Wednesday, October 20th, 2010—Bar 283

Day 283—Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
Paddy Maguire's Ale House
Ding, ding, ding...what’s that unfamiliar sound? Why it’s the donation bell going off for the first time in quite a while. 365 commentator Tiki Bar Susie sent in a more than generous donation for 45 dollars! And this isn’t the first time she’s donated or the second or third time. In fact she’s donated so often I’ve lost track of how many times, but it’s safe to say “a lot.” Thank you so much, Tiki Bar Susie, you’ve really helped to keep me crawling along and I truly appreciate it. And on top of the donations, she’s bought several items from the 365 Bar Store, that “Boris” maintains. Thanks again, Tiki Bar Susie!

And speaking of donations, a friend of mine and this blog sent me 20 bucks cash in the mail a little bit ago and his name is Mark Barra. Mark has a daughter who plays volleyball and she’s in the running to be the the Peoria Journal Star’s Athlete of the Week. And you can help her win this title and it’s easy. All you have to do is go to the website and vote for Lexie Barra. The voting ends at 4pm today, so go vote now. You don’t have to sign up for anything and it just takes a second, here’s the link, click here: Lexi Barra for Athlete of the Week.

Okay, now on to tonight’s bar. Tonight I’m going with a pick from my co-pilot and 365 commentator, Al Rizo. Al recently sent me a list of bars to go to when I get stuck for one and one of them is an Irish bar called Paddy Maguire’s Ale House in Grammercy Park. And unlike so many cookie-cutter Irish bars that dot this town, this one is authentic. The name is no fake, it’s owned by Patrick Maguire who hails from Limerick, Ireland. And, one of the reasons I picked it for tonight is Tiki Bar Susie is a lover of horses and horse racing and Patrick is a former jockey, so it’s perfect. Limerick, Ireland, huh? Let’s see, There once was a barman named Patrick...aw fuck it, let’s just go.

And here we are at Paddy Maguire's Ale House, love the neon.

A wreath-enshrined horse head greets you from atop the bar.

It's dark and sparkly in here, looks like Al picked another winner!

And Phil the friendly bartender is quick with an ice-cold Budweiser, cheers, everyone!

Some of the lit-up bottles and a jockey behind the bar.

There's lots of horse-racing art and memorablia on the walls.

And of course all the horse shoes are raised upward for good luck.

More horse artwork on the walls.

When I left work the Yankees were up 3 to 2. By the time I got to the bar they were down 7 to 3 and eventually lost with a score of Texas 10, Yankees 3. Better luck today, guys.

A shot from the other end of the long wooden bar.

There's a nice pool room in the back. Two tables, no waiting.

And here's three guys who come to the bar with their own cues. From left: Bobby, Jeff and Dave.

There's a church pew on one side of the room to watch the pool games.

And stools line the other wall of the brick-walled room.

Back at the bar, Phil is chatting with these two guys. Let's go see who they are.

It's Jason and Michael posing with Phil. These two guys are regulars at the bar and Jason told me that Paddy's is the neighborhood Cheers-type bar.

One last look out the window and it's time to head home.

I forgot to get a photo of me at the bar, so the obligatory bathroom shot is taken at home. Goodnight, everybody!

Review

Once again I’m running late for work as I’m still working double shifts (as well as last weekend, but who’s complaining, oh, whoops, I am) so here’s a review from New York magazine.

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No cliche is more fortuitous than that of the Irish bar. Happily, drunken benevolence, Guinness taps, and Irish whiskey are in no short supply at straightforward drinking hole Paddy Maguire's. Nor are white Christmas lights, decent classic and current rock on the jukebox, photos of firefighters and jockeys, and doors that are (as the bar makes a point of advertising) imported from the old country. Play pool with the locals in back, cluster in the narrow front with the office workers and occasional tourists, or chat with the usually Celtic and always affable bartenders as you dawdle over a carefully poured duotone Black and Tan. Better yet, take this fine opportunity to taste test the relative merits of Jameson versus Bushmills. If the luck of the Irish is with you, perform the experiment with the peaty, slightly higher-end Jameson 12 and Black Bush for the only $1 more. Stereotypes aren’t always bad. — Kristal Hawkins

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Paddy Maguire's Ale House
237 Third Ave. (Near 20th St.)
212-473-8407

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Another great choice, Al, thanks to you and thanks to Tiki Bar Susie for the donation! Al co-pilot artwork below is by "Boris."

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010—Bar 282

Day 282—Monday, October 18th, 2010
Cibar
Tonight’s bar is all about the following three things: Location, location, location. I have to come in to work extra early tomorrow, so I have to get up even earlier to post this before I go to work, so I need to go to a bar near by where I live, do my 365 thing and then try and get some sleep. I found a place called Cibar nearby where I live. It’s a martini bar and it appears to be a little fancy-schmancy, so hopefully they’ll get into the spirit (and spirits) of the bar crawl. We’ll see soon. It’s on my way home, so we’ll hoof it over there, feets don’t fail me now.

Here we are, there's no sign outside but...

The menu outside gives them away. Let's go inside.

Nice and dark inside, let's grab a seat.

I got a seat and James the friendly bartender quickly shakes up a chocolate martini for me. (That's right, Jaws, it's an Oompa Loompa night.)

James pours...

And I drink. It was delicious. James is a master martini maker. And he's also a DJ and goes by the name, Agent Trevor, check out his site here: Agent Trevor.

Bill and Nina were seated next to me and enjoying martinis. Cheers!

A shot from one end of the bar...

And a shot from the other end.

Jon and Debbi were seated on the other side of me. They were on their third date and I told them a couple of my dating horror stories from the past.

There's two fireplaces in the lounge area. Here's the one in the back...

And here's the one in the front.

Back at the bar James mixes me up a Rosemary Pear Margarita Martini.

It was so delicious I had two of them.

There's tables up in the front of the lounge area to relax and drink at.

And here's one of the manager's of the bar, the lovely Jennifer with Ahmed.

Lookin' good, Elvis. "Thank ya, thank ya very much!"

There's an outside patio where you can drink and if you smoke, you can light up out here.

Uh, oh, looks like someone had one too many martinis. I need to stick to beer! Here come the Oompa Loompa men! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Okay, it’s fucking early in the morning and I feel like shit scraped off a shingle. I’m running late for work, so once again I’m cutting and pasting a review of Cibar from New York magazine. I do have to say that this place is a great martini bar. A lot of martini bars are snooty and this place was really friendly. It's a martini bar with a dive bar attitude and you gotta love that. Okay, I'm off to work.

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Located in the basement of the exclusive, twelve-room Inn at Irving Place, Cibar is the Miss America of bars: beautiful in a polished yet thoroughly generic way. Amber lights and a working fireplace shed a warm glow on the elegantly curved bar, Victorian banquettes and marble tables. In warm weather, a bamboo-adorned backyard opens up, a good place for intimate tete-a-tetes. The drink list features more than 20 martinis and glasses of Scotch. The clientele (which is rarely a crowd) consists mostly of wealthy business people schmoozing after work and couples smiling awkwardly over appetizers. — Shana Liebman
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Happy Tuesday, everyone, cheers! The weekend is just four days away!

Cibar
56 Irving Pl. (Near 17th St.)
212-460-5656

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And speaking of feets, here’s my favorite Little Feet song: Willin.’

Monday, October 18th, 2010—Bar 281

Day 281—Sunday, October 17th, 2010
Lederhosen
Okay, tonight I’ve found an indoor German Beer hall in the West Village called Lederhosen. Since the last two nights planned bars were too packed to do a proper bar crawl, I’m paranoid it’s going to happen again. Will tonight be a trifecta of too-crowded bars? We’ll never know till we go, so awaaay we go!

Okay, here we are at Lederhosen.

The front doors are open, so it's down the hallway...

To the bar, and there's a seat at the end. No improvising tonight!

And the lovely Uli pours me a German beer.

And I happily take the first sip. Cheers!

Alexi was seated next to me. He's a bassist and a musical terrorist. Check him out here: Alexi David.

The bar is colorful and loaded with decorations and German knick-knacks.

Some of the draft beers available at Lederhosen.

The walls are loaded with all things German.

And look who wandered in, Mark, who has been featured twice as a bartender on the bar crawl. Check him out here and here. Mark's the first bartender to be featured three times on the bar crawl. He call's Lederhosen, "The best fucking spot in New York City."

There's a lounge area up in the front.

And here's Kerry and Jean chilling out with a beer on the couch.

Here's the back room complete with a mural of Bavarian mountains where you really feel like you've been transported to a beer hall in Germany.

There's communal wooden benches for large groups on one side...

And smaller tables on the other side of the room.

Okay, back to the bar, because I think dinner is just about ready to be served.

And here's Uli with tonight's Sunday dinner.

I got the Rollade which is rolled beef filled with bacon, pickles, onion and mustard in brown gravy. It comes with homemade German noodles, sauerkraut and red cabbage.

Achtung! It was one of the most delicious meals I've had on the bar crawl.

Here's Dominika, Uli and Henry behind the bar. Henry took the camera and said he'd take a photo.

And the parting shot with shots. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The hills are alive, with the sound of burping. Lederhosen bar is an indoor German beer hall located smack dab amidst some brownstones in the West Village. The front bar is colorfully decorated with Teutonic decorations such as flags, beer mugs, paintings and of course, lederhosen. There’s a lounge area in the front of the bar with couches and a fireplace, but the real attraction is the back room. The large room has wooden communal tables and two tops and the walls are covered with an impressive mural of Bavarian mountains.

They have a full bar here, but come on, you’re in a German beer hall and you’re going to order a Cosmoplitan? Just say nein and check out the varied beer selection of German suds at Lederhosen. The draft selections include: Dinkelacker Pils, Spaten Lager, Radeberger Pilsner and Weihenstephaner Hefeweiss. If you prefer bottled beer, they’ve got you covered as well, some of the choices offered are: Dinkelacker Pils, Weihenstephaner Dunkel, Augustiner Helles and Kulmbacher Moenchshof which is a black lager.

And to soak up all those suds, there’s a menu of authentic German dishes to choose from. In addition to a variety of sausages, brats and sandwiches some of the main courses include: Jagerschnitzel in mushroom gravy; Sauerbraten; Rindergoulasch and Rollade which is rolled beef filled with bacon, pickles, onion and mustard in brown gravy. I had the latter and highly suggest it.

And if you’re in the mood for something sweet after dinner, try the Irischer which is a a shot of Irish whiskey and whipped cream. Irish whiskey in a German beer hall? I guess we can all get along together, after all. Beifall!

Lederhosen
39 Grove St. (Near Bleecker St.)
212-206-7691

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Bonus Jaws Art

Here's the Jaws Time Machine/Zombie art that we've been talking about in the comments section. Nice job, Jaws!

And here's the Zombies!