Thursday, August 12th, 2010—Bar 214

Day 214—Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Overlook
Tonight I’m going to go to a bar that was suggested by 365 commentator Al Rizo. Al lives in Miami but has hung out in many New York bars. A while back he suggested I check out the Overlook Bar, which is located a little to the East Side of Times Square. The bar has a big roooftop patio outside and from their website the bar itself looks nice. So let’s go check out Al’s pick of the night.

Here we are at the Overlook. Let's check it out.

Looks nice and plenty of room at the bar, let's settle in.

Friendly bartender Carlo was quick to serve up an ice-cold Corona.

Harry put the lime in the coconut, I'm just trying to get one in my beer.

Ornaments hang from the ceiling giving the place a festive feeling every day of the year.

One section of the bar.

Let's go see who Carlo is talkng to.

And like magic shots appear and are drunk. From left: Yours fooly, Carlo, Stacie, Katy and Lisa.

There's a pool table in the back room.

Also in the back room is a mural that knocked my motherfucking socks off.

According to the owner, from 1976 to 1979, comic book artists collaborated on this mural in bar and it remains intact. (Read more about it in the review below.)

Dondi and Fred Flntstone among other legendary comic strip characters.

Legend has it that the bulk of this mural was drawn after a 1976 Cartoonist Society meeting. What I would've given to have been in the bar that night!

Check out Beetle Bailey with a cigarette, that wouldn't fly these P.C. days.

Nothin' up my sleeve!

A second mural hangs on the opposite wall. This was started in 2005 and finishd in 2009.

Mary Worth in a bar? I knew she was a secret boozer!

Irony at its finest moment.

Meanwhile back at the bar...

Paul and Joe were enjoying themselves at the end of the bar.

Here's the upstairs lounge.

There's also a full bar up here.

And the outside rooftop patio.

It's 100% wood. Hello Kari!

Mariana is the lovely waitress up here.

Meanwhile downstairs...FIRE!

On my way out, who do I find taking a break, but Carlo with his cute friend, Sarah. Cheers and goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Overlook bar is a multilevel bar with a large wooden bar in front, a back room with booths and a pool table and nice wooden upper deck and full bar on the rooftop. Opposite the pool table in the back room orginal art is featured behind the booths from such comic book artists as Gil Kane (Spider-Man), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Milton Caniff (Steve Canyon), Sergio Aragonés and Al Jaffee (Mad) and about 25 others. It’s worth the trip to the bar just to see this wonderful artwork from these legendary cartoon artists. The urban legend is that they all were in town for a meeting at the National Cartoonist Society and they all came in for dinner and drinks (back when it was called, the Pen & Ink Bar) and instead of paying their tab, they left this art on the wall. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s something every comic book lover should see.

There’s a full bar here and a selection of over 40 different draft and bottled beer. Happy Hour runs Monday through Friday from 2pm to 6pm with two for one drinks. There’s nightly drink specials (attention Biff: Tuesday’s Miller Lite’s are four bucks from 6pm to closing), and on NFL Sunday’s you can get a bucket of five beers for 17 bucks. There’s plenty of sports viewing in here with 24 flat panel screens and two projection screens out on the roof.

They have a decent sized food menu including a good selection of all the usual pub grub suspects: chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches and wraps. But there’s also some tasty surprises on the menu including: BBQ Salmon, Buttermilk Pecan Chicken, Cajun Fish & Chips and Exotic Asian Orange Chicken. Pomme Frittes are served in a cone and you have your choice of 11 dipping sauces. Brunch happens on Saturdays and Sundays till 4pm and if your sweet tooth is screamin,’ try the fried cheesecake. That’s right, fried cheesecake. Mmmm.

Overlook
225 E. 44th St. (Between Second & Third Ave.)
212-307-5835

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010—Bar 213

Day 213—Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Russian Vodka Room
Okay, first off, daily commentator, artist and writer, Jaws sent in a picture of himself wearing the 365 shirt with the red logo designed by “Boris.” Check out Jaws below:

What a handsome devil! In addition to being an artist (he did the graphics on the photo he sent in), Jaws is also a writer and has published three books. Two of them are tales from his cab driving days and when he toiled in customer service. The third is a collection of his graphics and drawings. It’s hilarious stuff and I highly recommend all three. You can check them out right here: Jaws the Cabbie.

If you’d like to check out the 365 Bar Shop and check out the custom design t-shirts and merchandise it’s as easy as clicking here: 365 Bar Shop. Our resident artist, “Boris” set the whole thing up and maintains it. “Boris” is also available for freelance artwork, so if you’d like your website spruced up, if you need a logo, CD or book cover or just about anything, “Boris” is your go-to guy. Just send me an email and I’ll forward it along.

There’s a couple more bonus photos, down under the main post and once again, down under is a fitting place for them because they more Australian photos. 365 commentator Tim Clack took a couple photos of the oldest brewery in Sydney. Check them out, they’re down under the review and a couple of great shots. Thanks for sending them in, Tim, mate!

Okay, tonight while Googling around I found what appears to be a very cool bar. It’s a place in midtown called the Russian Vodka Room and it’s bound to be a dark bar, because there’s no windows in the joint. But there is an in-house piano player and I bet there’s no TV’s anywhere. Let’s go see if my hunch is correct.

Here we are at the window-less bar. I love it already.

It's perfect inside, a nice dark and friendly vibe. And there's a seat at the bar.

And the beautiful bartender, Irina serves up a 2 ounce shot of pineapple infused vodka.

Budem zdorovy!

Azfar was seated next to me. He's a nice guy and was in town on business from Cleveland. I told him the bar crawl had traveled to Cleveland. He said he comes to New York frequently, so you may see him again on the crawl.

Quite a selection of booze at the bar. The large bottles in the back are the infused vodka.

There's tables and banquettes in the front of the bar.

The bar is wooden and somewhat octagon in shape, although there's not quite eight sides.

Here's an example of how dark it is in here. Here's the lounge area taken without the flash.

And here's the same shot with the flash.

There's nightly piano music at the bar, but it's kept at a conversational level.

Here's Irina at work mixing up another drink for me.

She adds the finishing touches and...

Voilà, a G3 martini.

Russian artwork hangs on the dark wooden walls of the bar.

And here's some more vats of the infamous infused vodka.

Here's Irina taking a little break behind the bar.

Next she served up a four shot tasting which was on the house. I love this place!

Cheers from Irina and I and goodnight, everybody!

Review
I think I found the perfect bar. Nice and dark inside, no windows, no TV’s and no pretentious attitude. The bartenders and waitresses are pretty and friendly, there’s live piano music every night of the week and the crowd is a mix of tourists, local business people and perhaps a thirsty international spy or two. The main room houses the octagon shaped wooden bar. There’s tables and chairs in nooks in the front and behind the piano is a lounge area with couches and tables to relax and enjoy your flavor-infused vodka.

The Russian Vodka Room lives up to its name. There’s over 40 varieties of vodkas and 10 flavor infused vodkas including: apple cinnamon, garlic, pepper and dill, horseradish and strawberry among others. There’s eight selections of rare scotch whiskies available and ten types of cognac. They have five choices of flavored martinis and specialty cocktails include: the Russian Breakfast which is, garlic, pepper, dill vodka with beef broth and tomato juice; the Red Bastard which mixes horseradish vodka and spicy bloody Mary mix and the Mintini which is a mixture of mint infused vodka, fresh lime and gingerale.

You’re going to need something to soak up all that booze and there’s plenty of items on their dining menu to do just that. There’s a large appetizer/small plate selection, including: Herring with potatoes, Duck Liver Pate, Beef Carpaccio with spicy mayonnaise and Smoked Trout with picante salad. Some of the main courses offered are: Chicken Schnitzel with truffle, Beef Stroganoff with kasha, Lamb Shanks Braised In Red Wine and Roast Duck with apples. There’s five different kinds of caviar and dessert is also available and if I go back I’m trying the Farmer's Cheese Blintzes with chocolate.

There’s a daily happy hour that runs from 4pm-7pm with $3.50 house-infused vodkas, $5 flavored martinis and $4 beers. Byla ne byla and cheers to the Russian Vodka Room.

Russian Vodka Room
265 W. 52nd St. (Near Broadway)
212-307-5835

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Bonus Photos!

Aussie mate, Tim Clack sent in these photos of Sydney's oldest brewery. Here's the photos and Tim's captions.

This place is the Lord Nelson Hotel Brewery located in the Rocks in Sydney. The Rocks is pretty much the oldest part of the city which is under the south side of the Harbour bridge. It used to to be a bad ass area full of hookers and sailors and has hosted the odd underworld murder in it's time.

I'm sure it packs out on the weekends but at Monday lunch its a haven for kicking back and enjoying a few of their specialty house brews.

Thanks for sending in the photos, Tim, very cool! And now in honor of the Russian Vodka Room...

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010—Bar 212

Day 212—Monday, August 9th, 2010
Swift Hibernian Lounge
First off, I want to wish DJ, 365 commentator and blogger, Gidget the happiest birthday ever! Today is actually the second birthday of the year for Gidget and you can read all about that at her blog: Gidget Bates Crap She Spews. Gidget is THE coolest DJ in the world and hosts a great rado show on Woody Radio, check out the schedules and listen when you can right here: Woody Radio. She's hosting her birthday show today from 1pm to 5pm, so tune in and send her your birthday wishes. Happy birthday, Gidget!
Check down at the end of this post after the review for some special bonus photos. Our Australian mate and 365 commentator Fitzy sent in some photos of the Koala hospital where he works in Australia. There’s some great shots and commentary by Fitzy himself. A little Oz treat down under the post from down under itself. Thanks for sending these in Fitzy mate! Looking forward to the 365 Oz summit!

Okay, yesterday in the comments section we had a couple complaints about TV sets in bars. I agree, but to the Whiskey Trader’s defense, they do bill themselves as a “Sports Bar and Lounge,” so it kind of comes with the territory and you should realize before you step a foot in there that there’s going to be big TV’s with sports on them. Anyway, I did a Google search on bars with no TV’s in New York City and found this article from 2009: “The Few, the Proud: Pubs That Still Resist the Pull of the Television Screen.” They forgot to mention the Mars Bar, but we’ve been there already, and the only bar they mention in Manhattan that has no TV sets is the Swift Hibernian Lounge (the other two are in Brooklyn and I’ll try and get there sometime). The article is a year old, let’s go see if this place is still sans TV.

Here we are at the Swift Hibernian Lounge.

Now there's a good idea on this hotter than fuck-all evening.

Check out the large cathedral, wooden doors.

And they open up to a nice dark, candlelit bar and not a TV in sight. The cathedral of the good drinker.

Bartender Shane expertly mixes me up a margarita. Shane is one of the best and most friendly bartenders I've met on the bar crawl, a great guy and he mixes a mean margarita.

Delicious!

There's a wooden lounge area opposite the bar.

Here's Chris and Steve who are fire fighters from Ladder 9. To the right of them hangs a memorial plaque to their fallen brothers from September 11th. Thanks for your good work, Chris and Steve!

There's a nice candlelit nook up front to enjoy the view outside of the bar.

Shane at work behind the bar.

The well-stocked bar at Swift Hibernian Lounge.

The draft beer list.

And the bottled beers that are available. An impressive list.

The mural that runs along the entire wall was painted by local artist, Carey Rothman.

Rob, Corey and Jennie were enjoying some drinks at the bar and agreed to post for the 365 camera.

Then Rob took the camera and turned the tables on me and had me pose with Corey, Jennie and their friend Matthew in the back.

A long, candlelit wooden bank runs the length opposite the bar where you can rest a drink or an elbow.

There's tables and booths in the large back room of the bar.

In between Margaritas Shane poured me a perfect Guinness. The bar is known as the go-to place for a perfectly poured pint of Guinness.

Here's Shane with his girlfriend, Erin on his left and her mom, Nadine on his right. Erin and Nadine are from New Orleans. Erin lives here now and her mom is visiting. Cheers to you all!

Rob and Chris in conversation at the front of the bar.

And here I am with a margarita and the ultimate traditional wearin' of the Guinness on the noggin'. Good night, everybody!

Review
They bill themselves as a lounge, but theSwift Hibernian Lounge could also be called an Irish alehouse. A large Irish alehouse. The front room houses a long and winding wooden bar with a wooden lounge area opposite. Up front are two nice window viewing nooks and there’s a large back room with a communal table and oversize wooden booths. The bartenders are friendly and the cliental are mainly neighborhood regulars, but first-timers are treated as friendly as the long-time customers. The Swift Hibernian Lounge has been in business for 15 years and has grown to be a neighborhood favorite.

There’s a huge selection of beer available here. There’s 54 bottled beers and 23 beers on tap to choose from. The selection changes daily, but there’s real time viewing on what’s availble at their website. They feature a decent wine list and specialty cocktails including: The Captain Gulliver, which mixes Jameson whiskey, ginger beer and lemon; Esther, which is a combination of Beefeater 24, mint and fresh limede and they also have raspberry or lemon sorbet sangria. The spirit list is impressive with copious varieties of Irish whiskey, single malt scotch, tequila and American bourbon.

The menu is small and strictly pub fare featuring such items as: chicken salad sandwich, reuben sandwich, beef and Guinness pie, mini cheddar burgers and tomato and mozzarella pizza. Food is served till four in the morning and they are open 365 days a year. On the weekends DJ’s spin tunes and on Tuesday nights they have a traditional Irish seisuin. I’m not exactly sure what a “traditional Irish seisuin” is and I’m running late for work. I think it’s live music, but Google it to be sure. I gotta go! Sneeze ya, tomorrow.

Swift Hibernian Lounge
34 E. 4th St. (Near The Bowery)
212-260-3600

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Bonus Photos!

Here’s the photos and comments that Fitzy sent in from the land of Oz and the Koala hospital where he works, enjoy! Thanks for sending them in Fitzy, mate!

Koala Crossing sign—Had to get you a pick of this Marty after you hit me up to check out how authentic "The Creek Bar # 207" was, so you can see their Koala Crossing sign was an authentic replica not far off the mark. This is about 50m from the entrance to Macquarie Nature Reserve, home to Roto House and the Koala Hospital.

Here is Barry—Barry is me best mate. He is the oldest koala we have, he is the grumpiest and has the worst attitude going which is why i love the little bastard! The girls gave me Barry to feed the 1st day i started as an initiation thing, and yes the fucker bit me a beauty. But since then we've become mates, i let him keep his milk moe after feeding (they hate having their mouths wiped) and he lets me check him for ticks without inflicting injuries on me they may require stitches...good bloke Bazza!

This is Danny—Danny is sorta a cross between Fabio and Steve McQueen ("The Great Escape"). He has escaped twice in the last month due to it being mating season. He was bought in with conjunctivitis and Chlamydia, yep the sexually transmitted disease, they are horny littl' critters i kid you not! Danny is the definition of "young dumb and full of cum." So Danny is in our Max Security Wing for time being.

Another shot of Danny—He was found just round the corner from me after we got a call from a local saying a koala was at the base of a tree in their backyard. F.Y.I. people, if you see a koala lurking at or toward the base of a tree, not going up, call the Dept of Wildlife, its a tell-tale sign the koala is crook and in distress, plus at the base or low they are vulnerable to attack. The healthier the koala, the higher you will find them in the tree. Danny, "the little slave to erotica" will be released in a month or so, in plenty of time for the rest of the mating season!

And finally, here's to Erin's mom, Nadine who's visiting from New Orleans and is named after my favorite Chuck Berry song. Have fun in New York, Nadine!