Friday, November 5th, 2010—2010

Day 299—Thursday, November 4th, 2010
Coal Yard Bar
About a week ago I read a post on the fine EV Grieve blog announcing that a new bar was opening in the East Village called Coal Yard Bar and that  the owners were the same people who own the International Bar that I visited last July.
That bar is certainly one of the top ten bars in New York I’ve been to, so I’m curious to see what the Coal Yard Bar is all about. So what do you say that we go check it out?

Here we are, let's go in and see what's happening, it looks nice from the outside.

Wow, nice and dark in here and it feels like a bar that's been on the block for years.

And friendly bartender Johnny serves up an ice cold Rolling Rock for three bucks. There's happy hour prices in here all night long.

And here's a pretty and familiar face, Elaina was the bartender on duty when I went to the sister bar, The International, great to see her again!

The bar's been open about a week, but tonight was the official grand opening night and here I am with the beautiful owners of the bar, Molly and Shawn.

Molly got shots for some of us up at the bar. From left: Yours Fooly, Shawn, Molly, Fernando, Roger and Lauren giving the double-fingered salute. Cheers!

A shot of the dark bar in all its glory.

Kristen and Julie were enjoying the opening night's festivities.

A shot of the top of the maple wood bar.

There's a nice-sized window up front where you can gaze out onto the East Village.

Boo!

The liquor bottles behind the bar are lit up in a nice shade of magenta.

Vintage beer signs dot the walls of the bar.

Molly introduced me to her friends, Cal (far right) and head of security, Big Lee giving the middle finger salute that's become so popular on the 365 crawl.

Like the International, the Coal Yard has a great jukebox with selections including: Roger Miller, The Velvet Underground, Dolly Parton, Led Zeppelin and Bo Diddley.

When asked to have his picture taken, AJ said, "Why the fuck not?" I like his attitude!

Meanwhile, Elaina's taking care of business at the bar.

There's tables in the dimly-lit back room.

There's a long wooden railing opposite the bar to rest a drink and an elbow on.

Fernando and Jason were hanging out by the front door. Both men are musicians and they introduced me to another musician who's name is...

Marty! We'll call this shot, "Marty Squared."

Hey, these two look familiar...

By cracky, it's Clacky and Shannon from Australia completing a trifecta of one finger salutes! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Molly and Shawn, the owners of Coal Yard Bar deserve a medal for reviving the International Bar in the East Village in 2008. It’s one of the best bars on that block and beyond and now they’ve taken the old rule of, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it,” and opened up a sister bar, The Coal Yard Bar. Walking into the bar you immediately feel at home and although the joint is new, it feels like it’s been on the block for years. The dark-grained wooden half moon bar is impressive and dominates the front of the bar. It was made and crafted for the bar and owner Molly told me they wanted it to have the finish of a Les Paul guitar. To just imagine a bar with a Les Paul guitar finish is a genius thought and they’ve pulled it off here.

There’s a full bar and well drinks are just four bucks. There’s a decent selection of draft beer and there’s also cans and bottles available. Rolling Rocks go for three bucks a can, so that’s what I had. Happy hour runs from 3pm to 8pm with a dollar off everything, so you don’t need to come here on payday to enjoy a night of drinking.

In the 1850’s coal yards dominated this area, and now there’s a new Coal Yard on the block that feels like yesterday’s dive bar. And that’s a good thing.

Coal Yard Bar
102 First Avenue (@6th St. )
212-677-4595

And in honor of tonight's trifecta flip-off, I present the "365 Flip," artwork by "Boris!"

Wednesday, Sept. 29th, 2010—Bar 262

Day 262—Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
Decibel
I found a sake bar in the East Village online called Decibel that looks like a cool place. From what I could see online it’s got a small bar upfront and a dining area in the back. I’m banking on the fact since it’s Tuesday we can land a spot at the bar. Let’s go and see.

This isn't an easy bar to find, I walked by it twice and finally saw the little red sake sign.

And here's the low-lit sign on the side of the building.

And it's down the stairs we go.

The bar is small and candle-lit with one bench for everyone to sit at. I managed to wiggle in at the end of the bar.

Here's K the bartender. I'm not that knowledgeable about sake and K helped me choose one.

And here he is in action.

K made an excellent choice, it was delicious.

There's a row of Japanese masks that hang over the bar.

The back wall of the bar is lined with sake bottles and cups.

And more bottles are lit up at the top of the wall opposite the bar.

Graffiti and Japanese art line the walls.

Here's the nice people I was sharing the bar with: Lisa, Ryusake, Burt and Anna.

Takashi helps behind the bar and seats people in the back dining area.

A collage of sake labels on the wall.

A view of K from the opposite end of the bar.

There's a dining room in the back, let's check it out.

There's a long, candle-lit bar in the center of the room to sit and dine at.

There's tables in the back of the room...

And booths up front. It's nice and dark back here with candles providing most of the light.

Hello, kitty!

Meanwhile back at the bar, K and Takashi are taking care of business.

A view of the bar from where I'm seated.

A final Japanese beer and a tumbler of sake are served.

Cheers and goodnight, everybody! Sayonara!

Review
Decibel is a hidden gem in the East Village. You have to have the address handy and be vigilant, because it’s easy to pass this downstairs bar. There’s just a small sign on the building and a somewhar rickety flight of stairs leads you downstairs to the bar. The decor is a combination punk rock, Japanese fusion and a litttle speakeasy making for a unique atmosphere. The bartenders and staff are friendly and more than happy to help you with selections from the menu. Trance and disco music play at a conversational level and if you go here on a weekend you may have to endure a bit of a wait for a table or spot at the small, cozy front bar.

There’s more than 70 varieties of sake to be had here and you can sample them chilled or warm. The staff is well-knowledged on the selecctions and can help steer you to a taste that is of your liking. In addition to the large sake list, there’s also cocktails and Japanese beers available. There’s food and soups available to enjoy along with the sake and some of the appetizers include: steamed shumai, edamame and sauteed seaweed and noodles. Okonomiyaki is the house specialty pancake.
 
Decibel
240 E. 9th St. (@Second Ave)
212-979-2733

Saturday, August 7th, 2010—Bar 209

Day 209—Friday, August 6th, 2010
Blarney Cove
Alright, day two of the early bar crawl. It’s just a little after noon and I just posted yesterday’s bar crawl and I’m heading out in the cruel, cruel sunshine for today’s stop before my parents come over for a drink before dinner. Since it’s so sunny, I thought I’d go to one of Manhattan’s darker, dive bars. If you come to Manhattan there’s two bars you have to visit if you’re a true dive bar fan. One is the Mars Bar, which I went to on Easter Sunday and the other is the Blarney Cove, which is today’s stop. This place is a legendary joint on the Lower East Side and I pray I can get some pictures in there. I’ve drank in the Blarney Cove and it doesn’t seem like a camera friendly bar, so let’s go see what happens.

Baaahh, sunshine! It's too fucking bright out here!

Through squinted eyes, I spy a hot dog cart.

A dog and some mustard. The breakfast of bar-crawling champions.

Here's Avenue A, we're almost there.

It looks like it's closed, but I think they don't uncover the front window until the sun goes down.

Here it is in all its darkened glory. As soon as the bartender saw my camera, he told me to put it away. But I took a few shots on the sly, I had to include this joint on the bar crawl. Sometimes you have to break the rules a little. The flash was turned off, so I really wasn't bothering anyone in here.

The sun may be bright outside, but it's nice and dark in the Blarney Cove.

A beer, a shot and today's paper, pretty much all one needs to while away some time in the Blarney Cove.

This guy was enjoying some peanuts with his drinks.

Here's a shot of the Formica bar. Some of the regulars are a little shaky in here, but I doubt that much booze has been spilled. They're serious drinkers in here.

After shooting this self-portrait I was busted by the bartender. He told me in no-uncertain terms to put it away. So I put it in my bag and ordered another Budweiser. I wish I could've gotten more shots, but I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse of a true New York dark dive bar. There aren't many like it left in the city and I truly enjoyed this stop on the old bar crawl.

And later on it was Happy Hour with my parents at Chez Wombacher on 16th street. I showed them yesterday's comments and they got a kick out of them and said to say, "Cheers" to everyone.

Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Blarney Cove is one of the last true dive bars in the East Village. The front window is usually shuttered in the daytime and it’s a dark, slim shotgun bar. The bar itself is a long Formica-topped fixture that serves as a holding fixture for the pickled and sloshed masses that are the regulars here. The vibe is not unfriendly, but strangers are viewed with a questionable eye. The first thing the seasoned bartender asked me after I ordered a beer was, “Where do you work?” I’m sure it was a way to see if I was a local guy or not. After I spat out that I worked on 30th Street between 6th and 7th near the Garden I was deemed okay, until he caught a glimpse of my camera and then told me to put it away. They don’t like cameras in here.

What they do like is a beer and a shot and the Yankees. The jukebox is popular in here as well and you’ll here everything from the Drifters to Frank Sinatra to the Beatles to a Spanish song that you’ll have no idea who the artist is. There’s two peanut machines in the back and the booze flows freely in here from 8am to 4am. And some of these snozzled regulars look like when the lights go out, they just pass out on their stools till the dim lights come back on at eight in the morning and have a pint and a shot for breakfast. The Blarney Cove is a true dive bar and a nice blast of the past on 14th street in the East Village.

Blarney Cove
510 E. 14th St. (Near Ave. A)
212-473-9284