendly bartender Brian is quick with a Corona.

A shot of the lit up bottles behind the bar.

The top of the bar is lined with pennies. And it's lit up by...fire!

A long shot of the bar in all its candle-lit glory.

The other side of the bar. Note the glasses of bar snacks in between the candles. Nice!

The amazing and unique feature of Fred's is all the dog pictures lining the walls. Most of them are from people in the neighborhood and it's been growing since the bar opened in the mid '90's.

You could spend all evening just walking around and looking at these photos, I did.

Here's a portrait of the black lab, Fred, whom the bar is named after.

Here's a doggy who claims to only dine at Fred's. Funny, I didn't see Gravy Train on the menu.

I think this is Gene Simmons' dog.

Meanwhile back at the bar, Brian is chatting with someone.

The gentleman Brian was chatting with is Ron, who's an actor and lives nearby.

Here's Cesar and Andre who had just gotten off work at the Five Napkin Burger. Hmm...I need to stop by there for a Cheeseburger Saturday Night sometime.

And for my final drink, Brian mixes me up one of the signature doggie drinks, The Hair of the Dog.

Arf, arf, bark, bark and goodnight, everybody!

Review
Fred’s is named after a female black Labrador retriever and just like the namesake, this bar offers unconditional love to the neighborhood regulars that frequent this doggone bar. The bar is a step and a half underground and the front room is dominated by a large wooden, candle lit square bar. There’s tables and chairs off to either side of the bar and there’s a few window seats up front that overlook Amsterdam Avenue. There’s a dining room in the back. The patrons are mostly locals from the neighborhood and it’s a friendly vibe with pictures of dogs lining the walls. Most of the dogs have been brought in by people that live nearby or have sent them in. Conan O’Brien used to live in the neighborhood and his dog is proudly plastered on the wall.

They have a full bar and a good selection of bottled and draft beer. Two of the signature canine cocktails are the Paw Punch and The Hair of the Dog. They also have a full menu with a late night kitchen that’s open weeknight’s till 11pm and weekends till midnight. The menu has such offerings as: Mom’s Meatloaf which is served with mushroom gravy, caramelized onion mashed potatoes; Twin Center Cut Pork Chops; Chili con Carne topped with monterrey jack and cheddar cheeses and a 14 oz. New York Shell Steak. And if you still have room you may want to try the Industrial Strength Fudge Brownie topped with the gelato of your choice and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Then you’ll probably want to roll over and play dead for a while. Good doggie!

Fred's
476 Amsterdam Ave. (@83rd St.)
212-579-3076

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Bonus Art by “Boris”

Inspired by the group of recent visitors on the bar crawl, in-house artist, “Boris” has come up with a new logo for an upcoming T-shirt and here it is:

Great work, Daddio! It’ll be available soon (just in time for Christmas!) and will be inscribed with the first name of everyone who’s visited me on the bar crawl so far. And remember, if you need any artwork or a logo for your website, “Boris” is available for freelance work. He also designs CD and book covers and just about anything else you need art or design-wise. Just send me an email and I’ll pass it along to “Boris.”

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Bonus art by Jaws

As stated in his comment above, here's a piece of art featuring the notorius Cedric! Maybe he'll be on Fred's wall the next time I visit, thanks Jaws!