Tuesday, August 17th, 2010—Bar 219

Day 219—Monday, August 16th, 2010
Réunion Surf Bar
With summer rapidly coming to a close (where the fuck did it go?), I thought we should go check out the Réunion Surf Bar while it’s still in season. This bar just recently opened and has gotten some good reviews. And, according to their website, Big Wave Dave approves. Now, I don’t know who the fuck Big Dave Wave is, but if he approves it’s good enough for me. Let’s go surfin’ now, everybody’s learning how. Come on a safari with me.

Here we are at the brightly lit Réunion Surf Bar.

The sign points down to the basement, so we'll follow that.

Follow the yellow flags to the door...

And a surf board points the way down the stairs.

Very nice and laid back inside and Iggy and the Stooges are on the sound system. Perfect!

Friendly bartender Doug serves up a frozen Corona, a perfect drink on a hot summer night.

Okole maluna!

Behind the bar, the infused rums and vodkas are at the top.

There's a long cadle-lit table behind the bar.

And another off to the side of it.

A long marble bar and stools line the perimeter of the wall.

Two screens show surf movies in tandem.

Eugene, one of the owners of Réunion was relaxing at the bar.

Adjacent to the bar is the candle-lit, blue aquarium room.

I love the aquarium in here.

To complete the ambiance there's a surf board in the corner.

Meanwhile back at the bar, Doug rings up a drink.

Some of the signature cocktails are listed on a board behind the bar.

There's a small lounge area in the back.

A shot of the bar from the other end.

Lights hang from the corrugated metal ceiling and swimsuits dry on the line on the back wall.

And the surf boards above can mean only one thing...

Surf's up! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
An underground surf bar has started to grow in Hell’s Kitchen. Réunion Surf Bar has only been open a few weeks, but has established itself as a little slice of Hawaii just a block away from Rudy’s infamous dive bar. The bar is in the basement of an office building and has a laid back and ultra casual atmosphere. The bar is wooden and surf boards are strewn here and there along with swim suits drying on a line in the corner of the bar. There’s wooden tables opposite the bar and a small lounge area in the back. Another candle-lit room is adjacent to the bar and has an aquarium at the end of it. Two flat screen TV’s show surfing movies at one end of the bar and the music is ‘60’s garage and surf rock played at a conversational level.

The drink menu is short on beers, there’s just four brands of bottles for six bucks apiece, but they make up for that with their cocktail offerings. It’s an island joint, so of course there are frozen drinks including: a Frozen Corona, which is a beer slush and the coldest Corona you’ll ever have, a Coco Loco, which mixes rum, lime juice, coconut cream, pineapple, cherry heering and amaretto and the Reunion Sunrise which is a frozen drink made of, tequila, mango puree, fresh lime, grand marnier and raspberry puree. There’s a large selection of rum and an Acid Drop Shot which is, house-infused grapefruit vodka, fresh pink grapefruit juice and a vanilla scented sugar rim.

There’s island ifluenced eats here too. Some of the unique selections from the food menu include: Shark Fry Tacos, Hanboa Sliders, Shortboard Ribs and the signature dish, the Le Americain which is a traditional surf sandwich consisting of french fries, wonton meatballs and melted cheese on a baguette. You should wait at least an hour after eating one of these to hang 10.

Réunion Surf Bar
630 Ninth Ave. (@44th St.)
212-582-3200

Monday, August 16th, 2010—Bar 218

Day 218—Sunday, August 15th, 2010
Becky’s (Originally headed for Maya)
Okay, I had planned on going to Coney Island today, but it’s been raining and they’re predicting thunderstorms all though the night. I’m not going to take the long subway ride just to have it rain on my parade. Coney Island’s open till the end of September, so I’ll try a Sunday before it closes.

I’m really craving Mexican food tonight (which always makes me think of facebook—you had to be there, and some of you were!) and found a Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side which sounds great. It’s called Maya and the reviews I’ve read all give it high marks. And best of all, they have a bar (and I’m craving a Michelada—hello Tiki Bar Susie!) So...¡está apagado al maya que vamos, arreeeba!

I thought I'd splurge and take a cab rather than the subway.

And here's the obligatory camera out the cab window shot.

Here we are at Maya. I know Kari likes this place already!

We're too late for happy hour, but I can't wait to see the bar and lounge.

Well, the bar is about the size of a postage stamp and it's more than overcrowded. Looks like it's time to improvise...

And so begins a lonely walk in search of another bar and it's really starting to rain out here.

Well, after walking just a block, look at this. Let's check it out.

A few too many TV's for my taste, but fuck it, it's dark in here and I'm wet and starvin' like Marvin. Welcome to Sunday's bar.

Chris was the friendly bartender on duty and he happily served me up an ice-cold Budweiser.

Some of the lit-up bottles at the bar.

There's a nice view of First Avenue outside of the open windows up front.

Waitress Danielle was wearing this T-shirt because she lost a bet. I'll never tell what it says!

Some of the signage on the wooden walls in Becky's.

There's tables and chairs in the back.

A view of the bar from the back.

Here's Jake, a sometime regular with Danielle who's still hiding that shirt. Hey, you want to know what it says, go ask her, I'll never tell!

There's a large selection of drafts available at the bar.

Okay, time for my Sunday dinner. Chris suggested the Philly Cheese Steak Wrap. Sounds good to me.

Ask and you shall receive. Chris brings the dinner and it looks great.

Delicious!

Cheese, steak and peppers, mmmm.

Burp. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Becky’s is a no-frills, come as you are pub. The bar is dark and wooden and lots of TV’s line the upper perimeter, all tuned to sports. The bartenders are friendly and so is the crowd, which are mainly neighborhood locals. It’s a relaxing place and there’s no attitude in here. Just a nice place to hang out and have a few drinks in a friendly surrounding.

It’s a full bar with an impressive 24 draft beers available. They also have a decent bottled beer selection and happy hour runs from Monday though Friday from 11am to 7pm featuring 4 dollar well drinks and wines, $3.25 bottles of Bud and Bud light and $4.40 pints.

The menu is your standard pub grub selection including wings, burgers, fish and chips and chicken pot pie. There’s also a half dozen varieties of ten inch pizza available including: Margarita fresh mozzarella and basil; Fajita steak or chicken with onions, peppers and salsa; Wisconsin premium cheese pie and a Veggie pie with mushrooms, onions and peppers.

Becky’s
1156 First Ave. (Near 63rd St.)
212-317-8929

Sunday, August 14th, 2010—Bar 217

Day 217—Saturday, August 15th, 2010
Mark
Okay, the PayPal donation bell has rung and I want to thank 365 commentator, blogger and lover of wood, Kari for a generous donation of 20 dollars! Within her message Kari said that she wanted a cheeseburger. Well, ask for a cheeseburger and you will get a cheeseburger Kari! For today is Cheeseburger Saturday Night and I think I’ve found a place that has great sliders. There’s a place I discovered through Google called Mark and they specialize in sliders and fries. The reviews I’ve found have been great, so let’s go check Mark out. Kari, this cheeseburger is on you, thanks so much!

On my walk over to St. Marks Place I stumbled upon a street fair on University, so I had to stop and get a...

Corn dog!

And what is it with socks being sold at street fairs? Please go away!

As 365 commentator "raginnr" knows, I've been plagued by sock sellers for over a decade. Check out this place on St. Marks. It's not time for new socks, so leave me the fuck alone! You socksucker you!

And here we are at the Mark burger bar.

It looks nice and cozy here.

And friendly and cute bartender Angie serves up a cold Six Point draft. And she didn't even make fun of me when I ordered it as a Five Point. I've always been a point off my whole life.

The menu is above the bar and grill.

There's an ongoing slider challenge here and the latest winner is Ryan, who ate 18 sliders in one sitting. If you can beat this, your sliders are free and you get your name on the board.

The backroom has comfortable chairs and tables to relax and dine at.

And there's a nice patio in the front with a great view of St. Marks Place.

The fryer buckets are standing tall, waiting for fries.

This guy got a warm welcome as he came in, let's go see who he is.

His name is Wendell and he's a regular in here. Angie said he's not the number one customer, but he's close.

Erik is the head chef here. He graduated from culinary school in Portland, Oregon and he designed the menu.

The sliders start out here...

And they end up here. I'm getting hungry!

Here's Angie with waitress Donna. Both Donna and Erik have been here since day one, over ten months ago.

I place my order and Erik rolls up his sleeves and gets ready to get down to business.

And ta-da! Here's my order. I got a regular and a bacon slider and fries.

And the verdit is...great slider! One of the best I've ever had.

All done, goodnight, everybody!

Review
A burger joint has risen among the ramen, noodle and frozen yogurt shops on St. Marks Place. Actually it’s a slider place and it’s approriately and simply titled, Mark. The bar is a long, shotgun, railroad space with an outside patio, tables in the front and back and a long wooden bar in the middle. The customers are mainly neighborhood regulars, jonesing for their daily two buck slider and fries fix. The bartenders and staff are super friendly and it’s easy to see why this new kid on the block has become a popular spot.

The bar is limited to draft beer and wine, with the draft offerings including, Blue Point, Toasted Lager, Six Point and Guinness all for five bucks a pint. There’s two types of sliders, the regular with cheese and onions (do I have to spell it out?), and a bacon slider where the bacon is incorporated inside the burger. The burger is a mix of chuck, short rib and sirloin and is ground fresh in-house on a daily basis. The buns are driven in daily from a bakery in Pennsylvania. Other items on the menu include a cup of chili, fresh cut french fries and homemade pecan pie. Everything here is homemade even the four types of ketchup including: regular, barbecue, chipotle and jalapeno. And the jalapeno really packs a hot punch. The mustard is homemade as well and made with Guinness beer. And speaking of Guinness, there’s a Guinness milkshake on the menu. I was going to try it, but after five Six Points, two sliders and fries, I was done! And happily so.

Mark
33 St. Marks Place (Near Second Ave.)
212-677-3132