Tuesday, September 14th, 2010—Bar 247

Day 242—Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Sophie’s
The PayPal donation bell has rung again and it’s a donation from Ryan Borho who joined me on the bar crawl about a month ago, check it out here: Bar 225 with Ryan. Well, Ryan sent in a generous 30 dollar donation and said he had a good time at McAleer’s and wished me good luck with the remaining bars. Thanks so much Ryan and I hope you can join me again on the crawl.

Okay, the last couple nights we’ve been to a wine bar, an off Broadway play and a lobster bar, time to get back to the basics and hit a good old-fashioned dive bar. 365 commentator, Al Rizo wrote to me today and suggested Sophie’s bar in the East Village and like all of his suggestions, it’s golden. Sopphie’s is a classic neighborhood dive that’s been on this Lower East Side block since the mid-80’s. The bar is named after the original owner, Sophie Polny, a tough as nails Ukrainian woman. You can read about the bar’s history in this posting on Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York blog: Sophie’s on JVNY.

Here we are at Sophie's bar. There's no sign outside, but the neon in the windows tells me we're here.

Nice and dark inside, looks perfect.

And before I sit down, the lovely and friendly bartender Ama serves me up a pint of Yuengling.

And just as it's served Jason and Ama's husband David join the party. From left: Jason, Ama and David.

Here's a photo of actor Jeff Bridges playing guitar in the window of Sophie's.

And here's a vintage shot of the bar before Sophie took over the place.

Here's the beer selection and as you can see, you won't go broke buying a round in here.

A full shot of the bar in all its lit-up glory.

Here's Benno enjoying a beer at the bar. Benno says he's been coming here 365 days in a row with a zero added at the end. Translation: He's a regular here at Sophie's.

There's a well-worn pool table in the back of the bar.

Ama announces that it's time for pickle back shots for the night. Yeah, I didn't know what a pickle back shot was either.

You start out with Tito's Handmade Vodka, of course.

And then Ama pours pickle juice into smaller shot glasses and the bigger ones contain the vodka.

Then you drink the shot and follow it up with the pickle juice and it takes all the sting away from the shot. Pickle shots, a first on the bar crawl, cheers!

A shot of the bar from the other end.

There's tables opposite the bar and local artwork hangs on the walls.

Some of the art hanging on the wall at Sophie's.

Krystine and Eddie mugging it up at the end of the bar. They're great people and were very supportive of the 365 bar crawl idea.

And one more for the road. Cheers and goodnight, everybody!

Review
Like it’s sister bar, Mona’s, you’ll find no sign outside telling you you’re at Sophie’s, but if you find the bar, you’ll find one of the true Lower East Side dive bars in all its glory. Sophie’s bar has been on the block since the mid ‘80’s and thankfully little has changed inside the well-worn tavern. The bar is in the front with bric-a-brac tables and chairs opposite. There’s a pool table in the back and a jukebox featuring such varied artists as: The New York Dolls, Duke Ellington, Nick Lowe, The Ramones and Bo Diddley.

There’s six beers on tap for under three bucks a mug. Bottled beers can be had for between four and five bucks with selections including: Corona, Red Stripe, Sierra Nevada and Heineken. There’s also a full bar with inexpensive mixed drinks.

Sophie’s is a cozy, friendly, low-lit oasis on the Lower East Side that reminds you of better days gone by. Turn off your Crackberry and belly up to the bar for good times.

Sophie’s
507 E. 5th St. (Near Ave. A)
212-228-5680

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Bonus Photo
Want a baby, but don’t want the mess of having sloppy sex with someone and nine months of pregnancy to get one? No problem, Old Navy is selling them for five bucks a pop. It's a parade of cute! I got one and it was delicious. It tasted like chicken.

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010—Bar 199

Day 199—Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
The SKINnY
Yesterday Nick Beal left this comment on the latest bar he’s been obsessing over: “hoping bar 200 is the skinny tonight!” Well, Nick, you asked for it, you got it, my friend! But the only problem is that tonight is bar number 199. I seem to remember you saying that you had five bucks on the SKINnY being bar number 200, so it’s time to pony up! The donation button is just over there to the right. Okay, let’s go see what the SKINnY is all about!

Here we are, The SKINnY Lounge on the Lower East Side.

The bar lives up to its name, it sure is skinny in here and there's a full crowd at the bar.

I manage to squeeze into a spot and the cute and friendly bartender Deborah serves up a Pabst tallboy.

They were also giving away free vodka drinks, so here's a double-fisted toast, cheers!

The front area is a lounge with black leather couches and candle-lit tables.

Here's your choice of canned and bottled beers.

The lovely Hannah was seated next to me at the bar and was enjoying the free vodka offerings.

The bar is well stocked and you won't go broke drinking here.

Just one of the many drink specials offered at The SKINnY.

All of a sudden it was really crowded in here and my claustrophobia kicked in.

Jaclyn and Jordan are two of the regulars in the bar. They're friendly people and were very supportive of the 365 bar crawl, cheers to both of you!

The front of the bar has filled up, this place is lively for a Tuesday night.

And on the eighth day God created the disco ball.

Julie and Nikki were more than happy to pose for the 365 camera.

In fact they wanted a second shot as well, here you go gals!

JFortino was enjoying a cocktail at the bar. He's a singer and songwriter and you can check out his work here: JFortino. His choice of eye wear seems to be a little bit influenced by Elton John.

They screen films and have trivia questions on the screen hanging from the ceiling in front.

Meanwhile Deborah's hard at work behind the bar.

This was Mike and Tim's first time in the bar and they happily flash the 365 card. Thanks, guys!

Here's the pool table in the tiny second floor area.

And I leave you with a birds-eye view of the SKINnY in all its glory and action. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The SKINnY is aptlly named as you’ll see as you enter this narrow, railroad styled saloon. The front is a lounge area equipped with black leather couches pinned up to the red and black walls. The bar is as tall as it is skinny with 20 foot ceilings and a small mezzanine just big enough to house a pool table on a second floor. The wooden bar is in the middle and the bartenders are friendly and the crowd is mainly neighborhood regulars. There’s a small dark back room where more often than not you’ll find couples in the act of drunken public displays of affection. DJ’s blast rock, punk and funk from a second floor booth.

There’s a full bar and while there’s no draft beer there’s a good selection of bottled beer and 16 ounce cans of Pabst. There’s lots of drink specials here including a generous happy hour that runs from 5pm to 9pm, Monday through Saturday with three dollar well drinks, 16 oz. Pabst cans, Bud, and Bud Light and all other beers are four bucks. Thursday’s offer five bucks and under drinks all day and all night. Sunday through Wednesday you can get a 16 ounce Pabst and a shot of your choice for five dollars.

And that’s the skinny on The SKINnY. You happy Nick Beal?

The SKINnY
174 Orchard St (Near Stanton St.)
212-228-3668

Thursday, April 15th 2010—Bar 95

Day 95—Wednesday, April 14th
Kate’s Joint (Originally scheduled for Boxcar Lounge)
First off thanks to Tiki Bar Susie who generously donated 45 bucks to the 365 Bar Crawl via the PayPal button! Her stated purpose from PayPal read” “Continuation of the dream...” Thank you Tiki Bar Susie, the dream continues because of your generous donation. And this is the second time Tiki Bar Susie has donated, I appreciate your support Tikii Bar Susie, because of thoughtful people like you, the dream continues!

I also want to thank DeWayne Bartels for writing a great story in the Peoria Times-Observer. This is the last issue of the Observer and I’m happy to be in the last issue, but sad that the newspaper is ending. Here’s the story: Virtual Bar Crawl In the Peoria Observer. DeWayne is going to be editing a new paper and I’ll put up a plug and link when it’s under way. Thanks, DeWayne!

Alright, one more thing, tomorrow I fly to Cleveland and I learned from my friend Michael Heaton, The Minister Of Culture. there that he’s planned on giving me an all day tour Friday and he’s going to write about it in his column! I’m flying out tomorrow and the posts will appear Saturday and Sunday, stay tuned and check out Michael’s column here: Michael Heaton, The Minister Of Culture.

Okay, usually I write this before I go out and then in the morning I write the captions and review in a somewhat hungover state of mind, but today it’s all coming at you from this morning. And I fucking hate morning.  I was going to go to the Boxcar Lounge where I thought I had read was at Avenue B and 2nd, but I got there and it wasn’t there, today I found out it’s near Avenue B and 11th St. Whoops, I’ll go there another time. Although, since I made a wrong turn it turned me on to a magical place where I had a great time. I found a bar called Kate’s Joint, and while Kate wasn’t there, (she’s usually there in the daytime perfecting the menu and cooking if you want to stop by and say hi) Marley, one of New York’s friendliest bartenders was there along with some of the nicest people I’ve met on the 365 Crawl so far. So without further adieu, check out Kate’s Joint!
Okay, I thought the Boxcar Lounge was on this corner, but it's nowhere to be found. I need to start writing these addresses down, oh well, there's got to be another bar around here.

Double ATM! HELLO Joey D!

BAR, this looks promising!

Kate's Joint, I love any place that calls itself a joint, it reminds me of my pot smoking days.

This place looks perfect, not too packed and a friendly vibe.

And I was right, here's Marley with a can of Pabst. Marley is also an actress and a comedy writer with a show looming. I get to say I knew her back in the day because she's on her way.

Jack was seated close by, Jack's an actor, check out his portfolio here: Jack Dourakos.

Some of the bottles of beer available at Kate's and one lonely can of Pabst.

Ronald and Joe were holding down the end of the bar.

Diann (that's how she spells it folks) and Alex flash the 365 card and were fun folks to share a drink and some stories with.

Melissa stopped by after her shift at Common Ground which I posted about here: Common Ground. It's a small world and it's loaded with bars and booze. Yahoo!

Marley climbs aboard the bar to pour Anthony a shot. Anthony used to live around the corner from the bar.

And here's Kevin who lives around the corner...hmmm...did he get Anthony's apartment? Enquiring minds want to know.
Carla and George were seated at a window table and George was kind enough to take the last shot.

And the last shot is shots! Cheers and goodnight everybody!

Review

Kate’s Joint is a fun, no frills neighborhood fixture on the Lower East Side. It’s all locals inside, but they treat a newcomer like me with hospitality and before you know it, shots are being poured and it’s like I’ve been a regular here for my whole life. Some nights on this bar crawl are kind of magical nights and this was one of them. I truly had a blast and met some really cool people.

There’s a full bar here packed with a friendly staff and patrons and there’s also a full kitchen with an eclectic and vegan friendly menu. Some of the selections here include: a large selection of vegi burgers, a large pasta selection including mac and cheese, pizza and a large appetizer selection.

There’s trivia Wednesday nights and fun and festive times seven days a week here. I had one of the best nights on this bar crawl here, so check it out!

Kate's Joint
58 Avenue B (@ 4th St.)
212-777-7059