Tuesday, October 26th, 2010—Bar 289

Day 289—Monday, October 25th, 2010
McSwiggan’s

Today I got an email from a person named, Lindsay Turner and it read: “Hey there, I was wondering how I can get my bar, McSwiggan's over at 393 2nd Ave, corner of 23rd street listed on your website?”

So I wrote back, “It's pretty easy, all you have to do is ask. I'll stop by tonight after work.”

And so it’s off to McSwiggan’s we go.

Here we are at McSwiggan's bar.

It's nice inside and since it's after midnight on a Monday night, there's plenty of seats at the bar.

And the lovely Priscilla serves up a can of Pabst. You can get a 16 ounce tallboy here for three bucks. Such a deal! Priscilla's originally from Ireland, she came here for a vacation and never left. Very cool!

The lit up bottles behind the bar.

Some of the many drink special in here and an obligatory barroom mirror shot as well.

There's tables up front to relax at and look at the view outside.

I thought this was Kenny Rogers at first, but Priscilla told me it's the Dos Equis guy.

I didn't know this guy was such a big deal. Apparently he's the most interesting man in the world. To Dos Equis!

Some of the drafts available and a reminder that Halloween is on the way.

Kevin was enjoying himself at the bar while his friends were playing darts.

And here they are at the aforementioned dart game.

Drew and Chad are not only dart players...

They're photographers and they turned the tables on me for once.

Everybody in the bar had a camera! Here's Justin who's taking pictures with his girlfriend's camera.

Dueling photographers. Cue up the retarded banjo kid from Deliverance.

Deedle-eee-dee-dee.

Justin took a shot of me doing my 365 bar thing and emailed it to me. Thanks, Justin!

There's a pool table in the back room.

Another reminder that Halloween is on the way.

A shot from the other end of the bar.

Back at the bar, Priscilla warms up...

And BOOM! The two-finger salute! Goodnight, everybody!

Review

McSwiggan’s is one part Irish bar, one part dive bar and an overall cheap oasis with multiple nightly drink specials that will literally make your head spin. The front room has a large wooden bar with tables in the front and a professional dart board in the back. The back room houses video games, a pool table and a boxing game. The cliental ranges from office workers looking to forget the working day at the early happy hour to late night revelers enjoying the early morning happy hour. Unlike most bars that claim to be open till the wee hours, McSwiggan’s never shuts the doors till after 4am.

McSwiggan’s has a full bar and you don’t need to come here on payday to get a snootful. There’s two daily happy hours that run seven days a week. From 4pm-7pm you can get three dollar well drinks, 4 buck call liquor, 4 dollar glasses of wine, 3 dollar Bud and Coors and 3 bicl select shots. If you second shift or you just stay late enough another happy hour happens between midnight and 1am. There’s a decent beer selection with 17 drafts available including: Guinness, Bass, Harp, Newcastle and Molson. There’s also over a dozen bottled beers and 16 ounce tallboys of Pabst go for three bucks, all day and all of the night, to quote the Kinks.

In addition to video games and several large TV’s, McSwiggan’s has a pool table and two dart boards. And if you’ve come with a laptop packed, there’s free internet access.

McSwiggan’s
393 Second Ave. (Near 23rd St.)
212-683-3180

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Bonus Link To Brand New Tunes By Chris Erikson and The Wayward Puritans!
If you’ve been following this blog for awhile you may remember back on May 7th when I saw my friend and former editor, Chris Erikson play live with his band The Wayward Puritans at the Lakeside Lounge. That was a great show click here to read about it and see the pictures from the original post. Chris is currently recording a CD of original music and you can listen to a few choice cuts by clicking on this link: Chris Erikson and The Wayward Puritans. Great tunes, Chris, can't wait to hear the whole thing. When the CD is finished and for sale, you’ll be the first to know! There might even be a record release party, stay tuned!

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010—Bar 283

Day 283—Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
Paddy Maguire's Ale House
Ding, ding, ding...what’s that unfamiliar sound? Why it’s the donation bell going off for the first time in quite a while. 365 commentator Tiki Bar Susie sent in a more than generous donation for 45 dollars! And this isn’t the first time she’s donated or the second or third time. In fact she’s donated so often I’ve lost track of how many times, but it’s safe to say “a lot.” Thank you so much, Tiki Bar Susie, you’ve really helped to keep me crawling along and I truly appreciate it. And on top of the donations, she’s bought several items from the 365 Bar Store, that “Boris” maintains. Thanks again, Tiki Bar Susie!

And speaking of donations, a friend of mine and this blog sent me 20 bucks cash in the mail a little bit ago and his name is Mark Barra. Mark has a daughter who plays volleyball and she’s in the running to be the the Peoria Journal Star’s Athlete of the Week. And you can help her win this title and it’s easy. All you have to do is go to the website and vote for Lexie Barra. The voting ends at 4pm today, so go vote now. You don’t have to sign up for anything and it just takes a second, here’s the link, click here: Lexi Barra for Athlete of the Week.

Okay, now on to tonight’s bar. Tonight I’m going with a pick from my co-pilot and 365 commentator, Al Rizo. Al recently sent me a list of bars to go to when I get stuck for one and one of them is an Irish bar called Paddy Maguire’s Ale House in Grammercy Park. And unlike so many cookie-cutter Irish bars that dot this town, this one is authentic. The name is no fake, it’s owned by Patrick Maguire who hails from Limerick, Ireland. And, one of the reasons I picked it for tonight is Tiki Bar Susie is a lover of horses and horse racing and Patrick is a former jockey, so it’s perfect. Limerick, Ireland, huh? Let’s see, There once was a barman named Patrick...aw fuck it, let’s just go.

And here we are at Paddy Maguire's Ale House, love the neon.

A wreath-enshrined horse head greets you from atop the bar.

It's dark and sparkly in here, looks like Al picked another winner!

And Phil the friendly bartender is quick with an ice-cold Budweiser, cheers, everyone!

Some of the lit-up bottles and a jockey behind the bar.

There's lots of horse-racing art and memorablia on the walls.

And of course all the horse shoes are raised upward for good luck.

More horse artwork on the walls.

When I left work the Yankees were up 3 to 2. By the time I got to the bar they were down 7 to 3 and eventually lost with a score of Texas 10, Yankees 3. Better luck today, guys.

A shot from the other end of the long wooden bar.

There's a nice pool room in the back. Two tables, no waiting.

And here's three guys who come to the bar with their own cues. From left: Bobby, Jeff and Dave.

There's a church pew on one side of the room to watch the pool games.

And stools line the other wall of the brick-walled room.

Back at the bar, Phil is chatting with these two guys. Let's go see who they are.

It's Jason and Michael posing with Phil. These two guys are regulars at the bar and Jason told me that Paddy's is the neighborhood Cheers-type bar.

One last look out the window and it's time to head home.

I forgot to get a photo of me at the bar, so the obligatory bathroom shot is taken at home. Goodnight, everybody!

Review

Once again I’m running late for work as I’m still working double shifts (as well as last weekend, but who’s complaining, oh, whoops, I am) so here’s a review from New York magazine.

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No cliche is more fortuitous than that of the Irish bar. Happily, drunken benevolence, Guinness taps, and Irish whiskey are in no short supply at straightforward drinking hole Paddy Maguire's. Nor are white Christmas lights, decent classic and current rock on the jukebox, photos of firefighters and jockeys, and doors that are (as the bar makes a point of advertising) imported from the old country. Play pool with the locals in back, cluster in the narrow front with the office workers and occasional tourists, or chat with the usually Celtic and always affable bartenders as you dawdle over a carefully poured duotone Black and Tan. Better yet, take this fine opportunity to taste test the relative merits of Jameson versus Bushmills. If the luck of the Irish is with you, perform the experiment with the peaty, slightly higher-end Jameson 12 and Black Bush for the only $1 more. Stereotypes aren’t always bad. — Kristal Hawkins

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Paddy Maguire's Ale House
237 Third Ave. (Near 20th St.)
212-473-8407

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Another great choice, Al, thanks to you and thanks to Tiki Bar Susie for the donation! Al co-pilot artwork below is by "Boris."