Friday, Sept. 24th, 2010—Bar 257

Day 257—Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
Hurley’s
Tonight I’m going to the legendary New York bar, Hurley’s. I remember Johnny Carson talking about Hurley’s way back when the Tonight Show was located in New York (yes, I’m that old.) It’s no longer located in its old Rockefeller Center location, it moved to 48th Street about ten years ago. It looks like it retained its old school attitude and looks though and it’s a whopping three stories with a bar on every floor. My three bars! I hope they’re named Robbie, Chip and Ernie, but that would be too good to be true, but we’ll find out.

And there’s going to be a special guest star tonight. Most of you will remember Lex from last Tuesday where she was the 365 bar correspondent for a party thrown by Jon and Kate from the fine magazine-styled website, Grade “A” Fancy. Lex is in town with her in-laws from Canada, her husband Peter had to stay home and work and watch their two kids, one of whom is a rumored window breaker, but I’ll never tell. Tonight Lex’s in-laws are going to a Broadway show that she’s seen already, so she’s joining me on the bar crawl. The least I can do is buy her a drink or three for standing in for me at the party at the Rum House. So it’s off we go.

Here it is, Hurley's bar. I got a stiff neck trying to get this shot.

Here's Emily, the lovely and friendly hostess who pointed us towards the bar.

And here is the aforementioned bar. It's big and looks nice.

And bartender Benjamin quickly serves up a beer.

And here I am with my special guest of the evening, Lex all the way from Canada! Cheers!

The bar on the ground floor is a large horseshoe bar which is divided into two rooms. One side is relatively quiet and calm...

And then you go through this alcove...

And this side is kind of crazy busy. It's cool, you can choose whatever atmosphere floats your boat on one floor.

There's tables opposite the bar and this place is a big hangout for business people and those rumored to be business people.

Smile, Lex, you're on 365 Candid Camera!

On my way back to the quiet side of the bar I met these guys, from left: Silas, Matthew and Fred. Silas and Matthew were in town from Oakland, California and Matthew was visiting from Fargo, North Dakota.

Always love the lit-up bottles behind the bar!

On our way up to the rooftop terrace bar we met Clive the manager of Hurley's. Here he is with Lex.

And here's the rooftop terrace bar. One of the coolest and relaxing rooftop bars I've been to.

And here's bartender Stephen with yet another bottle of beer and a trick up his sleeve.

Or should I say in the palm of his hand, check out his moustache tattoo. Hilarious!

Here's the outside terrace that has a beautiful view. Hey, are those two smoking?

Hell yes they're smoking and they're outside so the Bloomberg cigarette police brigade can't touch them. Wilhemina and Chuck were visiting New York from Holland and were having a great time in the city.

The stunning view from the terrace.

Lex is back at the bar chatting with Stephen.

And who shows up but Lex's in-laws direct from the Broadway show. It's their 50th wedding anniversary! From left, Conrad A.K.A. "Morley," Mary Ann, Lex and Yours Fooly.

Lex's in-laws were lots of fun and we had a great night. Here they pose with Richard (I think, I forgot to write his name down in my notes.) Lex said she had seen Richard in diapers in Mexico and I didn't ask any questions about that. Some things are better left unsaid. Thanks to Lex, Morley and Mary Ann for joining me on this bar crawl, it was lots of fun! Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Hurley’s originally opened in 1892 in what is now Rockefeller Center. When prohibition happened, they simply outfitted the front to look like a florist shop and the Hurley family operated a speakeasy in the back. In 2000 they moved to this location and the bar and restaurant is a tri-level affair. The first floor has a giant two room horseshoe bar with one side that’s occupied by locals and the other is frequented by tourists and theater goers. The middle level houses a small bar and a large dining area and up on top is a recently opened roof-top terrace bar. It’s a friendly atmosphere and they’ve managed to retain the old-school Hurley’s charm of days gone by.

Hurley’s has three full bars all with a decent selection of draft and bottled beers. It’s also a restaurant but you can eat full meals at the bar. Some of the offerings on the menu include: Certified Angus Beef New York Strip with blue cheese butter; Beer Battered Shrimp; Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Grilled Bratwurst & Garlic Mashed potatoes. They’re known for their French Onion Soup and if you have a strong heart, check out the Irish Cheese Fries which are topped with cheddar, jack cheese, bacon, scallions and gravy. Ouch, my heart just exploded a little just typing in that last sentence!

Hurley’s
232 W. 48th St. (Near Broadway)
212-765-8981
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Thursday, August 12th, 2010—Bar 214

Day 214—Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Overlook
Tonight I’m going to go to a bar that was suggested by 365 commentator Al Rizo. Al lives in Miami but has hung out in many New York bars. A while back he suggested I check out the Overlook Bar, which is located a little to the East Side of Times Square. The bar has a big roooftop patio outside and from their website the bar itself looks nice. So let’s go check out Al’s pick of the night.

Here we are at the Overlook. Let's check it out.

Looks nice and plenty of room at the bar, let's settle in.

Friendly bartender Carlo was quick to serve up an ice-cold Corona.

Harry put the lime in the coconut, I'm just trying to get one in my beer.

Ornaments hang from the ceiling giving the place a festive feeling every day of the year.

One section of the bar.

Let's go see who Carlo is talkng to.

And like magic shots appear and are drunk. From left: Yours fooly, Carlo, Stacie, Katy and Lisa.

There's a pool table in the back room.

Also in the back room is a mural that knocked my motherfucking socks off.

According to the owner, from 1976 to 1979, comic book artists collaborated on this mural in bar and it remains intact. (Read more about it in the review below.)

Dondi and Fred Flntstone among other legendary comic strip characters.

Legend has it that the bulk of this mural was drawn after a 1976 Cartoonist Society meeting. What I would've given to have been in the bar that night!

Check out Beetle Bailey with a cigarette, that wouldn't fly these P.C. days.

Nothin' up my sleeve!

A second mural hangs on the opposite wall. This was started in 2005 and finishd in 2009.

Mary Worth in a bar? I knew she was a secret boozer!

Irony at its finest moment.

Meanwhile back at the bar...

Paul and Joe were enjoying themselves at the end of the bar.

Here's the upstairs lounge.

There's also a full bar up here.

And the outside rooftop patio.

It's 100% wood. Hello Kari!

Mariana is the lovely waitress up here.

Meanwhile downstairs...FIRE!

On my way out, who do I find taking a break, but Carlo with his cute friend, Sarah. Cheers and goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Overlook bar is a multilevel bar with a large wooden bar in front, a back room with booths and a pool table and nice wooden upper deck and full bar on the rooftop. Opposite the pool table in the back room orginal art is featured behind the booths from such comic book artists as Gil Kane (Spider-Man), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Milton Caniff (Steve Canyon), Sergio Aragonés and Al Jaffee (Mad) and about 25 others. It’s worth the trip to the bar just to see this wonderful artwork from these legendary cartoon artists. The urban legend is that they all were in town for a meeting at the National Cartoonist Society and they all came in for dinner and drinks (back when it was called, the Pen & Ink Bar) and instead of paying their tab, they left this art on the wall. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s something every comic book lover should see.

There’s a full bar here and a selection of over 40 different draft and bottled beer. Happy Hour runs Monday through Friday from 2pm to 6pm with two for one drinks. There’s nightly drink specials (attention Biff: Tuesday’s Miller Lite’s are four bucks from 6pm to closing), and on NFL Sunday’s you can get a bucket of five beers for 17 bucks. There’s plenty of sports viewing in here with 24 flat panel screens and two projection screens out on the roof.

They have a decent sized food menu including a good selection of all the usual pub grub suspects: chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches and wraps. But there’s also some tasty surprises on the menu including: BBQ Salmon, Buttermilk Pecan Chicken, Cajun Fish & Chips and Exotic Asian Orange Chicken. Pomme Frittes are served in a cone and you have your choice of 11 dipping sauces. Brunch happens on Saturdays and Sundays till 4pm and if your sweet tooth is screamin,’ try the fried cheesecake. That’s right, fried cheesecake. Mmmm.

Overlook
225 E. 44th St. (Between Second & Third Ave.)
212-307-5835

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010—Bar 144

Day 144—Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Jimmy's Corner
People keep asking me why I don’t have a page on facebook, well now I do! Thanks to Gidget and to “Boris” who are the co-administrators of the 365 Bars fan page. Check it out and become a fan here: 365 Bars on facebook.

Mucho thanks to Gidget and to “Boris” for doing this for me! As I’ve told you before, Gidget is the coolest DJ in the world and her show on Woody Radio is filled with fantastic music and Gidget is great on there. The chat room is a ton of fun too. Check it out here: Woody Radio, It’ll Make Your Rock Hard!

“Boris” who is co-running the page and runs the 365 Bar Shop is available for freelance artwork. He designed the bottlecap logo on the 365 products and also the 365 logo at the top of the page, if you need art for your website, CD or book cover or anything else, just contact me and I’ll pass it along to our resident artist, “Boris.”

Regular readers will remember my memorable three night stint with the Baltimore Bar Crawlers, Gene, Smoopy and Terry. While they were in town they went to 97,000 bars in three days and had 887,467 drinks between the three of them. When it comes to bar crawling, they are the real deal and I learned some valuable tips from them. They were whooping it up because Gene’s in the Air Force Reserve and was going to be deployed to Afghanistan soon. Well, I got an email from Gene yesterday and he said after some cancelled flights he was finally going to be taking off. You can’t drink over there and he sent me a picture of his last beer and here it is:
Gene, I’m honored that my website and book were part of your last sip of suds for a while. Be safe and hurry back and in October we will crawl again!

Okay, speaking of crawling, tonight we’re going to a legendary New York joint, Jimmy’s Corner. This place is a legend and it’s owned by a legend, Jimmy Glenn. If you’ve never heard of Jimmy Glenn, it just means you’re not a boxing fan. Jimmy was a boxer who retired from the sport after getting beat by Floyd Patterson and then became a manager and trainer. The bar is a tribute to his career and to the sport of boxing. And it’s also one of the last patches of Times Square that is a link to the old days when the area was seedier than the bottom of a bird cage. Sherman, set the wayback machine and let’s crawl to the past via Jimmy’s Corner.

Here we are, Jimmy's Corner deep in the heart of Times Square.

I"ve heard that Jimmy hangs out in here, so it's time to search the bar and see if I can find him.

And bingo! Here he is, the owner and legendary Jimmy Glenn. He's as nice as I read about and a great host at his wonderful bar.

The bar is a shrine to boxing and has a ton of photos of Jimmy and archival boxing photos. Check out this one of Jimmy and Muhammad Ali.

Tara, the lovely bartender serves up a bottle of Budweiser. And sorry guys, she's going to be married in ten days.

Even if you're not a boxing fan, you'll enjoy the vintage photos plastered all over the bar.

Shots and stories of Jimmy are interspersed with archival boxing photography and artwork.

Heidi and Ken were enjoying drinks in the bar and wanted to know about the 365 site, so I happily gave them a card and explained what I was doing. As you can see, they got a kick out of the idea.

It's like a museum in here, but with cheap beer, who could ask for anything more?

There's a great selection of tunes on the jukebox from jazz to Motown to Frank Sinatra and to the Fab Four. A little something for everyone.

A great poster from the legendary Ali-Frazier boxing match.

Here's a signed photo to Jimmy from famed sportscaster, Howard Cosell.

The front of the bar is narrow but it leads to a bigger back room with tables.

This group was enjoying beers and the old school ambience of Jimmy's. From left: Meryl, Justin, Grant and Oykie.

Even the tables are decked out with vintage boxing photos.

The walls also have photos of Jimmy in the bar with various patrons.

And here's the man himself, Jimmy Glenn, checking out the sports wrap-up of the evening on one of the TV's in the bar.

Diane and Ken were in town from Conneticut. Ken is president of Travelworks, Inc. and if you're looking for a great deal, check out his website at: www.travelworks.us.

It was Diane's birthday and she was letting it all hang out. Happy birthday, Diane!

My photo's a little fuzzy, but on the bar amongst other photos is Jimmy with Drew Barrymore. I'm officially jealous!

And one last great Jimmy-Ali photo. Two champions together! Goodnight everybody!

Review
Esquire magazine picked Jimmy’s Corner as one of the best bars in America for a good reason. It’s one of the best bars in America. It’s old school New York, through and through. When you enter the bar located in the heart of Times Square you’re assaulted with sparkling lights, American flags, jazz music on the jukebox and vintage boxing photos plastered throughout the bar. Even if you’re not a boxing fan, the framed and unframed photos are impressive for their historical importance alone. And Jimmy’s Corner has maintained the old time New York Times Square feel where the rest of the area has gone a little too much towards Disneyland.

The bar is a shrine to the passion in Jimmy Glenn’s life, boxing. And more often than not, you can find Jimmy sitting at the bar talking amongst the regulars or watching sports on TV. He’s approachable and is soft-spoken, a gentlemen and a pleasure to talk to. You won’t see anybody drinking a pink martini in here and just like the bar, the prices are old school Noo Yawk. You can knock back three dollar bottled beers all night long in here and four buck well drinks. They don’t bother with a happy hour in here, why should they with prices this cheap? There’s no kitchen, but free potato chips are laid out in plastic bowls on the bar. So just drink your three buck beer, enjoy the history of this place and shut up.

In an era where Times Square is slowly turning into a mall, there’s still a little slice of the old school: Jimmy’s Corner. Cheers to the bar and to Jimmy Glenn.

Jimmy's Corner
140 W. 44th St. (Near Broadway)
212-221-9510