Day 233—Monday, August 30th, 2010 Dave's Tavern We’ve had two extra-bright bar crawls in the last two days. I actually have some color on my skin and I need to bring it back to my usual shade of light green.So, tonight it’s back to the basics and we’re off to Dave’s Tavern in Hell’s Kitchen. The name alone is nice and simple and I read that they have free peanuts, reason enough to make this place worthy of being bar number 233.
Okay, here we are at 30th and Ninth Ave. Twelve blocks up and we're there.
And baboom! Here we are, Dave's Tavern.
Nice and dark in here and plenty of seats at the bar, perfect! Hey, where's the free peanuts?
The lovely and friendly bartender, Natalia serves up your basic Budweiser.
And I happily accept it. Cheers!
Here's a shot of the bar from the far angle.
Some of the drafts available at the bar.
Bill's been a regular here for over 15 years, even though he's only lived in the city for two years. Before that he lived in Boston and would come to New York on the weekends and hang out here. Now that's dedication I can respect!
This is an original painting that hangs on the back wall featuring some of the regulars at Dave's Tavern.
And speaking of regulars, here's another friendly one up at the bar, Todd.
I don't know this guy's name, but with all that white stuff coming out of his nose, he's either got a cold or a problem with the old Devil's Dandruff.
Back at the bar, Natalia is taking care of business.
There's a pool table in the back room.
And if you've indulged a bit too much, you can sleep it off on this comfy, green leather couch.
A vintage Yuengling's sign hangs on the brick wall behind a low-lit chandelier.
Here's Natalia pouring a pitcher.
And here's the pitcher, but who's drinking it?
Here's the pitcher drinkers, who have stepped away from the bar to pose for the 365 camera. From left: Jose and Sonya.
Review Dave’s Tavern is a no-frills place where the jukebox and drinks are king. The bar is filled with friendly regulars who make the occasional visitor from the nearby Port Authority bus station feel like one too. The bartenders are friendly and female and the jukebox is loud and usually playing vintage to ‘80’s hard rock. Loudly. They like it loud in here.
It’s a full bar with a generous selection of bottled beers and draft beers including: Budweiser, Yuengling, Blue Moon and Bud Light. Happy Hour runs from Monday to Friday, 4pm-7pm with various drink specials including three dollar Budweisers and Yuengling. Dave’s Tavern is a nice place to enjoy a drink or five, but where were the free peanuts?
Day 232—Sunday, August 29th, 2010 Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden Because of my schedule, I don’t get out of the city a lot, but today is one of the days I’m traveling to an outer borough. Mark Smimmo is a follower of the 365 site and he invited me to join him and some of his friends at the legendary Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens. It’s a little bright to be traveling to an outside venue, but hopefully they’ll be shade there. Let’s head out to that faraway land known as Queens.
And we're off, headed down this familiar path known as 16th Street.
Here we are in Union Square Park headed for the subway. Yikes, it's bright out here!
And here's the subway.
We'll be taking the Queens-bound N train.
And now we wait for the train. It's hotter than fuck down here and smells vaguely of piss. Lovely!
Hot damn, here's the train!
Motherfucker, it's the R train, we're waiting for the N.
Back to the waiting game.
Alright, here we go, the N train.
Goddamn, the car is packed and there's a screaming baby on board. This is why I don't leave the city a lot.
And now, though the magic of the internet, you're spared a 45 minute train ride with smelly people and a screaming baby.
And here we are in Queens, goddamn it is bright out here!
And we're off in search of the Bohemian Beer Hall and Garden.
I swear I'm not stalking this woman. Okay, maybe I am a little, I need something to occupy my time with till I get there.
And here we are, there's a huge brick wall that encases the place.
I tried getting in through these massive wooden doors but they were locked. At first I wondered if this was some sort of secret society and if Mark was fucking around with me.
But then I looked down the road and saw the entrance is here.
There's a nice bar inside.
And Jenae, the lovely bartender on duty serves up a beer.
There's massive wooden booths opposite the bar.
As you would imagine, there's a huge selection of beer to be had here, these are just some of the draft offerings.
David was enjoying a well-deserved mug of beer after a twelve hour tour of duty in his taxi. Cheers!
Let's see what's downstairs.
There's tables down here...
And a bar with the cute Aida behind it. Nobody was down here and I call this shot, "The Lonliest Bartender in Town." I kept her company for a few minutes, but then I had to find Mark and his friends.
Time to venture out into the (gulp) sunshine.
Wow, there's a ton of people out here. How am I ever going to find Mark and his friends?
He said he was a big guy and he'd be wearing a Dallas Cowboys hat.
No sign of him up here on the band stage.
Still no sign of him. I've got his cell phone number, but that would ruin the fun of the hunt.
And bingo, I find them. Here's Mark and his friends, from left, Mike a.k.a. "Pigpen", Mark and Garry (with two R's.) They're good guys and we had nice conversation and beers at the table in the garden.
Alex came by our table with shots of something I'm not sure what it was. But hey, when a pretty girl offers booze, I'm not refusing!
And then there were three. Garry had to leave, but we continued to drink as a trio.
After another hour, Mark and Mike had to hit the road, leaving me the last man standing in the beer garden from our party. I decided to have Sunday dinner to soak up some of the suds from the day.
Here they are grilling up the dinner.
And here's the dinner, a bratwurst on fresh rye bread, onion rings and of course, another beer.
Double Down was the swing band playing on the bill. It reminded me of bar number three from the crawl. Memories!
The band got the joint to jump!
And on that note, I hail a cab outside...
And head back to Manhattan. Thanks to Mark, Mike and Garry for joining me on the bar crawl and suggesting a fabulous place to enjoy a Sunday afternoon and evening. Goodnight, everybody!
Review The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden is a huge bar and beer garden in Queens, New York. This year, the former Czech and Slovak social club has turned 100-years-old making it the oldest beer garden in New York. But as far as I know it, it’s the only, official beer garden in New York City. The bar (or beer hall) itself is large, with a wooden bar and large wooden booths opposite. Downstairs there’s a nother bar and wooden tables set up in a dining area. But the real draw here is outside in the massive beer garden. Picnic tables seat hundreds with umbrellas shading the massive number of beer drinkers. There’s friendly waitresses on hand to deliver your beer and food orders and the crowd is mainly locals from nearby neighborhoods with a smattering of beer afficionados from beyond checking out this legendary beer hall and garden.
There’s a full bar here, but everyone comes for the beer. There’s an international selection of beer to be had here including brews from Germany, Belgiium, USA craft beers and selections from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The food is tradional Czech and some of the entrees include: Pan Roasted Duck, Chicken Schnitzel, Classic Beef Stroganoff and a Sheppard’s Plate which is potato and mushroom perogies, klobasa, spaetzle with traditional Slovak cheese made from sheep milk and sauerkraut. Tuesday’s is Ladies Night with an bar for the ladies from 5pm-6pm and free buffet from 7pm to 8pm. There’s also live music featuring Blues and Brews Monday nights, a Sunday Swing Series and jazz on Thursdays. And who knows, maybe someday the Schmenge Brothers may show up for a guest gig. Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden 29-19 24th Ave. (Near 29th St. Queens, NY) 718-274-4925
----------------------------
BONUS PHOTOS!
Mike is the proud father of an 8-month-old son. Check out his shirt below:
And when he says, "Like Father, Like Son," he's not kidding...
Check out this photo Mike sent me.
And this one Mike sent could win a prize! Heavy metal baby! Hilarious!
And here's a final shot of the three of us that Mark took with his camera. Cheers and beers, everybody!
Day 231—Saturday, August 28th, 2010 Essex and Laugh Lounge (Originally headed for Antibes Bistro) Today my downstairs neighbor Deloy is joining me on the bar crawl and then we’re meeting other tenants from our building at a comedy club to watch our upstairs neighbor in the building, Austin Poplin do a standup comedy set at Laugh Lounge on Essex Street in the Lower East Side. But first Deloy and I are going to Antibes Bistro for an early dinner and a few pre-show drinks. I don’t see a cheeseburger on their dinner menu, so we’ll have a little switch foodwise, I’m going to Queens tomorrow and do the cheeseburger thing there. Okay, let’s go get Deloy downstairs and get going. (P.S. Below this post, check out a mini Australian bar crawl, courtesy 365 commentator, Tim Clack. Tim is a chef at the Maryville Tavern and he sent me some photos of the tavern. He also sent me a fantastic book of Australian breweries, beers and pubs called, “Beer Lovers Guide To Australia.” Thanks so much, Tim! The coasters are cool, too. The beers are on me when you get here, mate!)
Okay, here's Deloy's door, let's see if she's ready.
And here she is, we're ready to roll!
Thanks to a swift taxi, we're at Antibes in minutes.
Hmm...tables on chairs aren't a good sign. It turns out they're not opening till 7pm. Which is weird because Deloy made a reservation for 4pm. They should check with Open Table and get on the same page. So it's time to improvise.
Luckily, the Essex bar and restaurant was just a couple blocks away and right down the street from the Laugh Lounge.
It's a nice bar, but a little too bright for my tastes, I'm not a fan of the sunshine.
Here's Deloy and I at the bar. Aaahhh, I'm covered in sunlight. I'm melting!
Elizabeth, the lovely bartender serves me up a screwdriver which comes along with the brunch.
Here's a view of the long wooden bar from the other end.
There's an upstairs area available for dining.
And there's tables and booths opposite the bar.
And here's the dining area in the back.
And speaking of dining, when I get back to the bar, the food is served and it looks delicious!
Here's Deloy enjoying her meal while being bathed in sunshine.
And here I am inhaling the cheeseburger. Man, it's really bright in there, would it kill them to invest in some blinds for the windows?
Here's Sarah, the friendly nightshift bartender, serving me a beer for dessert. Nightshift? That means the sun is going down soon, hooray!)
As we prepared to leave, we noticed tennis balls on the wall. Why are they there? Why not?
And as the sun sets, we make our way to the Laugh Lounge.
Here's the upstairs lounge area of the club.
Classic comedy album covers line the walls. I had that Steve Marin album!
Comedian and actress Pat Ceasar was on the bill. Check out her website here: Pat Ceasar Website.
And here's our group, from left: Deloy, Sheryl, Eric, Ben and Mark. For those of you keeping score, Deloy, Sheryl, Eric and Ben all work together, Ben is my upstairs neighbors and Sheryl and Mark live on the top floor of the building.
And here's the guy we came to see, Ben's roommate, Austin.
The stage is set.
Ladies and gentlemen, the comedic stylings of Austin Poplin!
Austin killed onstage and got lots of laughs.
After the succesful set, it was time to say..."Goodnight, everybody!"
Review (I’m running late today and I have to go to Queens for the bar crawl today—you can read all about that tomorrow, so I’m going to cheat and instead of reviewing Essex, I’m going to post this review that was in New York Magazine’s website.)
Indulge your inner lush at this lofty Lower East Side restaurant whose all-weekend brunch special includes three drinks: mimosas, screwdrivers, or horseradish-heavy Bloody Marys. The lively atmosphere and intriguing Jewish-Latin fare can mean long waits, so make reservations. And don't be afraid to take matters into your own hands if the wait staff loses its collective train of thought; a recent Sunday afternoon found one group of hipsters heading to the bar for their refills; the bartender was more than happy to oblige.
(And here’s New York magazine’s review of the Laugh Lounge.)
Marquee lights give this LES comedy club a glitz it's been lacking since vaudeville died. But owners Delilah Ramos (a former Gotham booker) and Sandy Kaul (a Wall Street suit) aren't simply reviving the neighborhood's long-forgotten past. They've added a newfangled twist: a red lounge where clubby, low-to-the-ground furniture lets patrons make out before the actual show. Downstairs, the theater isn't quite so glamorous since exposed plumbing is more basement than boudoir. As to the entertainment, the stand up comics are at that stage where they've appeared on late night talk shows but haven't had their major breakthroughs. When a host screams out "Everything is going to be taken to the next f**kin' level!" you wonder if he's fantasizing about his own career or introducing the next act. After the show, the lounge turns into a nightclub and the performers assume a rock-star status as sweet as the syrupy drink menu. — Shira Levine Laugh Lounge 151 Essex St. (Near Stanton St.) 212-614-2500
Bonus Photos! And now as promised, Tim Clack’s bar crawl of the Maryville Tavern, where he’s the esteemed chef. Take it away, Tim and thanks again for the fantastic book, "Beer Lovers Guide To Australia."
The Maryville Tavern.
The front bar at the Mary. It's like having a time machine that permanently stuck in 1962. Usually full of old-timers having a bet on the horses on a Saturday but generally it's a quiet little hide away. The locals are mostly friendly but don't take too kindly to outsiders coming in and winning the raffles.
Some by product of the bar. An ice cold Schooner of VB. Not my personal fave but they don't have Carlton Draught on tap....only reason I took a photo was to make it last longer.
This friendly chap is Steve Price. He's a third generation truck driver. When he's not sinking piss and eating potato wedges he's usually driving a truck.
The Cheeseburger!
The Cajun Beef salad (nice one!)
The Surf and Turf Sirloin (I think I cooked this one Medium.)
The recipients of the Surf and Turf. This is George and Mark. These blokes were up from Sydney for the day and George was appropriately dressed for this photo session!
Another legend of the newcastle food scene: The Chicken Caesar salad.
My Lunch. An open steak burger.
Looks, delicious Tim, mate! Great job and thanks for sharing the photos and giving us a bar crawl down under! Cheers!
We’ve had two extra-bright bar crawls in the last two days. I actually have some color on my skin and I need to bring it back to my usual shade of light green.So, tonight it’s back to the basics and we’re off to Dave’s Tavern in Hell’s Kitchen. The name alone is nice and simple and I read that they have free peanuts, reason enough to make this place worthy of being bar number 233.
Okay, here we are at 30th and Ninth Ave. Twelve blocks up and we're there.
And baboom! Here we are, Dave's Tavern.
Nice and dark in here and plenty of seats at the bar, perfect! Hey, where's the free peanuts?
The lovely and friendly bartender, Natalia serves up your basic Budweiser.
And I happily accept it. Cheers!
Here's a shot of the bar from the far angle.
Some of the drafts available at the bar.
Bill's been a regular here for over 15 years, even though he's only lived in the city for two years. Before that he lived in Boston and would come to New York on the weekends and hang out here. Now that's dedication I can respect!
This is an original painting that hangs on the back wall featuring some of the regulars at Dave's Tavern.
And speaking of regulars, here's another friendly one up at the bar, Todd.
I don't know this guy's name, but with all that white stuff coming out of his nose, he's either got a cold or a problem with the old Devil's Dandruff.
Back at the bar, Natalia is taking care of business.
There's a pool table in the back room.
And if you've indulged a bit too much, you can sleep it off on this comfy, green leather couch.
A vintage Yuengling's sign hangs on the brick wall behind a low-lit chandelier.
Here's Natalia pouring a pitcher.
And here's the pitcher, but who's drinking it?
Here's the pitcher drinkers, who have stepped away from the bar to pose for the 365 camera. From left: Jose and Sonya.
Todd and Natalia put some songs on the jukebox.
Goodnight, everybody!
Dave’s Tavern is a no-frills place where the jukebox and drinks are king. The bar is filled with friendly regulars who make the occasional visitor from the nearby Port Authority bus station feel like one too. The bartenders are friendly and female and the jukebox is loud and usually playing vintage to ‘80’s hard rock. Loudly. They like it loud in here.
27 Comments
