Sunday, Sept. 19th, 2010—Bar 252

Day 252—Saturday, September 18th, 2010
Sardi's
Okay, first off the PayPal donation bell has not only rung, its banged me right on the noggin.’ Glenn Staack who lives here in New York sent in a more than generous donation of 250 dollars! That’s right, 250 bucks! His message on the PayPal document simply read, “Buy the man a few beers...” Well, Glenn, that’ll take care of the week! Thank you so much and somewhere down the road I hope to meet Glenn and buy him a round or three from this generous donation.

Last week I stumbled upon a cool new website. It’s called Grade “A” Fancy and it’s a magazine styled web page. Check it out here: Grade “A” Fancy. The second post on the website is about the theater district in Manhattan and while I’ve been to a few of the places within the article, I realized I’ve yet to stop at the legendary Sardi’s bar and grill. And so that is today’s stop, to Sardi’s we go.

And baboom! Here we are at the legendary Sardi's.

There's full dining rooms on both floors of the restaurants, but I'm going to bars and luckily there's one of them on both floors as well. Here's the ground floor bar, so this will be the first stop.

And José serves up the first Budweiser at the bar. José has tended bar here for over 20 years and is well-known at Sardi's and in the neighborhood.

There's an impressive snack selection at the bar, featuring pretzels, peanuts...

And delicious cheese and crackers.

I usually have a cheeseburger on Saturday's, but today it's going to be cheese and crackers.

Seated next to me is author Carliss Pond. Her latest book, "Taste of Broadway" is a collection of recipes from bars and restaurants in the neighborhood. It's also filled with great photos of the neighborhood and quotes from chefs, actors, producers and workers from the theater district.  Check out the book here: "Taste of Broadway."

Bob was seated next to me at the bar and was going to see West Side Story later on.

And here's the three of us at the bar, I'm holding my copy of "Taste of Broadway" which I purchased from Carliss at the bar. Carliss also has a book featuring recipes and photos from Hell's Kitchen. You can check that out here: "Sizzle in Hell's Kitchen."

Page 12 from Carliss' book contains a quote from José, and he signed the page for me.

Sardi's is known for the caricatures lining the walls of actors that have appeared on Broadway and beyond.

Caricatures of the cast of "The Honeymooner's" hang over the bar downstairs.

Napkins!

José in action at the bar.

By now Carliss and Bob have both left and there's a new crew at the bar.

Including the lovely duo of Indira and Iran.

Seated behind me at a table was this friendly group. From left: Jeremy, Jennifer, "Sloppy" Sal and Cheryl. And now for a crazy coincidence. Jeremy and Cheryl are the owners of Jeremy's Ale House that I visited on July 22nd. If you scoll down the post, you'll see a picture of another Jeremy who bartends the upstairs bar at Sardi's. I said in that caption that you'd be seeing him soon, so let's go upstairs and see if we can find him.

Here's the main dining room at Sardi's.

And it's upstairs we go.

Here's the bar, but where's Jeremy?

I think this gentleman's name was Brian, but I forgot to write it in my notes. If you're reading this Brian and I'm wrong, feel free to correct me in the comments section.

John and Jennifer were seated next to me. John owns several bars all over the country and one here in New York. Check out the New York bar here: Mad River Bar and Grille. I'll be stopping in there soon.

More caricatures line the walls up here.

And there he his, Jeremy behind the bar!

Here he is in all his glory!

Reunited and it feels so good! Thanks to everyone at Sardi's for a great night. Goodnight, Everybody!

Review
I’m not about to review a legendary joint like this, I couldn't do it justice. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry and you can read all about the history of Sardi’s. Sardi’s on Wikipedia.

And here’s a list of every caricature in the restaurant: List of caricatures at Sardi's restaurant.

Sardi's
234 W. 44th St. (Near Broadway)
212-221-8440
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Bonus Photos
Okay, here’s part two of Jason and Zioum Zioum’s excellent adventure in Paris with captions by Zioum Zioum the Chainsaw.

Drinking Champagne while waiting to see tits, ass and pussy!! Wow wow!!!!

Then after the show I had to change my clothes and heels shoes since we had to go back to my cousin's place by train, right in the Paris ghetto!! So we went to a bar and I changed my clothes in the (dirty) toilets. But big surprise it was a crazy funny bar!

Jason got a shower with the draft beer (end of the barrel!) So the Bartender offered dry sausage and chips!

Then things turned crazy in here, it was the birthday of a regular and has he's muslim, the 2 bartenders put a candle on a piece of bacon and brought the "birthday cake" to him while all  people in a bar were singing Happy birthday !! Cynical humor still the best! Then they played Trance music and everybody danced like crazy motherfuckers! Here, the bartender is dancing with a bottle of wine!

Lately, to visit France can only lead you to cross those revolutionnary posters in streets walls!!! There are glue everywhere in any city of France! We can read : "GET OUT! because they're not worthy" I wonder if someone in that world like that bum! Cheers Everybody!!!!

And last but not least, a black and white shot of the Eiffel Tower by Jason. À la votre !

Saturday, Sept. 18th, 2010—Bar 251

Day 251—Friday, September 17th, 2010
Sir Harry's@The Waldorf Astoria
Okay, it’s Friday and we all know what that means, time for your weekly glass of whine. It’s been a long week with one bad night but a decent bounce-back, if I do say so myself, which I just did. Anyway, I’m fucking beat and the last thing I feel like doing is going to some packed bar and dealing with people who have been boozing it up since happy hour. Then I came across a place I had bookmarked for such an evening: Sir Harry’s Bar in the Waldorf Astoria. This is a true old-school bar and hotel and I bet it’s not packed on a Friday night, especially since it’s the start of Yom Kippur. But, there’s only one way to find out, and that’s to go check it out.

Here we are at the famous Waldorf Astoria. One night in this joint is about what I pay for a month of rent.

The green stairs lead up to...

The shiny marble foyer.

Sparkly!

There's a display with photos from days gone by in the Waldorf. Here's Lena Horne's album from a live performance at the hotel in its glory days.

And here's a shot of Tony Bennett, Diahann Carroll and Tom Jones at a show in the '60's.

But my mission isn't going to 365 lobbies, so it's off to Sir Harry's we go. Looks nice and relaxed in here, perfect!

And the entire staff was very friendly and supportive of my 365 bar crawl. Here they assembled for a group photo. From left: Thomas, Julio C., Constantina and Pedro.

Julio served me up a Budweiser and the night is off and running. Cheers!

The legendary bar in all its glory. This place was a favorite watering hole of Frank Sinatra. Latest star sighting's in here include Johnny Depp (who left a 100 dollar tip) and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Peanuts!

There's comfortable chairs and couches up front to lounge in and enjoy a drink.

Tables and chairs line the wall opposite the bar.

It's a real, classic, old-time New York vibe in here.

Meanwhile, back at the bar, Thomas chats with customers.

And at the other end, Julio mixes up a drink for a thirsty patron.

Here's a nook at the end of the bar.

I've lived in New York City for over 17 years now and have seen some scary sights, but nothing more frightening than this: The bill at Sir Harry's! Aaaaaahhhhh! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Sir Harry’s in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel is a throwback to old-schooled moneyed New York. The bar is long and dark wood and plush chairs and couches are to the side and in the back for lounging. The bartenders and staff are friendly to locals and are happy to help out tourists with any questions regarding New York or demonstrating the making of the perfect martini, the bar’s signature drink.

There’s a full bar here, but be prepared to pay for the luxurious atmosphere, the cheapest drink is a bottle of Budweiser for nine dollars. But on the bright side, there’s an unending supply of free peanuts on the bar. Don’t be afraid to ask for seconds.

Sir Harry's@The Waldorf Astoria
301 Park Ave. (@49th St.)
212-872-4890

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Bonus Photos

Okay, as most of us know by now, Jason is in France visiting Zioum Zioum the Chainsaw and longing to have sex with Elvis Presley’s corpse. Zioum Zioum sent me some photos and some captions and here they are! (This is part one, part deux  will be tomorrow. Appréciez !)

We were walking on Paris streets then we got a big thought for you, Marty! TO OSTRICH ASS!!!

It was Jason's birthday on 26th of August. I told Jason I would offer his gift in Paris and that he needs to bring stylish clothes and shoes. Here in that photo he really don't know were the fuck I'm going to take him and he looks stressed out!!! HAHAHA!

Dress up like rich people in the richest Paris neighborhood, near the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysée, the reality is that we have only few bucks in the pocket!! I think that's funny!!!! ok let's go "there" !!!!

And here we are!! To the Crazy Horse!!! And a bottle of Champagne is waiting us. Funny to be in that kind of joint! Rich motherfuckers all aroiund us! Haha!

We could not take any picture but thanks to Youtube, there's some video!! Here is the show we saw, named "Desir" (For you Professor Dungpie, you were asking for a titty bar and melons, here it is!!)

Stay tuned for part II, tomorrow. Will Jason finally have his fling with dead Elvis? Tune in and find out! TO OSTRICH ASS!

And now, for Al: Neil Young and Crazy Horse!

Sleeping in...

I decided to sleep in today, so today's post will be up a little later, probably around 2pm. Check back then and enjoy the weekend! Here's the Pretenders in the meantime. Now I'm off for diet Mountain Dew and little doughnuts.