Tuesday, June 8th, 2010—Bar 149

Day 149—Monday, June 7th, 2010
Blue and Gold (Originally was going to go to Cheap Shots)
Okay, last night’s feast was a great meal at the Old Homestead Steakhouse, but as with most good things, it came with a price. I’m not going to say how much it was, but the bill could’ve funded several nights here on the crawl, so tonight I’m looking for cheap-ass drinks. One dive bar I’ve been meaning to go to is a bar in the East Village called Cheap Shots, so I thought tonight would be the night, until I read this: EV Grieve—Times Are Tough. I’ll keep you posted as to whether it re-opens or not, Mayor Bloomberg and crew strike again! Oh well, another inexpensive and infamous dive bar I’ve been to in the past and is on my list is the Blue and Gold, which is also in the East Village. So check your couch for spare change and let’s go!

The Blue and Gold, the water looks 100 proof, let's dive in!

Love the Pabst neon and Pabst is what my pockets are asking for.

Love this place!

Bartender Emily was cute, friendly and fast on the draw with the Pabst. A perfect bartender!

A three buck can of Pabst, just what I needed. Cheers!

Mike was seated next to me and was enjoying a glass of wine at the bar.

The beer selections and drink specials hang over the festive bar.

Booths and tables line the walls opposite the bar.

Let's go check out this quartet of lovely ladies at the front of the bar.

They were a fun and friendly group and were very supportive of the whole 365 bar crawl idea. From left: Layal, Taylor, Laura and Ashley.

There's a pool table in the back of the bar.

I think it's genius they post specific rules for pool at the Blue and Gold. No last minute arguements over games here.

Checkers and backgammon boards are engraved into some of the tables for old-school gaming fun.

Back at the bar Emily was busy serving the crowd. She's an expert bartender, I never had to wait over a minute or two for a refill. To Emily!

Homer and Troy share a manly kiss at the bar.

There's lots of great tunes on the jukebox along with staff picks.

Claire and her friend Eric were seated at a back booth and Eric wanted to shoot a few photos of Claire and I. So here's photo number one.

Claire and I, take two.

And Eric told us to get goofy for the last shot so here we go! Goodnight everybody!

Review
The Blue and Gold is an legendary NYC dive bar, that’s had patrons swimming to it since the ‘60’s. The booze is cheap and the staff and patrons are friendly, rowdy and fun. The bar is up front with booths off to the side and in the back. There’s a pool table compete with house rules in the back and an eclectic jukebox with tunes ranging from varied artists such as: Jim Stafford, White Stripes, Blondie, Etta James and Tom Waits. Colored lights hang from the bar, vintage photos decorate the back walls, there’s two TV’s and the tables have backgammon and checkerboards on the tabletops for old-school gaming fun.

In addition to the divey and fun atmosphere, the draw here is cheap booze. They have a great selection of draft and bottled beers available. Some of the beers on tap include: Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, Lucky Cat and their own house Blue and Gold Lager. Bottled and can beers include: PBR, Amstel Light, Heinekin, Red Stripe and Newcastle. And they are all priced between three to four bucks. They also have a full bar with drinks and specialty shots all for five bucks and less.

One word of advice, bring cash, they don’t take plastic here. But you don’t need to bring a lot to cop a buzz. I like that.

Blue and Gold
79 E. 7th St. (near 1st Ave.)
212-777-1006

Monday, June 7th, 2010—Bar 148

Day 148—Sunday, June 6th, 2010
Old Homestead Steakhouse
Okay, last week I was interviewed by Frank Carmichael on his Happenings Q & A radio show on WLIP 1050 Radio out of Kenosha. It’s a fun and lively show and Frank is great interviewer. This was my third time on the show and it’s always a great time. During the interview Frank said that a recent guest of his was Greg Sherry who, along with his brother Marc, owns the Old Homestead Steakhouse in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. The reason Frank interviewed him is that the steakhouse recently had their 10 millionth customer served. And that person now gets a free dinner and drinks for two, once a week, for life!

I’ve walked past the Old Homestead many times, but never have gone in. It’s New York’s oldest steakhouse and there’s a bar in there. I think you know where this is leading...Sunday night dinner on the bar crawl! If you’re a vegetarian, you may want to skip this post, because I see dead cow in my future. Moooooo.

You gotta love the giant cow out front of the Old Homestead Steakhouse!

Ashley and Mary are the two friendly and lovely hostesses.

And when it's this crowded, you need two hostesses!

However, I'm walking into bars, not tables and luckily there's plenty of seats available. I see a stool with my name on it!

And  Robinson, the friendly bartender wastes no time in serving up an ice-cold Corona. He also told me the full menu is available at the bar. Looks like this is the spot for the evening!

The Holy Trinity of every bar: Olives, lemons and limes.

A nice flat screen TV looms up in the corner of the bar for your viewing pleasure.

The steakhouse is known for its impressive wine list and here's some of the wine they stock.

And there's a full bar, but tonight I'm sticking to beer. And beef!

Speaking of beef, the table is set and it's getting close to the main event!

Why am I thinking of Sammy Davis and Peter Lawford right now?

Alright, let the Sunday dinner begin! John and Yaro deliver my appetizer, Bang Bang Shrimp.

The dish is tempura-battered shrimp with ginger chipotle and ancho chili. It's the best shrimp I've ever had!

Next up is the Homestead Chopped Salad. I need a little green before the mountain of beef arrives.

Frank was seated next to me at the bar and was enjoying rib steak on the bone. It looks delicious.

Alright, here we go! Jose serves up the main course.

This is truffle mac and cheese. It could be a meal in itself!

Feast your eyes on this, I got the Empire cut of Prime Rib on the bone. It looks like it's going to melt in my mouth! I have to let Frank pick more places for my Sunday dinner, this was an excellent choice! Now let's see if I can eat the whole thing.

And I'm off!

Oh my God! One of the best Sunday dinners on the crawl so far! Now I'm going to go home and have a heart attack! Goodnight everybody!

Review
The Old Homestead Steakhouse is definitely an old-school, traditional New York restaurant and bar. The wooden walls are dark and the space is cozy with tables in the back and a couple up front with a great view of Ninth Avenue. You definitely want to make a reservation, as this place fills up fast with hungry carnivores. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere is casual and inviting.

The star of the restaurant is the steak and there’s plenty to choose from. There’s three different cuts of sirloin, four styles of filet mignon, ribeye, rib steak on the bone and porterhouse for two. Some of the non-steak items include: Chilean sea bass, grilled herb rubbed chicken, Colorado rack of lamb and a bourbon glazed pork chop. They also offer four types of burgers, including their famous 20 ounce American Kobe burger. The burger is legendary, but make sure you come on pay day, the price is 41 bucks!

The restaurant has a full bar you can dine at and an award winning wine list. It’s the oldest steakhouse in New York City, so stop by for a slice of history and a slab of beef.

Old Homestead Steakhouse
56 Ninth Ave. (near 15th St.)
212-242-9040

Sunday June 6th, 2010—Bar 147

Day 147—Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Royale
Ding, ding, ding, the PayPal donation bell is ringing again! Ryan Levenic from AirportBars.com sent in a generous donation of ten dollars with the stated purpose on the receipt saying: “To assist Marty in making the world a better place one drink at a time...Cheers Marty from AirportBars.com” Thanks Ryan, I love airport bars and your website rules, check it out here: AirportBars.com.

I'm a guest blogger today at my friend Gidget's blog, check it out here: Gidget's Blog. Gidget's not only a great writer, but she's one of the best DJ's in the world. You need to check out her show on Woody Radio and you can find the schedule here: Woody Radio. Her show rules and Woody Radio will make you rock hard! See, Motherfucker?

Okay, it’s Cheeseburger Saturday Night, where I focus not only on a bar and booze, but on a cheeseburger as well. I just found out about a place bar called Royale and you can get a Royale with cheese in there. Just like Vincent Vega when he went to McDonald’s in Amsterdam! So now, I’ve got to go, check out the cheeseburger and see if the place is named for that scene in Pulp Fiction. Hopefully Marsellus Wallace isn’t bartending, I’d hate for him to get all medieval on my ass!

Here we are at Royale. Is Vincent Vega in the house?

I don't see him, but I like the fact that the bartender is keeping limber.

And she proves how limber she is by quickly grabbing me an ice cold Corona. Her name's Aviva and she's one of the nicest and cutest bartenders on the crawl so far. Love the sunflower!

Cooper and Mark are two regulars and they invited me to join them at the front of the bar, so I did. Mark is in sales for the Cintas company and you can check out their website here: Cintas.

Cooper was drinking Porkslap Beer avaiiable from Butternuts Beer and Ale. Royale introduced this beer to New York and it's really taken off.

Aviva pours a can and it was delicious.

Neir was sitting close by and has a toast with the lovely Aviva.

Rows of dark wooden tables and chairs line the wall opposite the bar. There's couple at the end, let's see who they are.

it's Jennifer and Tom who were enjoying beers at the end table. Tom's from Australia, I keep meeting Australians on this crawl and it's always a treat.

Okay, it is cheeseburger Saturday night, so let's check out the menu. There it is, the Royale with cheese! Perfect!

For an appetizer I had the homemade potato chips and onion dip. Savory and delicious!

Here's the kitchen where they were assembling the Royale with cheese.

And here it is, it looks great!

Delicous, Vincent Vega would be proud of this tasty burger.

After the burger I strolled outside to the beer garden. It's nice and relaxing out here.

Katie and Nick were enjoying the day and beers outside in the garden.

Edyta and Julie are two of the friendly and pretty waitresses at Royale.

Meanwhile, back at the front of the bar, the lovely bartender and manager Sara is saying hello to Mark. I told you it's friendly in here!

Hey, what's up? Are you guys slacking over there?

Okay, that's more like it, back to work for Aviva, Juan and Sara. Thanks for the great service, cheeseburger and hospitality!

It's been awhile, so I thought I'd end the night with an obligatory bathroom mirror shot. Goodnight everybody!

Review
First things first, yes, it’s named after the scene in Pulp Fiction, but you’ll find no clues in the bar. There’s no pictures or tributes to Vincent Vega anywhere to be found, except for the soundtrack on the jukebox. What can be found within the bar is a lot of brown mahogany wood and dim lighting, friendly and pretty bartenders and staff and a neighborhood crowd that lacks any kind of pretension. The music from the jukebox isn’t overpowering and allows conversation to flow freely in this friendly neighborhood saloon. The bar is narrow with a long wooden bar and tables opposite to sit at. There’s a nice outside beer garden to lounge at as well.

There’s a decent choice of bottled beers available including: Corona, Amstel Light, Heineken and Pork Slap beer in a can. Since the bar is named the Royale, of course the signature dish is a burger and there three delicious varieties: The Royale, The Royale With Cheese and The Bacon Royale. If you’re not in the mood for a burger there’s other sandwiches including: a Turkey Club, Grilled Chicken and Grilled Cheese. They also offer homemade potato chips and onion dip to snack on. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday 4pm to 8pm with half price drafts and well drinks.

So when you want to get your Vincent Vega on, check out the Royale. You’ll dig it the most.

Royale
157 Ave. C (near 10th St.)
212-254-6600