Friday, May 7th, 2010—Bar 117

Day 117—Thursday, May 6th, 2010
Peculier Pub
Okay, tonight we welcome two more special guests to the crawl. Mike and Kathy Bono were coming into the city from Philadelphia to catch a show and wanted to join in on the crawl and I was more than happy to let them come along. Here they are:
They own a bar in Philadelphia called, Chap’s Taproom and Sports Grill.

They’ve owned and operated the bar for 12 years and it’s a popular watering hole in Philadelphia. The place is named after Mike’s dad and you can check the bar out here: Chap’s Taproom & Sports Grill.

I also decided to let them pick the bar and they chose The Peculier Pub on Bleecker St,. a bar I’ve been to many times. It was actually one of the few bars I had planned to go to when I started this thing, so it was a good choice. Way to go, Kathy and Mike! Okay, let the crawl begin!

Here we are, the Peculier Pub on Bleecker St. Now we need to find Kathy and Mike.

AS you can see, it's a big woody bar in here. I think I see Kathy and Mike at the bar.

And here they are, Kathy and Mike Bono. Time to let the drinking begin!

And bartender Christin serves up the first of many Cooper's Greens of the evening (I chose to drink from Australia in honor of my mates in Oz land that follow this blog.)

Here we are, all together at the Peculier Pub.

I need to get this sign for my apartment.

There's ample seating in the booths in the back of the bar.

Conor was seated next to us, enjoying a pint and we found out he's orginally from Philadelphia too.

So he and Mike naturally bonded over drinks and Philadelphian stories.

Some of the many bottles of beer available line the front window of the bar.

There's also plenty of drafts to choose from at the Peculier Pub.

From left: Justin, Katie, Gigi and Greg were enjoying beers at one of the wooden booths and wished me well on my bar crawl.

Some vintage beer mugs and steins on display at the bar.

The jukebox has an eclectic selection ranging from Wings, to the Ramones, to Bil Withers, Barry White, The Beach Boys and Radiohead.

Kamil and Pete were seated at the front of the bar and unwinding after work. Cheers, guys!

Kathy and Mike enjoying the bar crawl with Conor and Christin.

And in the back of the bar, something for Joey D. Goodnight everybody!

Review

If you’re tired of the standard beer choices at bars, you need to check out the Peculier Pub on Bleecker St. This bar, which is reminiscent of a German beer hall with its large wooden booths, high ceilings and long wooden bar features hundreds of brands of bottled beers. A two page menu will guide you through all the selections and you can literally drink yourself around the world here. On weekends the place tends to spill over with NYU kids and the German beer hall vibe tends to become more of a German frat house, so if you take your beer drinking seriously, check out the bar on a weeknight when it’s not so nuts.

In addition to the large variety of bottled beers, there’s also a good selection of draft brews and a full bar at Peculier Pub. The bartenders and staff are friendly and will help you with selecting a beer if its not too busy inside. The walls are lined with beer cap mosaics, and glassed in displays of vintage beer cans and mugs.

Thanks to Kathy and Mike Bono for picking this bar and being the special guests of the bar crawl! I look forward to crawling with them again. Cheers!

Peculier Pub
145 Bleecker St. (Near LaGuardia Pl.)
212-353-1327

Thursday, May 6th, 2010—Bar 116

Day 116—Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Bar Breton
Ding, ding, ding! The PayPal donation bell has once again sounded and my pockets are grateful!

First off, Natalie Clark sent in a generous donation of 10 dollars all the way from Australia. Natalie had a question about a piano bar she had been to last time she was in New York. She’s going to be spending her honeymoon in New York this October and wanted to take her future husband there. She went there after a Broadway show, so I’m willing to bet it’s Danny's Broadway Piano Bar, which is a popular piano bar in the theater district. She wrote back and said that may be the one. I’m hoping I can join Natalie and her soon-to-be husband when they get here in October and buy them a beer back for the nice donation. Thanks Natalie!

Second up is my old pal, James Mollo. James sent in a very generous donation of 37 dollars with the stated purpose saying: “You've been to bars in airports and train stations, how about one at the bus terminal? Doesn't the bowling alley there have a bar?” Then he followed that up with this email: “Forget what I suggested about the bowling alley bar, it looks like an upscale hipster shithole.” Ha ha ha! Now I’m curious and I’ll check out that place soon, James, we’ll see if it’s really an upscale hipster shithole in person. Thanks for the donation, my friend!

Okay, time to crawl. Usually I pick the night’s bar during my dinner time at work, but tonight was so busy with problematic bullshit, I didn’t have time to find one. So I decided to just walk out and go down Fifth Avenue on my way home and stop at the first bar I see. So put on your traveling shoes and let’s go!

Okay, here we are on 30th St. headed towards Fifth Avenue. Where is everybody, it looks deserted out here.

Am I the last living soul in New York City?

Aaaaahhh, it's the nuclear window of doom, run!

Okay, it looks safer here at Fifth Avenue, there's actually people here. Let's go find a bar, I'm thirsty!

This sign was in front of a deli. The special is that you get to make your own pasta. Well, fuck that, if I'm going to do that, I'll just get a can of Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee and stay home.

Hey, hey, look at this Bar Breton Restaurant. Looks like we've found tonight's spot and none too soon. I'm tired and ready for a beer or three.

The bar is small, but people are laughing and it looks like a friendly place.

And I was right, before I even sat down I met Allison and John. John works and lives nearby and comes here about once a month. This was Allison's first time at Bar Breton. Both were friendly and interested in the 365 Bar Crawl.

And before I could sit down, bartender Brett was serving me up a glass of Blue Moon.

Cheers!

Red booths line the walls and there's tables in the back for diners. I'm a drinker, so I stayed at the bar.

Every table has a wine list. Looks like a nice selection.

John, Allison and Brett at the bar.

There's no bottled beers available, but a decent selection of draft beers can be had. John suggested the Blue Moon and it was great!

Here Brett learns all about shingles (you had to be there!)

Fire! (See Zioum Zioum, I haven't stopped!)

The bar keeps restaurant hours, so I had to order a double at last call to make my three drink limit. Goodnight, everybody!

Review

Okay, this is really more of a restaurant than a bar, but I had a good time just as well. As I always tell people, it’s not the bar, but the people there, and even though I only met three people here at the bar tonight and it closed early (the bar is on restaurant hours, not bar hours, but I still made my hour and three beer quota), I still had lots of laughs and good times with bartender Brett, Allison and somewhat regular patron John. The topics of our conversation ran the gamut from shingles (the skin disease, not the roofing kind), to herpes, to chicken pox, to tattoos to music, to NY1 and beyond. I had a great time at this unplanned bar stop.

While I hung out at the bar, this place is known more for the restaurant portion of the place. I didn’t eat there, so I can’t give it a fair review, but here’s what New York Magazine has to say: New York Magazine Review of Bar Breton. It’s a critics pick and the food I saw being served looked delicious, so I will check it out on a non bar crawl expedition one of these nights.

Thanks again to Brett, Allison and John for lively conversation and lots of yuks! Cheers!

Bar Breton
254 Fifth Ave. (Near 28th St.)
212-213-4999

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010—Bar 115

Day 115—Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
Crocodile Lounge
Okay first things first, what’s that ding, ding, ding you hear? Why it’s the PayPal donation bell going off. Woo hoo, this is good news, because I need the dough.

I feel bad, because I just discovered that over a week ago, Kyle Shortland sent in a generous donation of fifty bucks from Australia. For some reason this didn’t show up in my email and I didn’t see it till I was checking my PayPal account the other day. Kyle’s stated purpose was: “From an Australian fan who would like you to buy a drink or two for some lovely American women” which is funny considering tonight’s bar crawl, I’ll explain more later. For now though, I extend belated thanks to Kyle for his generous donation!

The other donation is ten bucks from Manny Howard who read at Sunday’s Bar Crawl at Sunny’s from his wonderful book, “My Empire of Dirt.” The book is about how Manny was assigned a magazine piece for New York magazine to turn his Brooklyn back yard into a farm and how it took over his life. Think Field of Dreams meets Green Acres. You can read more about Manny and his book here: Mannyland. I posted this before, but it’s worth posting again, here’s Manny explaining his book:

Manny sent me ten bucks and the stated purpose said I could spend it “at my discretion.” Mega Millions is up to 266 million, so I decided to take Manny’s ten bucks and spend it all on Mega Millions tickets. If I win, Manny and a lot of you people who regularly read this blog will have a nice payday. I’ll announce the results tomorrow after I check the tickets.

Alright, tonight I’m joined by two guests from Bloomington, Illinois. Tricia and Megan have come out to New York for a visit and one of the things they wanted to do was join me on a night of my bar crawl. So tonight that’s what they get to do. Dreams really do come true here at 365 Bars, it’s kind of like an alcoholic version of the Make a Wish foundation. Here they are in New York City!
Alright, I thought I’d take Tricia and Megan to the Crocodile Lounge. If you remember, it’s a bar that gives out free pizza with beer. It was too packed the last time I went, but I figure since it’s a Tuesday night it shouldn’t be too nuts. Alright ladies, on your mark, get set, buckle your shoe at half past two...Let’s crawl!

Okay, here we are again, the Crocodile Lounge. People aren't spilling out into the street, so maybe it won't be as crowded as the other week.

Free Pizza!

It's crowded for a Tuesday, but not crazy-crowded like the other week. Tricia, Megan and I decided we would do the crawl here tonight.

And Bartender Jeff serves us up a round of drinks.

Kyle from Australia wanted me to buy some drinks for some lovely American women, so here you go, Kyle! Cheers, mate!

Ned and Travis were seated next to me and offered up assistance in beating up a guy who had abandoned his bar stool so we could sit down. Nice! Ned is the editor of Sheeshead Bites, check it out here: Sheepshead Bites. It's Sheepshead Bay's only independent news blog. Travis has a blog as well with the great title of: My Friends Are Cooler Than Your Friends. He wrote up a post about myself and the 365 Bars site today, check it out here: 365 At My Friends Are Cooler Than Your Friends. Nice to meet you guys, maybe we'll find a bar in Sheepshead Bay before the crawl is over.

The bar and the specials in the mirrored wall.

Jerry and Sarah were whooping it up at the end of the bar.

Tricia and Megan enjoyed drinks while I did my bar crawl thing.

Bartender Jeff at work.

Here's the beer garden in the back. It was closing early since it was Tuesday.

We moved into the game room where we tried our hands at Skee-Ball.

Megan shoots and scores!

Here's Laura, Josh, Sylwia and Will in the back room. Hmm, what's that on their table?

We made our way back to the front of the bar where Sydney was enjoying a pizza. Hey, pizza, I almost forgot, it's free here!

The pizza oven is in the back of the bar.

Stephen is the master chef who sculpts and bakes every pie.

Okay, this batch is done, time for free pizza!

Woo and hoo! Thanks to Tricia and Megan for joining the crawl all the way from Bloomington, Illinois! Goodnight, everybody!

Review

I just cannot get my head wrapped around the fact that for every drink you order in this place you can have a free pizza. I asked Jeff the bartender the most pizzas he’s seen one person devour and he told me that one little guy once ate around seven of them in one night. They’re not huge, about six small slices per pizza, but you can get one free with every drink. Is it the best pizza I’ve ever had? No, but it’s free! Is it the worst pizza I’ve ever had? No, that doughy-distinction goes to Two Brothers pizza on 6th between 15th and 16th and their slices go for a buck apiece. Here you get a whole personal pizza for free, what a concept.

The bar itself is nice, there’s tables off to the side and a game room in the back with Skee-ball, a bowling game and a photo booth that doubles for a drunken make out oasis in the back of the bar. A beer garden is also located in the back with tables and you can smoke back there. There’s trivia on Wednesday night and the free pizza is available every hour the bar is open.

Free pizza. I almost hope I get laid off tonight from my stupid night job because I just found my nightly food kitchen if I do. Cheers!

Crocodile Lounge
325 E. 14th St. (Near First Ave.)
212-477-7747