Sunday, October 24th, 2010—Bar 287

Day 287—Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
J.G. Melon
Live from New York it’s Saturday Night Cheeseburger. With the Ready For Prime Beef Player, Marty Wombacher and musical guest Iggy Pop. And now, tonight's host, J.G. Melon!

But first a word from our sponsor.

Tina Hennessey sent in a more than generous donation of $25.00 and I thank you mucho, Tina! All the best to you, Tim, your kids, my Godson, Brian and that little fucker of a dog, Rocky. Tell him he’s going to get barked at come Christmas time. Thanks, Tina and now, on with the show!

Union Square Park is bustling as we make our way to the subway station.

Here's the artist who simply wanted to be billed as, "The Artist from Union Square" with his painting of Fanelli's Cafe, a bar I need to include on this bar crawl.

Okay, let's make our way down into the inner bowels of the New York subway system.

It's bustling with people on this Saturday night.

And when I get to my stop a train has just pulled up. I love it when this happens!

As you can see, it's a full house in the subway car. And I think someone just farted. Never a good thing when the car is packed, but what are you going to do?

And through the magic of the internet, we're almost there.

And here we are, I love the neon sign.

Even though it's only 6pm, it's crowded in here, but I spy a seat at the bar.

And the lovely and friendly bartender, Kitty serves up a beer and flashes the 365 card.

Seated next to me were Sherry and Paul who live in the East Village, but Sherry told me she's been to my hometown of Peoria, Illinois in her travels.

And so we have a toast to Peoria. To Peoria, cheers!

A shot of the well-stocked bar.

Some of the melon art that hangs behind the bar.

Watermelon!

And of course there's the sign of a great bar overhead, a tin ceiling.

It's starting to fill up in here and people are waiting up front for a table.

And they'll be waiting for awhile, the back dining room is packed.

Here I am with the manager of the joint, Bob. Bob jokingly referred to himself as, "The mismanager."

The kitchen area is opposite the bar.

The sight of those burgers frying are making me hungry.

Here's David, who's replaced Kitty as the bartender. In between filling drinks, he took my order for a bacon cheeseburger.

As you can see, this place really packs them in at night.

Okay, the time is near, the condiments and napkins are placed...

And here it is, the J.G. Melon legendary bacon cheeseburger!

Here I am devouring it.

Goddamn, that is one tasty burger!

And here's Iggy Pop! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
J.G. Melon has been a neighborhood local on the Upper East Side since it opened in 1972. The bartenders are friendly and fast with a drink and the crowd is local, but friendly to newbies. The long wooden bar takes up most of the front space with the kitchen visible opposite. The dining room in the back is covered with checkered table cloths and people noshing on the infamous J.G. Melon cheeseburger. Melon-inspired art covers the wooden walls and there’s a red tin ceiling overhead. If you come on a weekend be prepared to wait for a table or a seat at the bar, this joint packs them in.

There’s a full bar with beers including: Heineken, Bass Ale, Pilsner Urquel and Corona. The food menu includes chili and several types of sandwiches and cottage fries, but take my advice, order the bacon cheeseburger. It’s one of the best in town and is served on the freshest roll I’ve ever had, which bartender David calls their secret weapon, and I agree.

J.G. Melon
1291 Third Ave. (@74th St.)
212-744-0585