Monday, Sept. 27th, 2010—Bar 260
Day 260—Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Pig 'n' Whistle (Times Square Location)
Okay, more special guest stars are going to arrive on the 365 bar crawl and tonight’s couple are here all the way from Australia. No, Clacky didn’t get here early, this down-under duo’s name’s are Claire and Mick. They don’t comment, but they’ve been following the 365 crawl/lblog for quite a little bit now. I’m meeting them at the Pig and Whistle in Times Square and they've come all the way from Melbourne, Australia. The reason I chose this bar is that it’s not far from the Rum House and sadly, this is the last day that bar is going to be open. I’ll post photos from the last night at The Rum House in the bonus photos below. Now let’s go find Claire and Mick.
And here we are, The Pig 'n' Whistle.
Cahterine the lovely hostess greets you as you enter.
Lots of seats at the bar, maybe Claire and Mick aren't here yet.
Here's Mark the bartender in action at the bar.
There's a painting at the front of the bar. Hey is that a young Jack Nicholson at the right?
There's tables up front with nice view of the street.
I found some fellow mid-westerners at the end of the bar. Anne, Kathy and Randall were visiting from Chicago. Sadly, this was their last day in the Big Apple.
Some of the lit-up booze behind the bar.
A long shot of the dark, wooden bar.
Hey, who's that down at the end of the bar?
It's my new Aussie friends, Claire and Mick! Welcome to the crawl!
Bartender Mark told Sarah about the bar crawl and they posed for a photo.
It was kind of noisy downstairs, so we took our beers and headed upstairs.
Ah, it's much quieter up here.
And, no offense to Mark, but bartender Heli is a lot cuter!
Cheers from the three of us!
Claire and Mick settle in at the bar as I go to take some photos.
There's a nice terrace up here with a great view of 47th Street.
And moments after I took that shot, these four hooligans from England took over one of the tables. From left: Lee, Matt, Dan and Tom. Cheers, guys!
Heli, Claire and Mick are deep in conversation back at the bar.
We each ordered the house specialty, The Pig Sandwich.
Heli recommended it and it was delicious.
Obligatory bar room mirror shot! Goodnight, everybody!
Review
There’s several other Pig ‘n’ Whistle’s in town, but this is the original deal. The first Pig ‘n’ Whistle opened around the block in 1969 and eventually ended up here near Times Square in the Theater District. It’s an old school, Irish pub with a dark wooden bar, wooden booths and tables off to the side and in the back and friendly bartenders and staff. The crowd is a mix of locals and tourists and during the week you’ll find business people bellying up to the bar to forget the day they just had. There’s also an upstairs bar with an outdoor terrace with a great view of 47th Street in all its glory.
They have a decent selection of bottled beers and a dozen beers on tap including: Stella Artois, Sam Adams, Bass Ale and Harp Lager. It’s a full bar as well with a nice wine list, a half a dozen varieties of martinis and frozen drinks featuring: a Margarita, Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada and a Blue Freeze.
The bar serves food and some of the selections include: Irish Gaelic Style Sirloin Steak, Grilled Pork Chops, Fish and Chips and The Pig Sandwich which is a generous pile of pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce on a fresh roll with cole slaw and fries.
Stop in and dig the pig. (A Tim Carey registered closing sentence.)
Pig 'n' Whistle (Times Square Location)
165 W. 47th St. (Near Seventh Ave.)
212-302-0112
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Bonus Photos
Sadly, last night was the last night for the Rum House. As reported in By Fat Al over at the Half Empty Glass and by Jeremiah Moss at Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, the old school joint is now shuttered and I shudder to think what’s going to go in there to replace it. I bet instead of being dark and brown, it 's going to be bright and shiny. It was a family owned bar to the end and the Edison Hotel wouldn’t renew the lease, basically throwing out this landmark bar. Mick, Claire and I went to go have a few farewell beers at the bar last night and here’s some photos of closing night at the Rum House.
Not anymore.
A shot of the dark bar that lived up to its name. It's the color of dark rum in here.
A regular enjoys a few last drinks at the bar.
A shot of bartenders, Brooks and Fransisco. Both of them said they were going to start looking for another job.
You'd never have known it was Fransisco's last night. He worked like a demon till the end.
A bottle of champagne is taken out.
Fransisco pours glasses for those at the bar.
Glasses are clinked...
And Fransisco takes a well-deserved drink.
To the Rum House, R.I.P. Oh, and fuck you, Edison Hotel!
For master Oz bowler, David Brooks. Dude!
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