Wednesday, Sept. 22nd, 2010—Bar 255

Day 255—Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Iggy's Keltic Lounge
Alright, the PayPal donation bell has rung once again and I want to give thanks to Michael McDermott, Sr. who sent in a generous donation of 25 dollars and told me to buy some Alka Seltzer with it. Michael is the father of Mike “Pig Pen” McDermott who I met while visiting the Bohemian Beer Garden in Queens on stop number 232. He’s also the author of a great book that I purchased and suggest you do too. The title is: “Finders Keepers” and you can buy the book right here: “Finders Keepers” at Amazon. Thanks for the donation, Michael!

Okay, tonight is another suggestion from Miami commentator Al Rizo. Al’s made many suggestions and they’ve all been winners. Today he found a bar on the Lower East Side I’ve never heard of called, Iggy’s Keltic Lounge. From the reviews I’ve read it sounds like it’s one part Irish bar, one part punk rock and one part dive bar. Sounds like Al picked another winner, let’s go find out.

This looks like the place, let's check it out.

Here's some of the specials of the night, posted outside.

Nice and dark inside, looks like Al has come through once again!

And bartender Pirate Mike serves up an ice-cold can of Pabst. Arrrgghh! Mike is also an actor and you can check out his resume here: Michael Whitney.

Here's a full shot of the bar.

The beer prices are posted on this board overlooking the bar.

These fellows are perched up at the top of the bar. And note: Tin ceiling!

Let's go check out who these two women are at the end of the bar.

It's the lovely Athena and Jenna who were chilling out and enjoying a drink or two at the end of the bar.

Nicky and Chris were sitting at the front of the bar and liked the 365 bar crawl idea. Cheers, guys!

There's a nice selection on the jukebox including: The Pogues, The Misfits, Joy Division and Chuck Berry.

There's a pirate lounge in the back.

It's a cozy, candle-lit, brick-walled back room.

This guy makes sure the beer is pouring constantly.

I've got a feeling this is Pirate Mike's favorite painting in the bar.

A shot from the end of the candle-lit bar.

Some of the lit-up bottles behind the bar.

Josh, Kristina and Leslie were seated next to me at the bar and posed for the 365 camera. It turns out that Josh and I have a common friend in New York artist, Ryan McGinness.

At the end of the night, Pirate Mike bought me a shot. Cheers and arrrrghh!

And so it's time to head out the door onto Ludlow Street.

Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Iggy’s Keltic Lounge is only about one third an Irish bar. It’s also about one third punk rock bar and one third dive bar. Throw in a skeleton or two for a bit of a pirate feel and you’ve got Iggy’s. Okay, you had to be there, sometimes words fail me. But trust me, Iggy’s is a nice, dark bar with a relaxing and comfortable vibe with friendly bartenders and patrons alike. The horseshoe bar is located in the center with booths off to the front and side and a pirate's lounge in the back with candle-lit tables and brick walls.

They have a full bar with a good selection of bottled beer including: Red Stripe, Magners, Chimay, Duvel and Corona. Happy hour runs daily from 1pm to 9pm with three dollar drafts, two buck cans of Pabsts and four dollar well drinks.

According to the internet rumors, the weekend crowd gets a bit of a frat-hall feel, so I suggest you stop by on a Tuesday night, when Pirate Mike is behind the wheel.

Iggy's Keltic Lounge
132 Ludlow St. (Near Rivington St.)
212-529-2731

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Bonus Photos

Last Saturday I mentioned the debut of a new online magazine called Grade “A” Fancy. Well they threw a party last night at the Rum House which I visited months ago and is going to be closing soon. I was invited, but sadly I had to work and by the time I was going to be done, I was told the party was going to be over. But just around the same time I got the invitation, I got an email from Lex, who just has discovered the 365 bar crawl and was coming to New York last night to visit with her in-laws. She sent me an email asking if she could join me on the bar crawl and we discovered our schedules wouldn’t allow it, but she did agree to be my stand-in for the Grade “A” Fancy party and take pictures. And so, here they are! Thanks for being my stand in Lex and maybe next time you’re in town we can meet in person. In the mean time, take it away, Lex!

I'm starting at the end of the evening, because this is my favorite picture from the night. Suzanne is a jewelery designer friend of Karen's and Jon. Karen and Jon are the creators of Grade "A" Fancy. After lamenting the demise of places like the Rum House in Times Square, we found this great backdrop for a photo op.

Here’s Gaylord and Nancy at the Rum House.

Suzanne and Karen.

This building has a mention in Grade "A" Fancy - only fitting to get a shot!

Andy gave me a handful of restaurant business cards to me, suggesting places to take my in-laws while we're in the city.

This is Patty the bartender serving a Manhattan to Janie.

And of course the obligatory bathroom mirror shot!

Thanks, Lex, you did a great job of standing in for me at the party and being our 365 corrsepondent! I hope next time you’re in town we can meet for a drink in person. Thanks to Karen and Jon, the creators of Grade “A” Fancy for throwing a wonderful party!

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And now a request from Tim Clack: "Friggion' in the Riggin'" by the Sex Pistols (With Ronnie Biggs on lead vocals. I think.)

And Jaws suggest this one, enjoy mateys...arrrghhh!

And cheers and R.I.P. to Malcolm Douglas.