Wednesday. June 30th, 2010—Bar 171

Day 171—Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
The Library
Okay, first off, I want to thank bar owner and sometime commentator, Kim, owner of Kim’s Place in Parkston, South Dakota for buying some of the 365 merchandise from the 365 Bars Store that "Boris" set up and maintains. And she not only purchased the items but sent in some photos of her modeling the merchandise as well, check it out below. “Boris’s” 365 logo never looked so good!

I asked Kim via email to describe her bar and here’s what she said:

My bar is not hard to find if you can find your way to Parkston, South Dakota.  I'm dead center in the middle of town on Main Street.  I have a group on Facebook and here it is: Kim’s Place facebook page. I have Happy Hour Mon-Fri from the opening to 7 pm, with drink specials and discounts. I don't have a grill but I do cook up a great Tombstone Pizza or will microwave you a delicious "Dakota Tom's" Sandwich. We have pool and darts along with the occasional Beer Pong or Tippy Cup games going on.  Also Karaoke, DJ or even a live band from time to time. Touch Tunes music system where you can cue up just about anything your ears are aching to hear!  The atmosphere is typical small town friendly with the "Cheers" attitude where everybody knows your name.  If you’re a local and drink the same thing all the time, typically your beer/drink will be waiting by the time you get to the bar (because I'm that good)!  If you are an out of towner be prepared as the locals are friendly (and nosey)! ;)  Weeknights are mostly low key, but more often than not the most fun.  Weekends are crazy and fun as Kim’s has the reputation for the best shots, speciality drinks (Kim's Koolaide, Long Island Iced Tea and Bloody Mary are notably the best in the area so I've been told) and the coldest beer in town. 
 
Also would like to add as the Sturgis Motorcylce Rally is coming up in August that my bar is a favorite of bikers from as far as the Jersey Shore and Long Island. Bikers that get off the main interstates, and want a scenic ride thru South Dakota drive Hwy 44 which goes thru Parkston. I open early during these couple weeks just to cater to the bikers and for those that choose to spend the night in Parkston they've come back year after year.

Thanks Kim, sounds like a top-notch tavern!

Okay and speaking of taverns, on to tonight’s bar. Tonight we’re going to a library, a library with not only books, but booze. The Library is a bar in the East Village that I thought I’d donate two of my books to the bar. Might as well let them collect dust there instead of in my  apartment! Put on your thinking caps and let’s make tracks to The Library.

Here we are, this looks like my kind of library.

There's a couple seats at the bar, so let's check out a beer or four at The Library.

The background lighting is red and it turned bartender Linnea into a red portrait. I tried another take.

And this one came out red as well. What can I tell you, the Library is a red bar.

And to prove the point, the other bartender on duty (I forgot to write your name down, if you're reading this leave it in the comments section and I'll correct it) came up red as well!

There's a variety of themes going on here, from Halloween to Christmas to spinning globes.

Lots of beers available for your drinking pleasure.

Here's Marise who was seated next to me. She bartends uptown and I'll be stopping by her bar soon. Stay tuned!

My two books I'm donating to the library.

Linnea and Marise pose with the books.

Some of the other books available for check-out at The Library.

Here's Saucy, who was enjoying a little sauce at the bar.

There's candle lit tables in the back and a movie screen that plays B-movies and an occasional Kung Fu flick.

There's also booths. Here's Patrick and Alex enjoying a beer in the back of The Library.

Gumballs!

There's not only graffiti in the bathrooms, it starts on the doors in this joint.

Okay, time to get back to the bar.

Here's Thomas and Early at the bar enjoying beers.

And my books are officially installed onto a shelf at The Library. Huzzah! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
There’s no whispering in this library. In fact when the jukebox is cranking out Iggy Pop, Misfits and Dead Kennedy tunes, you’ll find yourself shouting out for your next can of Rolling Rock to the friendly bartender on duty. This library does have bookshelves lined with books (including mine!), but if you don’t feel like reading out of a book, there’s plenty of graffiti on the walls to peruse. The front of the bar houses a horseshoe bar and there’s candle lit tables in the back and booths as well. The back wall has a screen that plays B-list movies. Plastic skulls and Christmas tree lights adorn the walls and ceilings.

There’s a full bar available with bottled beers featuring: Heineken, Red Stripe, Stella and Newcastle. Budweiser, Blue Moon, Stella and Guinness are available on tap and if your wallet’s a little slim, Natural Light, Rolling Rock and Busch are available for just three bucks a can. There’s a daily Happy Hour that runs from 5pm to 8pm for with two-for-one drinks.

The only card you need at this library is your I.D. card, check it out.

The Library
7 Ave. A (near Houston)
212-375-1352

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010—Bar 170

Day 170—Monday, June 28th, 2010
Lilly O'Brien's
Okay, tonight’s bar is a suggestion from one third of the Baltimore Bar Crawlers, Gene, who’s deployed with the Air Force Reserve in Afghanistan right now and hasn’t had a beer in quite awhile. Gene suggested I go to Lilly O’Brien's on a Monday, because he says there’s a Will Ferrell look-alike bartender there that he chatted with when he and the other two thirds of the BBC (Terry and Smoopy) were last in town and they joined the 365 crawl for a few nights.

The Baltimore Bar Crawlers! From left: Gene, Smoopy and Terry, cheers, guys!
Now, I’m curious to see if this guy really looks like Will Ferrell, because while I don’t doubt Gene, they were going to over 79 bars every day and drinking an averaged of 3,416 beers between the three of them on a daily basis. And Smoopy would throw in a couple dozen vodka drinks as well, So, let’s go see if Gene’s vision was impaired or not.

Here we are, Lilly O'Brien's. Let's go look for Will.

The bar looks nice. Now let's see if we can find Will.

And here he is, the hair's a little shorter, but Gene was right, definitely a separated at birth moment. Will's real name is Brian and he's a super-friendly bartender and he vividly remembered Gene, Smoopy and Terry. He said to say hi to all of them, so hi from Brian, Baltimore Bar Crawlers! He also said he hears the Will Farrell thing all the time, in fact someone had just made the comment about an hour ago. And I had to find out his favorite Will Farrell movie and he said it was, "Talladega Nights."

It's been a while, so here we go with the traditional, "Wearin' of the Guinness."

This table up front has a nice street-side view.

Just some of the many beers available on tap.

Greg and Dorollo were enjoying beers at the far end of the bar.

There's large wooden booths in the back dining area.

And there's tables as well for your dining pleasure.

The walls are decorated with sports photos and memorablia.

Here's a sigend Muhammed Ali boxing glove.

And a signed pair of the boxing great's trunks.

Marcus poses with his beer at the front of the bar. Cheers!

Brian minds the till at the bar.

Here's Paul, Lisa and Steve who were getting ready to put "Thunder Road" on the jukebox. "Bruuuuce!"

Adrian works down the street at KD Connelly's right down the street. Adrian invited me to bring the bar crawl there, so I'll be stopping by soon. Stay tuned!

And some wise words posted up at the bar at Lilly O'Briens. Thanks for the hospitality and good times, Brian! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Lilly O’Brien's is a step above a lot of the “cookie-cutter” Irish bars that inhabit Manhattan. A long wooden bar is set up in the front of the spacious bar with tables up front and a large dining area in the back with more tables and large wooden booths for comfortable seating. The walls are wooden and exposed brick and the decor is sports memorbilia and beer bric-a-brac adorning the walls and shelves. The bartenders are professional and friendly and the clientele is a lively mix of business people from the area, construction workers and tourists stopping in from one of the many hotels in the area having a pint of Guinness and enjoying a New York local bar. First-timers are treated like regulars and the regulars don’t mind seeing newbies coming into the Irish pub.

There’s a large selection of beers on tap, including: Guinness (naturally), Delerium, Harp and Killians. Bottled beers offered here include: Red Stripe, Magners, Rolling Rock and Sierra Nevada. And your fourth beer is always on the house. The kitchen closes late, 2am, Sunday through Wednesday and 4am, Thursday through Saturday. Lilly’s has a large menu and of course there’s a nice selection of Irish eats including: Shepherd`s Pie, Bangers and Mash, Beer Battered Fish & Chips and a Full Irish Breakfast. There’s also your standard pub grub from burgers to wings to chicken wings, but there’s a few surprises to be found on the menu including: Chicken Caruso, Cuban BBQ Panini, Steak Tip Bits and Jumbo Lobster Ravioli. In addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner service, delivery is available.

Lilly’s opens up early at 10am, so it’’s your go-to spot if you get fired or laid off in the morning. And here’s to the Baltimore Bar Crawlers, Gene, Smoopy and Terry! Cheers guys, hurry home Gene and I look forward to all of you joining the crawl when you can! Cheers!

Lilly O'Briens
67 Murray St. (@W. Broadway)
212-732-1592

Monday, June 28th, 2010—Bar 169

Day 169—Sunday, June 27th, 2010
Sala (Originally headed for Hecho en Dumbo)
Okay, tonight I feel like a little Mexican. But then I got up off my knees, took off my sombrero and felt like myself again. (rimshot) Thanks, everybody! I’ll be here all week! But seriously folks, it’s time for the Sunday dinner here at the bar crawl and I’ve been craving Mexican food. I found a place online in the Bowery that looks great called, Hecho en Dumbo. ¡Déjenos tan hacen como cabina franca y golpean el camino de mierda!

And it's another beautiful night in New York City on the old bar crawl.

I'm stuck behind these two slow walkers. HATE the slow walkers!

Here's one of my favorite pizza places. Sadly they don't have a bar, so we won't be going here.

Been there, done that. Amsterdam Billiards, not the woman, get your minds out of the gutter people!

Okay, here we are at the Bowery on the Lower East Side.

And here's the bar. Let's check it out.

Motherfucker, it's packed in here and no seats at the bar.

Back on the street and time to improvise.

This place was right around the corner.

I thought the Elvis head in the window would bring me luck, but sadly it didn't. I went in ordered a Red Stripe and the bartender was a nice guy and was curious about the bar crawl, but he informed me I couldn't take flash photos in the place. Shit. Time to move on. Goodbye Elvis and thank ya, thank ya very much.

Okay, this place looks nice, let's check it out.

I like the big wooden doors.

Wow, very nice inside! Let's see if photography is allowed in here.

It is and the beautiful and friendly bartender Melissa poses for a photo while serving me a beer.

Here's the back dining room and kitchen. The place has a real rustic, Spanish feel to it.

Here's the bar area.

And here's the open kitchen.

There's also tables and chairs up front with a nice view of the street outside.

Melissa at work at the bar.

And Melissa serves up dinner. I had the Magret De Pato from the Tosta selections. It's grilled sliced duck breast with balsamic shallot served on toast.

Wow, it looks great!

Time to dig in for another Sunday dinner on the crawl.

Delicious! Thanks for the great service, Melissa! ¡Buonas noches, todos!

Review
When you enter Sala you instantly leave the Bowery on New York’s lower East Side and enter a little slice of Spain. From the exposed brick to the candle lit tables to the rustic brick archways, this place is charming, relaxing and has an overall warm feeling to it. The bar is large and there’s several tables in the front area. The back room is the comfortable dining area with an open kitchen, rustic iron lanterns, an open kitchen and a tiled roof overhead.

There’s a full bar with a good selection of beer, wine and sangria. The menu is Spanish Tapas and some of the selections include: Tortilla Espanola which is an egg, potato and onion omelet, Plato Fiambre Espanol which consists of serrano ham, chorizo,. salchichon, manchego cheese and Plato De Quesos, a selection of four distinct spanish cheese served with quiche and almonds. There’s seven tosta (toast) selections including: Brie Fundido which is baked brie over choice of serrano ham or wild mushrooms, Gambas Ajo Blanco offers sauteed shrimp over garlic almond puree with grilled scallions and Hojas De Lomo which is adobo marinated pork loin over gruyere cheese with piquillo peppers. Happy Hour runs from 4pm to 7pm at the bar, Monday through Friday and there’s free Sangria with every Paella purchase on Sunday.

Sala is Spanish for living room and they make you feel right at home in this Spanish bar and eatery. ¡Aclamaciones!

Sala
344 Bowery (@Great Jones St.)
212-979-6606