Wednesday, March 17th, 2010—Bar 66

Day 66—Tuesday, March 16th
Lillie’s

I got an email from Rob (last name udisclosed) last week suggesting I check out Lillie’s bar on 17th St. which is perfect for tonight because it's close to where i live and I have to get up at the ungodly hour of seven in the morning to do an interview on The Daily Buzz. I appreciate the coverage from The Daily Buzz...but seven in the morning? I haven’t been up at seven in the morning since...uh...since...well, I can remember going to bed at seven in the morning, but I can’t remember the last time I got up that early. So Lillie’s sounds like a convenient and handy watering-hole to go to. And who knows, maybe Rob will be there! Okay, it’s time for...Pictures of Lillie’s!

Here we are at Lillie's. I assumed an Irish bar would be dead the day before St. Patrick's Day.

Well I was wrong. This place packs them in seven days a week.

Here's the other end of the bar and it's packed. Looks like this guy has a Kleenex problem.

An Irish flag flies proudly over the bar.

A view from the end of the massive bar at Lillie's.

Here's Miya, Niclole, Tyler and Brandon who were enjoying drinks and appetizers at the bar.

The first Guiness is served. Thank you sir and cheers!

Josh, Izzy and Jack were whooping it up at the front of the bar.

Some of the Victorian portraits and pre-St. Paddy's day decorations on the wall at Lillie's.

Here's Sarah, Jenn and Natalie posing in front of a picture of Lillie over the fireplace in the back of the bar.

Damian and Paul were among the happy group of partiers at the bar.

Kate and Marley were enjoying appetizers and drinks at the massive bar.

And I stumbled upon a marriage group at the bar. From left, Jenny, Niki, Abel and Nickie. Niki and Abel had just gotten married! Congratulations and cheers to a long and happy married life to Niki and Abel.

Vintage photos and art line the walls at Lillie's.

And who do I meet but Rob (on the right) who clued me onto this place. He's pictured with a bartender whom I forgot to write the name down. Hopefully Rob can correct this in the comments section. Rob is a former professional baseball player who works in finance. He lives above the bar and is a regular in this festive joint.

Here's bartender Jay. It's a friendly place here with bartenders that make you feel like a regular your first time in.

Rob took this photo of myself with Emma and Nerissa.

It's been a while since I've done the obligatory bathroom mirror shot, so here we go. Goodnight everybody!

Review

Named after actress/socialite Lillie Langtry, this is a Victorian styled pub/restaurant that can truly lay claim to being old school Victorian. The antique carved wooden and marble bar and some of the other furnishings were acquired from a genuine Victorian masion in Belfast, Ireland. They even serve wine from the Langtry Estate in California where the lovely Lillie lived from 1888 to 1906.

They have a huge selection of beers from around the world. Some of the bottled beers include: Magners, Red Stripe, Duvel and Tusker Lager. There’s 18 draft beers availible including: Guinness, Leffe Blonde, Smithwicks and Carlsberg. Lillie’s also has an extensive whiskey and wine list. If you can’t find something to drink here, you’re not very thirsty! The bar itself is impressive and seems to go on for an Irish mile with it’s impressive marble top and hand carved antique bottom.

Lillie’s has a full menu to sop up some of the suds in your stomach. They have sanwiches, burgers, seafood and pasta. And of course they have a full selection of Irish staples such as: Irish Stew, Bangers and Mash, Shepherds Pie and Fish Stew. And food is available till the wee small hours of the morning for those of you looking to cap off your night with a nice bit of Irish food to absorb your next day’s hangover.

And if the booze and food haven’t swollen your stomach too much, they have five dessert offerings including: Flourless Dark Chocolate Truffle Cake. Lillie would approve, I’m sure!

Lillie’s
13 E. 17th St (near Fifth Ave.)
212-337-1970

Thursday, February 11th, 2010—Bar 32

Day 32—Wednesday, February 10th

The Limerick House

First off, after a bit of a dry spell, the donation board lights up again! My friend Emily Schein from the windy city of Chicago just sent in five bucks today and that’ll buy the first beer! Thanks and cheers to you, Emily, we’ll see you at the end of April as I take this bar crawl on the road to the midwest for week.

We had a huge snowstorm today and it continues on in the night. It’s a real fucking mess out there and I really don’t feel like slogging around town in this mess, so I’m going to stop in at a little tavern that’s on my way home. The name of the joint is the Limerick House and it’s a casual Irish bar, perfect for a few drinks to warm up on my way home. It’s a mess out there, so put on your rubbers and let’s go. That’s right, I’m an advocate of safe walking.

We'll be walking down 6th Avenue and it's a fucking, freezing mess out here.

The snow turns into a sea of brown glop on every corner. I hate winter!

The streets are pretty empty, I'm halfway wondering if the bar is even going to be open. You'd have to be a master boozer or completely insane to be going to a bar in the middle of this blizzard. Luckily I fall in to both categories.

The lights are on, time to seek shelter from this storm! And there's people inside! Unbelievable!

And Simon the bartender quickly serves a perfect antidote to a winter blizzard, a fresh pint of Guiness. This of course leads to...

The traditional wearin' of the Guiness on the head. Yeah, I know you're getting tired of this, but i never do. So there!

This is for all of you whining about the Guiness on the head thingy.

As I said, anyone going out on a night like this is a Master Boozer, so I made up some Master Boozer certificates to pass out. The first recipients were Martin and Gayle, who braved the storm to go out and enjoy the Limerick House.

There's plenty of seating in the Limerick House.

More Master Boozer certificates for this lively group of guys! From left: Julian, Earnest, Darrell and Andrew. Cheers, guys!

Lots of tunes on the jukebox. See the review for more details.

Fabian was working hard behind the bar so I awarded him the Master Boozer certificate.

Some of the nightly specials at Limerick House.

Here's Ryder and George. Ryder is just one of this woman's aliases, there's a meaning behind it, but I'll never tell!

And the final Master Boozer certificate goes to Simon the bartender whose expertly poured drinks fueled me for the rest of the walk home.

And of course the obligatory bathroom mirror shot. My favorite one so far! Goodnight everybody!

Review

There once was a bar from Nantucket...aah, I’ve never been good with limericks so fuck it. Hey that almost worked, I guess it’s my half Irish side coming out. The Limerick House is a no-frills, laid back neighborhood Irish bar, perfect for relaxing with a perfectly poured pint of Guiness. The staff and bartenders are friendly and drinks are inexpensive. There’s an eclectic jukebox with a wide array of artists ranging from Bill Haley and the Comets to Joe Cocker To Lil Wayne to the Deftones. The closest it comes to standard Irish tunes is U2. No gimmicks, no gadgets just booze served at decent prices and a cozy atmosphere. No complaints from me.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday the Limerick House has beer bucket specials. Full lunch and dinner menu including fish and chips, burgers, grilled salmon and chicken parmigiana over pasta. The house specialty is their  traditional shepherds pie. And you can wash dinner down with a cup of genuine Irish coffee. Too rah loo rah loo!

Limerick House
69 W. 23rd St. (@ 6th Ave.)
212-243-8898