Wednesday, May 12th, 2010—Bar 122

Day 122—Monday, May 10th, 2010
G2 Sushi (Originally headed for Death & Co.)
Death & Co. sounds more like a morgue that a bar, but this is a place in the East Village that is known for specialty cocktails. Since I usually stick with beer on this crawl I like to mix it up every now and again and hit a place that specializes in cocktails. From what I’ve read about them on the internet they have tons of specialty cocktails on the menu. (And, by the way, “tons” spelled backwards is snot, not that that has anything to do with this, but I thought I’d bring it up anyway, that’s just the sort of fellow I am.) Okay, let’s go to Death & Co. and see what’s up with that name of theirs.

Okay, here we are at Death & Co. This is the doorman, Frankie who was a nice guy and welcomed me to the bar. Unfortunately once I got in I was told I couldn't take flash photos inside. So I had to leave and find another destination. And now I understand their name. They're called Death & Co. because they just killed their chance for some free publicity. Okay, onwards and upwards, I need to find a bar for tonight.

And so I begin my lonely walk up Avenue A in search of a bar. Cue music!

Hey, look at this, a gallery, lounge and a grand opening, but is there a bar in there?

Not only a bar, but a pretty blonde bartender behind it, this looks like the place for the night!

And indeed it is. Danielle is the head bartender here who not only let me take pictures, but it turns out she's an actress and a writer, so I let her write the review. Check it out below the pictures. Great job, Danielle!

Here I am with manager Hemmy, who was happy to let me take photos and do my crawl in G2 Sushi.

Tables line the wall opposite the bar for dining.

Spacious purple leather banquettes are availabe for large groups that want to relax, drink and dine.

Here's sushi chef Victor at the sushi bar in the back.

One unique thing about G2 is that they have a new art show every three weeks, with the opening on Thursday nights. This show is presented by Mike A. Check out his website here: Mike A. The exhibition/opening is this Thursday, May 13th from 7pm to 11pm. Come by and check out the art and drink specials.Here's some of the art on the front walls.

And some of the art in the back room.

The dining area in the back room.

And some more of the art on display.

Okay, back to the bar and Danielle.

Manager Hemmy generously had some food prepared for me and Danielle serves up the first course. It's Squid Legs with a spicy dipping sauce.

And they are delicious. Kind of like calamari but a whole lot tastier.

And here Danielle serves up a dish called Yakitori, which consists of three appetizers. Hey, what's that in the middle?

Why it's a little fish speared with a skewer. Danielle wonders if I will eat it.

Hemmy assures me it's safe to eat the whole fish, eyeballs and all. I'm not sure if I'm up to this.

So I decide to attack it Ozzy Osbourne-style and it was delicious. Thanks for the fun and hospitality Danielle and Hemmy! Check out Danielle's review below. Goodnight everybody!

Review
By Danielle A. Mulder
The former Avenue A Sushi hipster-dive bar has been renovated into the still hipster but trendier G2 Sushi. G2 has a 30 foot bar that changes colors and serves a variety of Japanese beers plus a few domestics. Danielle, the head bartender, recently designed the new cocktail menu including her signature Passion Fruit Mai Tai. Other featured drinks include the Sake-tini and the Tokyo Rose. The menu features all of your sushi favorites as well as some new gourmet twists including a snow crab sushi pizza and tuna dumplings.

In addition to heavy-handed drinks and new takes on raw eats, G2 also features over 30 local artists. Every 3 weeks new artists and new art are celebrated via "art parties" with happy hour prices on beer, wine, and (of course) sake. The next art show will be this Thursday, May 13th at 7 pm. DJ Mousky will be spinning tunes and there’s a four dollar beer, wine and sake special that night.
 
G2 gets the party started every Friday and Saturday night with a dj spinning all of your favorite "throwback" hip-hop and techno beats with a little classic rock from time to time. So whether you are looking to do sake-bombs with your friends (or the bartender) or have a nice dinner with someone special, G2 is your place.

Danielle A. Mulder is the Head Bartender at G2 Sushi and she designed the cocktail menu. She is also an actress and writer and can be contacted at: mulddanielle@aol.com.

G2 Sushi
103 Avenue A (Between 6th and 7th St.)
212-982-8888

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010—Bar 121

Day 121—Monday, May 10th, 2010
Cherry Tavern
Alright first off, the donation board is lit up tonight with good sweet cash! Joel Rosenfeld dropped by where I worked and gave me twenty bucks in good sweet cash for beers tonight. Here’s Joel with the dough!
Joel owns his own company, JMR Trading Co. and he sells digital, graphics and signage supplies and equipment to companies, big and small. If you’re in need of a service like this and would like a quote or help in finding a machine or quality paper products, you can email Joel here: jmrosenfeld@verizon.net. Thanks again Joel!

365 Beers got some more press, this time on a blog. Actually the press is for two magazines I published about a year ago called Natalie Word. The website, Magazine Design, bought two copies and featured them in this post and mentioned the 365 site. Check it out here: Magazine Design.

Okay, now on to the crawl to spend Joel’s dough! I felt like going to a good old fashioned dive bar tonight so I searched around on the internet and found one in the East Village called Cherry Tavern. All the reviews I read said it’s a friendly, unpretentious joint with cheap booze. Shit, I might have enough dough left over from Joel’s generous donation to take a cab home. Okay, it’s off to the Cherry Tavern we go!

Here we are, the Cherry Tavern in the East Village.

Okay, this place looks like a nice, friendly little place, let's dive in!

David the bartender serves up an ice cold can of Tecate beer.

Cheers!

Tacked on the vintage Texas Chainsaw Poster is a notice saying that Monday is iPod night, I don't have an IPod, so I'm going to concentrate on the cheap beer to be had.

Wilkins and Sam were enjoying drinks at the end of the bar. Wilkins told me he's been a regular here since he was 16-years-old.

David told me that the bar was famous for this Old Glory Special: Sunday through Tuesday you can get a can of Pabst and a shot for four bucks all night long.

Here's Mike and Danielle. Mike lives in the neighborhood and Danielle used to live in New York, but has moved to California and said she misses the Cherry Tavern. In fact this was her first night back on a visit and the Cherry Tavern was her first stop back in the Big Apple.

A Cherry Tavern mosaic on the wall.

Jamie and Erika were shooting pool in the back and having a good time.

Portraits of pool playing dogs on teh wood paneled walls of Cherry Tavern.

And more pool playing dogs on the wall. I love it!

Stephen and Anwar enjoying drinks at a table opposite the bar.

Some of the bottled beer available at Cherry Tavern and...

The three drafts on tap.

The jukebox has a nice selection with artists ranging from: Cheap Trick to Red Hot Chili Peppers to T. Rex to the Sex Pistols to Amy Winehouse. In fact, the next time you're in town Amy, stop by, the Old Glory Special has your name on it!

Bucket of empties!

On the way out I met Bob and Shelly. Bob's a regular at the bar and has lived in the neighborhood for 58 years.

And I had enough dough left over for a cab ride home! Thanks again, Joel and goodnight everybody!

Review

The Cherry Tavern is a nice place if you want to avoid frills and gimmicks and just have a beer or twelve and shoot the shit with the friendly bartenders and patrons that inhabit the place. The bar is small and cozy with a wooden bar on one side and tables and a jukebox on the opposite side. In the back is a pool table and garage sale paintings of dogs playing pool line the wooden, 70’s style rec-room walls. The music is loud enough to enjoy, but it doesn’t drown out the conversation, which happens between regulars and first-timers, it’s a friendly joint where you’re bound to get to know a few people, if not a few phone numbers.

There’s a full bar and drinks and beers are cheap enough that you can get bombed in here even if you’re a week away from payday. The Happy Hour runs daily and it features two buck cans of Pabst and five dollar frozen drinks. The signature drink here is a Tijuana Special—Tecate beer and a shot of tequila for five bucks. And they’re known for the Old Glory Special: Sunday through Tuesday you can get a can of Pabst and a shot for just four bucks.

There’s no food in here, there’s also no gimmicks, attitude or pretentiousness. Just a good old place to sit and get shitfaced. I love it!

Cherry Tavern
441 E. 6th St. (Near Ave. A.)
212-777-1448

Monday, May 10th, 2010—Bar 120

Day 120—Sunday, May 9th, 2010
The House
Okay, it’s Mother’s Day (Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!), so I thought I’d go to a bar in a restaurant called, The House, since I can’t go to my parents house to have dinner with my mom. On one of my friend and 365 commentator Biff’s visits we went here and the food was great. I just checked out the menu and they’ve added a deviled egg sampler and I love deviled eggs. So let’s get going and that’s no yolk. Oof, sorry about that!

The House is just a few blocks away from where I live, so we're here in no time flat.

Here's Eva, the lovely hostess. And behind her is our destination, the bar!

It's a small, but elegant marble-topped bar.

Here's Tyler the bartender. I didn't recognize any of the beers on the menu and Tyler suggested a bottle of Menabrea which is an Italian beer. Here he is pouring it.

And here I am drinking it, it was delicious! Cheers.

Here's just some of the many bottles of wine available in The House.

Breadsticks!

Okay, this is the reason I came. The Deviled Egg tasting platter. From left the toppings are: bacon, jalapeno, caviar and lobster. The most decadent and delicious deviled eggs I've ever had in my life!

They didn't last long on the plate. Delicious!

And now for the main course a NY Strip Loin Sandwich. It's served on toasted flat bread and topped with caramelized onions and smoked chili aioli.

Here's a close-up right before it went into my mouth. One of the best sandwiches I've ever had!

Here's the downstairs dining area of The House.

And here are the genius chefs responsible for the wonderful Sunday dinner I just had. Thanks, guys!

And now let's check out the third floor.

Very nice and I love the window and view up here.

On my way out Tyler generously offered me a buy-back, so how could I say, no? Thanks Tyler!

And now for something I haven't done in a while, the obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Goodnight everybody!

Review
The House is an 1854 townhouse converted into a quaint, three story restaurant and bar. The restaurant manages to be elegant, yet cozy and casual all at the same time. The ground floor has tables, a full bar that you can eat at and a working fireplace. It’s a perfect place for a date or a couples dinner party. There’s also a basement dining area and the top level has another dining area complete with another bar and an oval window overlooking 17th Street.

There’s an extensive wine list and wines are available by the glass, half bottle and quartino. In addition the bar also has specialty cocktails and five bottled beers to choose from. The food menu has such unique entrees such as: Wild Boar Lasagna, Morrocan Lamb Mini Burgers, Truffled Mac and Cheese and a Lobster Club on Sourdough Bread. If you like deviled eggs you have to try their sampler, it's the best I’ve ever had.

Plus they have free bread sticks at the bar! Woo hoo!

The House
121 E. 17th St. (Near Irving Pl.)
212-353-2121