Once again I've overslept on a Saturday. My alarm went off, I shut it off and rolled over and said, "fuck it," and went back to sleep. I'm just waking up now and have to put the whole thing together. It was a good night, so check back for the post about 2 or 3 o'clock today. In the meantime here's the "Rain" video I told Tim Clack I'd post. Happy Saturday!
Day 271—Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Hop Devil Bar & Grill (Originally headed for The Summit Bar)
I thought I’d switch things up a little bit and hit a cocktail bar for a change of pace. Through the power of my good friend Google, I tripped across a place called The Summit Bar, which looks like a nice, comfortable place amidst the classic dive bars and some of the horrible frat bars in the East Village. The name refers to the Rat Pack, so let’s go see if this place swings, ring-a-ding-ding.
The Summit bar, the port of call for the evening.
It looks nice in here, but it's packed. Not a single seat at the bar to be had and too crowded to do my 365 thing in. I'll try this place again, but now...
Time for a lonely walk in the East Village in search of tonight's bar.
After walking around a bit I stumbled onto this place. I like the devil sign.
And there's seats at the bar. I think we've found tonight's destination.
And the lovely bartender Cecilia pours me a Cooper's Pale Ale, a beer I discovered through our Australian friend and commentator, David Brooks. Cheers, Brooksy!
Here's Julian, who's a waiter at the bar.
A shot of the bar.
They have an impressive amount of draft beers and they change them out every month, bringing in new beers to sample.
There's tables opposite the bar.
And larger, wooden tables line the colorful, back wall which is adorned with beer signs.
There's also a somewhat elevated back room.
The back room has tables and a big screen TV, mainly tuned to sports.
A cool Coney Island sign hangs back here as well.
A view of the bar from the back room.
Here's Roshni, Michael and Kate who were enjoying the evening at Hop Devil.
And here's Kate with Sam up at the bar.
Bob and Jenny were seated next to me at the bar. They're visiting New York from Minnesota.
It was a dollar to change the board in the middle of the bar. The deal is, you pay the dough and you can write whatever you want. Then the price goes up a buck for the next person to change it.
So I got in on the game, see, Motherfucker?
And there it hangs, allow me to enjoy this moment of glory!
The night is winding down and time to head out the door.
And look what I spy on my way out the door! Hey, Daddio! And, Goodnight, everybody!
Review
Hop Devil Grill is a nice, somewhat low-key bar and restaurant with a Tex-Mex atmosphere and menu. The bar is low-lit with an impressive amount of drafts on tap. The staff are friendly and if you’re lucky they’ll share some frittes at the bar with you. The music is played at a conversational level and the crowd is mainly locals looking for a good meal and a chance to try sample some new beers from the massive beer menu.
It’s a full bar, but the emphasis here is beer and tequila. There’s two dozen ever-changing beers on tap that range from craft to imported. The bottled beer selection takes you round the world with choices from Australia to Japan to Belgium to Germany and back to the good old U.S.A. There’s a huge selection of tequila and a decent wine list as well.
The food menu stays true to the Tex-Mex theme with 8 styles of tacos, a variety of gourmet burritos, fajitas and five choices of quesadillas. They also have five kinds of burgers and appetizers including: chicken wings, bbq pulled pork sliders, chili cheese fries and a Coyote Loco Sampler which is guacamole, Colorado bean dip, chili con queso and spinach dip with crispy tortilla chips.
Hop Devil Grill
129 St. Marks Pl. Near Avenue A.
212-533-4468
Day 270—Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
Mulberry Street Bar
Okay, this tonight’s destination is last Friday’s destination. If you follow the blog you’ll remember I had kind of got fucked up the ass last Friday and had to work late, so I changed plans and went to a nearby bar, which turned out to be a good time. I originally was going to go to Little Italy last week and check out the classic Mulberry Street Bar. So I hought I’d make that tonight’s destination. It’s been on the block since 1908 and has been used as a back drop for a lot of mobster movies and TV shows. So let’s go check it out. Lights, camera, taxi!
Go East? Fuck that, GO BROWNS!
And here we are at the sparkly Mulberry Street Bar.
It's a little crowded, but there's spot I can slither into right next to that blonde.
And bartender Robert serves up a cold bottle of Budweiser.
Some lit-up bottles behind the bar.
And of course this joint has a tin ceiling.
Some of the artwork and memorabilia behind the bar.
There's a classic painting on the wall, let's go see who these people are.
It's Mel, Nick and Steve. Mel and Steve were in town from Canada (Hello, Lex!) and Nick had just received the Common Ground Award for his work with the homeless. Congratulations, Nick!
A bar's-eye view shot.
There's tables and chairs opposite the bar.
And seated at one of the tables was, Krissy, Ryan and Kylie. And guess where they're from? Melbourne, Australia! Another Australian connection on the bar crawl, you gotta love it!
One sign of an old school bar, a genuine phone booth.
Shots of celebrities and dignitaries that have visited the bar line the walls.
Here's Keanu Reeves having an excellent adventure in the bar.
And a tribute to Old Blue Eyes hangs on the wall.
The jukebox is loaded with Little Italy favorites such as: Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Ray Charles, Patsy Cline and Artie Shaw.
Here's Sylvia, Paul and Nick at the bar clinking bottles. They all work at the nearby Lunella restaurant. Check it out online: Lunella Ristorante.
Luis was also part of the crowd at the bar and here's the two of us.
And here's the four of us having a shot together. Cheers!
And one last look out the window and it's time to call it a night. Goodnight, everybody!
Review
If you’re a Sopranos fan or a fan of classic films, you’ll have deja vu when you saunter in to the Muberry Street Bar. The bar has been used as a featured player in five Sopranos episodes and films including: The Pope Of Greenwich Village, Men Of Honor, Godfather III and Contract On Cherry Street which starred Frank Sinatra. It’s been on the block over 100 years with a classic tin ceiling, tiled floors and a nice wooden bar up front. The bartenders and staff are friendly and shots of celebrities that have visited line the walls. The patrons are a mix of locals from the Little Italy neighborhood and tourists looking to find a chunk of old school New York.
There’s a full bar with a good selection of beers and cocktails available. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, 4pm to 8pm with five dollar drafts and four buck Bud and Bud Light bottles. You’re invited to get whacked on “Thirsty Thursdays” when well drinks and drafts are just four bucks and a live DJ spins tunes. There’s Karaoke Friday and Saturday if you feel like releasing your inner Blue Eyes.
Mulberry Street Bar
176 1/2 Mulberry St. (Near Broome St.)
212-226-9345
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Bonus Pictures of a Gift From Grade “A” Fancy!
Karen McBurnie and Jon Hammer recently printed up a mini-magazine to celebrate and announce their online publication, Grade “A” Fancy. Here’s some scans of it, it’s very cool and has a couple of good martini recipes in it.
Here's the front cover.
And it folds open to this martini introduction.
Which in turn folds into two delicious martini recipes.
And the back cover.
And it was adorned with this Grade "A" Fancy tag. Very cool.
Thanks Karen and Jon, I hope to have a drink or three with you some night along this crawling of bars! And check out Grade “A” Fancy here: Grade “A” Fancy.
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