Thursday, June 17th, 2010—Bar 158

Day 158—Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
Blue Ruin

We’ve got a special guest star on the bar crawl tonight, Tonya Schwarz! Tonya and I used to work together, then she moved onward and upward with her career, got married, had a child (kudos to her husband Matt who babysat for the evening, check out Matt’s business, MSDS, a branding and design firm here in New York City: MSDS.) and I’ve pretty much just spiraled sideways, as I’ve done for the last two decades or so. Tonya joined the facebook fan page that my friend's Gidget (the coolest DJ in the world, check her out on Woody Radio!) and “Boris” maintain. The facebook page has introduced a lot of people to this site since it went up and I want to thank Gidget for having the idea for it and putting it up and “Boris” who helps with the day to day postings. You guys are the best! And remember if you need artwork, a logo designed, art for your website, a book or CD cover, “Boris” is available for freelance, just send me an email and I’ll forward it along. And as mentioned earlier, Gidget is a faulous DJ goddess and her show rocks! Check out her schedule here: Woody Radio.

Okay, as per tradition and because I get sick of trying to figure out where to go every night, I let Tonya pick the bar. She picked The Blue Ruin, a fairly new dive bar in Hell’s Kitchen. And so it’s off we go!

Deja view, we're headed up the same way as last night.

You've waited patiently, Joey D. and here you are with some ATM loving! It's a laundromat edition, so it's clean ATM, the best kind! Enjoy!

And here we are, the Blue Ruin. Let's see if Tonya's here.

She's here!

And the lovely and fun bartender, Reina Terror promptly delivers a can of Pabst as hellos are exchanged.

Tonya brought along two of her friends from her weekly book club. From left: Debbie, Sheila, Tonya and me. Let's call this shot, "Three fabulous women and a goofball."

The vibe here is care-free with an emphasis on getting hammered if you so desire.

Zoe and Sam were enjoying drinks at the bar.

There's a pool table in the back room.

Bob took a break from his pool game to pose for this photo.

The Blue Ruin's jukebox has some great rock 'n' roll tunes on it.

Here's Shy and Charles who were chilling at the bar.

Pizza!

Cheers from Leif who was seated next to me at the bar.

Reina lets her inner Gene Simmons loose and lets off a flaming shot at the bar. Unlike the scary Apotheke, the flames are behind the bar and safely away from the patrons.

Fire! Reina is an expert fire breather and the bar applauded her efforts.

Photobooth!

That's not my finger in my nose by the way! Thanks to fabulous babe bartender Reina Terror for the hospitality and fire show and to Tonya and her friends Debbie and Sheila for joining me on the crawl! A fantabulous night!

Review
The owner describes this joint as, “Gangs of New York meets McSorley’s meets Hogs & Heifers.” That’s a tall order to fill, but after a year in business, they’ve managed to pull it off. With its tin ceiling, pine floors (uprooted from a Pepsi Cola Factory in Queens), flags, pool table, wacky bric-a-brac and fire-breathing babe bartenders, this place manages to give off an old school Hell’s Kitchen dive bar vibe and experience, despite being the new kid on the block. In addition to the fun atmosphere they boast a great jukebox with tunes ranging from the 101ers to Joan Jett to Supersuckers to the New York Dolls.

There’s a full bar here, but the emphasis is on beer and shots. Happy Hour runs from 5pm to 8pm with two for one drinks. The bartenders are female, friendly and fabulous looking and the clientle is an interesting mix of neighborhood regulars, tourists checking out the area and people grabbing a beer and a shot before their bus takes off from the nearby Port Authority Bus Station.

Stop by and enjoy the antique decor and stay for the cheap beer and shots. Cheers!

Blue Ruin
538 9th Ave. (between 39th St & 40th St)
917-945-3497

P.S. Tonya told me to say hi with everyone she used to work with, but I think the only one left besides me is Frank Scott. And Frank, Tonya wanted me to ask you this: "How do you like your job, Frank?" Goodnight everybody!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010—Bar 157

Day 157—Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
Leisure Time Bowl (In Port Authority)
Okay, first off, I don’t think I got an email from Andy G. who won the shirt yesterday. And if you emailed me and I accidentally deleted it (I get tons of spam) please send me another one and put this in the subject line: 365 Bars T-shirt winner. I’ll be having another contest for items from the 365 Bars Store again, so stay tuned!

I haven’t been to a bowling alley bar on the crawl yet, so tonight I’m headed over to Port Authority Bus Terminal in Hell’s Kitchen and check out the bowling alley bar there. It’s called Leisure Time Bowl, so put on your bowling shoes and let’s get crawling!

The place isn't too far from where I work, so we'll just walk there. It's right up 8th Avenue.

The New York Times Building is just across the street.

And here we are, The Port Authority Bus Station.

It's a big place, but I talked to a woman in the office there and she gave me directions, which will probably do me no good, I always get lost. She said if I came in the building at 8th and 40th Street there'd be a news kiosk. I don't see it.

Hey wait, here it is! Okay, now she said there'd be escalators off to the left.

And here they are! I love you direction woman!

And here we are, Leisure Time Bowl. That was easier than I thought. Sometimes life has pleasant surprises.

The bar is bright and oval. And orange!

Krista is the bartender on duty and she cheerfully served me a bottle of Red Stripe and posed for the photo.

And she also bought me a shot of Jameson's. I like this place!

There's four big screen HD TV's at the bar to view all the sporting events of the night.

Here's some of the draft beers available.

And here's the bowling alley. You can order drinks right from your lane.

There's towers of beer available here.

There's a bar here as well, but I think I'll go back and hang out with Krista.

I think I made the right choice, don't you?

Terry was chilling out at the bar and enjoying a beer.

One of the signature drinks here is the Devil's Martini. Krista has just made it and is shaking it up here.

And she serves it up. It looks delicious!

It tastes great, like a liquid devil's food cake. And as you can see, it's brought the devil out in me.

Krista serves up the last drink of the evening, a Flirtini. Maybe she chose that because I told her she looked beautiful about 79 times throughout the course of the evening. Goodnight everybody!

Review
The front bar of the Leisure Time Bow in the Port Authority bowling alley has been transformed into a state of the art orange infused lit up bar. It’s a long and sprawling half oval bar with friendly bartenders and staff. The vibe of the bar changes as the clientele are as varied as their bus schedules. A fun place for locals to hang and watch and meet the commuters in the city.

The front bar has been remodeled and is bright and lively. Some of the bottled beers available include Heineken, Corona, Red Stripe and Budweiser. There’s a number of specialty cocktails and martinis available as well. I suggest the Devils Martini if you have a sweet tooth, it’s the liquid alcoholic equivalent to devil’s food cake and was co-created by the manager’s mother.

Leisure Time Bowl has a Night Owl Special. After 9pm you can have 2 hours of bowling and a tower of beer (11 Pints) for 29 bucks (mimimum of 4 persons required.) Dude!



Leisure Time Bowl (In Port Authority)
625 Eighth Avenue (between 40th and 41st Sts.) Second Floor
212-268-6909

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010—Bar 156

Day 156—Monday, June 14th, 2010
Friend House (Originally headed to The Penny Farthing)
Okay, first things first. Remember that fucking creepy-ass bar, Apotheke that gave me the willies? If not, refresh your memory here: Day 150. Well, the co-owner who calls himself the chief "cocktail artist" or whatever (you’re pouring drinks into a glass, just call yourself a bartender, it’s a noble profession and you really should get over yourself) Albert Trummer got arrested for setting the bar on fire with customers in the place. Check it out here: NY Times Diner's Journal. So you see, my gut instincts don’t lie! Thanks to Mark Smimmo, Fat Al, and “Boris” for the hat tips about this.

And speaking of “Boris,” I have a contest today where you can win a t-shirt from the store he created and is maintaining right here: 365 Bar Store. I’m giving away a ring t-shirt to the first person who can answer the following bar trivia question in the comments section. And here’s the question: What was the name of the bar that was used for outside location shots and was the original inspiration for the hit TV show, Cheers? The first one with the correct answer in comments gets a large gray ringed 365 Beers t-shirt with the logo designed by “Boris.” “Boris” is the resident artist here at 365 and he also is availalbe for freelance work if you need a logo, website art, CD or book cover or anything else. Just email me your request and I’ll pass it along to “Boris.”

Alright, on to the crawl! I found a somewhat new bar tonight while Googling around for a bar. It’s called the Penny Farthing and it caught my eye because at first I thought it said, “Penny Farting,” and I thought, “What a cool name for a bar!” The bar just opened about a month ago and it looks pretty nice. So let’s go kick the tires and have a beer or four.

Okay, here we are, The Penny Farthing. It was a long night at work and I just want to kick back and have a few drinks.

Wow, it's packed in here and not a seat at the bar. It looks like a nice place but I'm not in the mood to battle crowds tonight. I may need to find an alternative and come back here another night.

I wonder what this place is across the street?

It looks like a cool place and it's called Friend House. Sounds nice.

Plenty of seats at the bar and check out the bartender! I think this is the spot of the night.

And I chose wisely. Owner Joe and beautiful bartender Anna were happy to let me do my 365 bar thing in there.

Anna was a great bartender. She told me the name is called Friend House because everyone is treated like a friend there. Nice!

In fact she even offered up a free chocolate chip cookie to enjoy with my beer. I like it in here!

Cookies and beer, the breakfast of champions!

Here's Mango, the pretty cashier at Friend House.

There's a nice selection of bottled beers available at Friend House.

This gentlemen was enjoying a drink and the window view from the front banquette.

Candlelit tables line the walls.

Here Anna constructs a specialty drink she literally dreamed up the other night.

Some of the ingredients include lemon, peach, sake and vodka.

Shake, shake, shake!

And here's the finished product. Beautiful! And the drink's not too shabby either!

Delicous! Anna hasn't thought of a name for the drink yet, so I'm suggesting, "The 365 Bartini."

There's outside seating as well. Here's Joe and Anna with Tuyen, who's a regular here.

And here's Stewart with the lovely Anna.

Okay, last call and Anna is making me the Friend House signature drink, the Lemon Gin Mojito. This is the only picture I can take, as the ingredients are secret.

And here's the finished product. The best mojito I've ever had! Great job, Anna!

And finally, everybody else got their picture taken with Anna, so now it's my turn! A great night at Friend House! Thanks to Anna, Joe and everybody there for such a fun night. Goodnight everybody!

Review
Friend House Asian Bistro is properly named. It’s got one of the most customer-friendly staffs in the entire Lower East Side. Everyone is treated like a life-long regular, even if it’s your first time in, as it was mine. The bar is Industrial and modern with candle-lit tables, banquettes facing the street and outdoor seating when the weather permits. There’s an upstairs space available for parties as well. It’s a cozy space with an intimate and warm atmosphere.

There’s a full bar with a decent selection of bottled beer including: Budweiser, Heineken, Corona and Chimay. They have specialty cocktails available and the signature drink is the Lemon Gin Mojito. In addition to the fun and friendly bar, it is a bistro with an Asian menu featuring: Tri-Color Sashimi, Curry Chicken Casserole, Pepper Salted Crispy Shrimp And Scallop and Black Pepper Filet Mignon Cubes. There’s also a large selection of sushi and hand rolls. They also offer seven tasting plates.

Friend House more than lives up to its name, stop by for drinks, great food and you’ll make some new friends.

Friend House
106 3rd Ave. (@13th St.)
212-388-1838