Friday, June 11th, 2010—Bar 152

Day 152—Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Dublin House
First off, what’s that sound? No, I didn’t fart...okay, I did, but that’s not the sound I was looking for. Ding, ding, ding, that’s what I like to hear, the sweet, sweet sound of the PayPal donation button being run. James Mollo generously sent in a $37.00 donation to keep the crawling going! This is James’ fourth donation, so he joins Tiki Bar Susie in the 4-timers club! Thanks James, I appreciate it. And James is moving back to New York soon, so be looking for him in a July posting of the 365 Crawl.

Okay, speaking of donations, a friend of mine is involved in a worthy cause and is trying to get the word out. My friend Ash, from pungsnotded is part of the American Cancer Society DetermiNation endurance event program. It’s a race to help cancer survivors see another birthday and you can help her reach her goal (and maybe surpass it) by clicking on this link and donating: Ash’s DetermiNation page. Donate if you can, let’s show Ash what the 365 community can do! (And tomorrow I’m going back to begging money for booze so appreciate this brief bit of generosity.)

It’s nice out tonight and I would go to last night’s destination, Sophie’s, but I already promised another follower a bar for tonight. I’ll hit Sophie’s next week, I promise. But tonight I already promised commentator Al Rizo that I’d go to The Dublin House tonight. Al lives in Miami but emailed me that when he was in New York a few years ago a trip to The Dublin House was one of his highligts. This is a great suggestion as I haven’t been there in years. When I first moved here I lived on the Upper West Side and used to go to The Dublin House, but after I moved downtown, I haven’t been back. Okay, Al, this bar’s for you!

It's a nice night out and here's my view from tonight's cab ride. Next stop, 79th and Broadway!

And here we are, The Dublin House, cool neon sign!

I haven't been in here in over a decade, but it hasn't changed a bit.

Okay, here's where the weirdness kicked in. This is Mike the bartender, who agreed to pose for a photo, but kept telling me that, "time is money." Then after this shot he told me not to take any more pictures in the bar. When I told him I wouldn't bug anyone, but I needed to take photos for this post, he said, "People are drinking in here. You can't take pictures of that." I could see he wasn't going to budge on this, but I wanted to tell him that Prohibition ended in 1933. Anyway, the crawl had already started here, so there's no turning back. Onwards and sidewards.

Here's a shot of the bar I took behind Mike's back.

Mike was taking an order so I quickly took a shot of some of the booze at the bar.

This is my second Guinness, Mike saw me take this photo and gave me a dirty look. I have the feeling if I'm caught another time it might be the end of this crawl.

No need for my notebook tonight, I can't ask anyone for a photo. Sob!

Here's a sneaky shot of the woman who was sitting next to me under the bar so Mike couldn't see. Cool boots and nice legs! Ooh la la!

Mike was talking to regulars at the end of the bar, so I got this shot. This whole thing is a little nerve-wracking. I feel like a paparazzi taking shots of Sean Penn and hoping he doesn't spit on me.

At this point I've switched to Budweiser and a guy has sat down next to me. His name is either Steve or Scott, I'm horrible with names. Anyway, it turns out we both lived on the Upper West Side in the '90's and are having a nice conversation when some guy comes up and asks if either of us have a cigarette. And he's willing to give two bucks for one cigarette. Steve/Scott tells the guy he can have one for free and tells him that he'll go out and smoke one with him. He leaves a third empty bottle of beer and says he'll be back in a minute.

He had bought me a beer, so i bought him one during his cigarette break. The weird thing here is that he never came back. And he had left a beer that had a third left. I bought him a full one, but he never came back to claim it. Kind of weird. I wonder if the guy bumming cigarettes kidnapped him, or if Martians zapped him onto a space ship. I would've drank the bottle of Miller Lite, but I thought if he walked back in it would be strange for me to be drinking the beer I bought him back. And just as I shot this picture, Mike gave me a dirty look and I had had enough of tonight's weirdness. I realize the photos tonight weren't that great, so I'm going to take bonus photos back at my apartment when I get home for your amusement.

Okay, I'm back at home and here's BONUS PHOTO 1: This is a box where I'm keeping every business card, coaster, menu and other stuff from this bar crawl. I figure I can use it for my book at the end of all this.

BONUS PHOTO 2: My favorite poster of all time. I've had this Mothers of Invention poster since I was around 18-years-old. It's been in every apartment I've lived in and if it could talk, I'd love to know what I've been up to for the last four decades.

BONUS PHOTO 3: My entertainment center. Yes, I live large!

BONUS PHOTO 4: My Beatles butcher album cover, a Slinky, weird little bottles and candles. A few of my favorite things.

BONUS PHOTO 5: Oblligatory home bathroom shot. Goodnight everybody!

Review
The Dublin House is a true Irish bar that has been a fixture on the Upper West Side For decades. The neon sign is a beacon that draws neighborhood regulars and tourists looking for a slice of old school New York. The bartenders are for the most part no-nonsense Irishmen who aren’t too thrilled with yobbos coming in to take pictures for their websites or blogs. As we’ve just witnessed. Buit in retrospect that’s part of the old school charm of the joint.

There’s a full bar here and of course a perfect pint of Guinness is expertly poured upon request. The front room is narrow, with dark wooden hues and there’s a back room with tables and chairs to accommadate larger parties.

The mood is friendly, just don’t bring a camera in here, they’re a little camera shy.

(P.S. Happy birthday, Jim.)

Dublin House
225 W. 79th St. (Near Broadway)
212-874-9528

Thursday, June 10th, 2010—Bar 151

Day 151—Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Old Town Bar (Originally headed for Sophie's)
I got an email suggestion for a bar from Ian Roure. He suggested Sophie’s in the East Village and it’s a spot I’ve been meaning to go to, so that’s tonight’s destination.

And now a plug-ola for Ian since he suggested this joint. Ian fronts a great band called The Larch . It’s post-punk power pop with a touch of psychedlia thrown in. They have new album and you can check it out right here: Larix Americana by The Larch. And of course I never would have met Ian, had I not met his lovely wife (she sold me an ad years ago!) Liza Garelik who not only plays keyboards and sings with The Larch, she’s got her own musical group, Liza and the Wonderwheels. Check this amazing band right here: Liza and The Wonderwheels.

Alright, time to get crawling, Ian asked for Sophie’s, so he’s gonna get Sophies. Away we go!

It's a chilly and rainy night tonight and it's going to be rough to catch a cab.

Motherfucker, I've been out here for ten minutes and nothing! I'm not walking all the way to the East Village from here, I'm already tired from my shift at work.

Looks like I have to start the old familiar lonely walk down Fifth Avenue in search of a bar. Cue up the song, boys.

What a shitty night!

And still not a cab in sight. I'll go to Sophie's next week, Ian.

Memories, doo doo doo doo da doo...

Then at 23rd and Fifth it hit me...

Old Town Bar! I've been meaning to stop here on the crawl and tonight's the night!

Esquire magazine named Old Town one of the best bars in America. Not just New York, America!

And here we are, the legendary Old Town Bar. (We celebrated commentator Biff's birthday here last year!)

Bartender Patrick serves up not one...

But two bottles of Bud. I need to shake off the rainy chill from the walk here. Cheers!

There's a full bar here at Old Town.

And it's a cellular free zone! You gotta love it!

The walls are lined with large and comfortable wooden booths.

Old Town photos can be had at their website: Old Town Photos.

There's tables in the back for larger groups to convene and drink at.

Memorabilia and photos hang on the walls.

Patrick buys a round for a group at the bar and gets the party into full gear.

Here's Patrick with his girlfriend Colleen. America's cutest couple!

Denise was seated nearby and we happen to work in the same industry as I do and I had a nice conversation with her.

And since this is bar 151, Patrick and I have two shots of Bacardi 151. Salud and goodnight everybody!

Review
If the Old Town Bar gives you a sense of Deja Vu, you’re probably old enough to remember the original opening sequence of the David Letterman Show when he was on NBC. They picked this iconic NYC bar to film the opening credits footage. From the tin ceilings to the tiled floor to the long and sprawling dark wooden bar, Old Town is a true and blue old school Noo Yawk joint. The large wooden booths and the memorabilia on the walls complete the picture of a perfect NYC tavern. Esquire magazine named it one of the best bars in America, check it out: Esquire’s Best Bars in America (scroll to number 16).

This historic tavern has a full bar with a decent bottled and draft beer selection. They are also a restaurant (a full dining room is available upstairs) and some of the selections include: Steak Salad, Clam Roll, A Liverwurst Sandwich on Rye, Sliced Steak Sandwich and five varieties of burgers, which are their specialty. There’s a working dumbwaiter that delivers the meals to the bar, one of the few in town.

Old Town Bar is a must stop for any bar crawler living or visiting in New York City and it’s a cellular phone free place as well. God bless the Old Town Bar!

Old Town Bar
45 E. 18th St. (Near Park Ave. South)
212-529-6732

Wednesday, March 9th, 2010—Bar 150

Day 150—Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
Whiskey Tavern (Originally headed for Apotheke)
Ding, ding, ding! The PayPal bell is ringing with another generous donation! Tiki Bar Susie has set a record by sending in her fourth donation for a generous fifteen dollars making her the number one donater here at the crawl. Plus she’s bought a lot of items from the 365 Bar Store so I can’t thank her enough. You are a great friend to me and to the 365 Bar Crawl, Tiki Bar Susie and I truly appreciate your support! It’s people like you that keep this crawl moving. Thank you!

Tonight is the 150th night of the crawl, so I wanted to find some place special and I think I have. I found a place in Chinatown that is a former opium den and bills itself as an apothecary bar that dispenses drinks with healing powers through their unique styles of drinks. The bar is called Apotheke and from what I’ve read, it looks pretty nuts. So let’s go and check out their chemically-charged cocktails. It’s time to find out what kind of condition our collective conditions are in.

This is the outside of the bar, part of the deal here is there's no sign and you have to find it, which I did. I went in and it freaked me out for some reason. I didn't even take pictures because I wanted out so fast. It was filled with yuppies and there was a jazz trio and the bartenders were wearing weird-ass outfits and setting drinks on fire. It made me feel like it was a scene out of Rosemary's Baby and it totally freaked me out. It truly felt like Satan's watering hole in there and I'm not kidding you. Maybe it's just me being neurotic, but I literally ran out of this joint. It creeped the fuck out of me.

I feel a little embarassed running out of that place like that, but at least I still have my bar-crawling soul intact. Time to improvise and start my lonely walk around Chinatown.

It's kind of hard to bar crawl here because I can't read Chinese.

Hello! At least people are friendly around here.

Jesus, the more I walk the more desolate it's getting. Have I been jinxed by the evil Apotheke?

It's not a good thing when you're in a dark part of Chinatown and the brightest thing is a sign for a bail bonds office. Mama!

And just as all hope is lost, a beacon of hope in red neon: BAR! Thank you God!

The Whiskey Tavern, an oasis in a dry part of town.

There's a nice vibe in here, time for episode number 150 on the crawl! We are back on track!

Friendly bartender Justin serves up an ice cold Corona, looks like the fired-up drinks are thankfully part of this bar crawl's past.

To the 150th bar, Whiskey Tavern! Cheers!

Some of the draft beers available at the bar.

There's a wooden counter and stools opposite of the bar to relax at.

Eric's lived in the neighborhood for about six month's and told me this is the block's preferred bar.

There's three large screen TV's to keep up with the latest sporting event.

There's booths in the back of the bar for drinking and socializing.

Hello! I think we should try and meet these two!

Meet Sarah and Heather, two of the cutest women in the bar that night and lucky for us, they graciously agreed to pose for the 365 camera. Cheers, ladies!

Justin and the lovely waitress Joanne getting ready to serve a pitcher of beer and simultaneously giving a thumbs up to 150 nights on the crawl.

Here's Sergio who was working back in the kitchen area of the bar.

Ryan and Elaine were enjoying a quiet moment in the back booth.

And now since it's the 150th night, I'm beginning a new photo series: Coasters on bars! Goodnight everybody!

Review
The red neon sign that hangs overhead says it all: “Bar.” There’s no pretentious gimmicks here, just a bar, good music and a friendly staff with local neighborhood patrons that are welcoming of newbies to the joint. The tavern boasts three big screen TV’s that are usually tuned to sporting events and there’s a communal table in the back along with booths for comfortable seating. The music shifts from Motown to classic rock to old school punk rock. It’s a laid back and friendly atmosphere and Eric, who I met at the bar told me the following: “This place is more than a bar, it’s a social club.” High praise from a regular at the tavern and after spending a night here, I concur.

The have a full bar here with a nice selection of draft and bottled beer. However the name is Whiskey Tavern and it has an exhaustive selection of whiskey and bourbon both straight up and mixed into inventive cocktails. The food is burgers, sandwiches and standard pub grub, but a few items on the menu caught my eye such as the “Bowl O’ Bacon” with bleu cheese and maple syrup. Another appetizer that caught my eye were the Tater Tots with chili and cheese sauce. Sounds like a perfect bar snack. I’ll have to try it next time.

Happy hour is Monday through Friday, 4pm to 7pm with offerings of three dollar Miller and Miller Light, four buck Budweisers and six dollar well drinks. Whiskey Tavern is a true oasis in a somewhat dry part of town. Stop by and get quenched.

Whiskey Tavern
79 Baxter St. (between Bayard and Walker St.)
212-374-9119