Thursday, October 21st, 2010—Bar 284

Day 284—Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
Fat Cat
Last Sunday I went to Lederhosen and met a really cool guy there named Alexi David (if you missed Monday’s post, you should really check out Alexi’s website here: Alexi David). Alexi told me that he works at a bar close by called Fat Cat and that it was a cool joint that had live jazz, pool tables and booze. That sounds like a winning trifecta to me, let’s go check out the Fat Cat.

Here we are at Fat Cat.

And here's the stairwell that leads to the underground bar.

The bar area is nice and dark.

Bartender Brendan serves up a can of Pabst and flashes the 365 card.

I'm wearing the 365 colors from the 365 Bar Store.

Alex, Dee and Steph were seated next to me at the bar.

The view from my perch at the bar.

The nuts at the bar are not self-serve.

But ask and ye shall receive.

The booths opposite the bar have checkerboard tabletops for chess and checker playing.

And here's some people deep into a game.

There's also a large billiards area in the bar.

And ping pong for those so inclined.

And shuffleboard. Deja vu!

Here's a couple playing Scrabble at one of the board tables.

And here's their board. Perve has an "e" at the end? Who knew?

There was a jazz band playing in the back room, but they didn't want me to take a picture of them. So a new rule comes into play: Whenever a jazz band refuses a photo, I'll put up the "Zilch" song by the Monkees. So there!

Things are hopping back at the bar area.

Usually you only see paddles on the bar at an S&M club.

Some of the knick-knacks behind the bar.

Free NYC condums for those who really want to play.

The peanuts are gone and the beer is empty. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Here’s a review from New York magazine about Fat Cat, I have to get into work in about fifteen minutes. Fuck.
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Profile
Great pool halls are the ones with lots of brass, oak, and tables with those frilly leather pockets, right? The kind of joint where you introduce yourself as Mad Dog Sharky the Cat and no one bats an eye? Nowadays, such places feel contrived, as the gruff hearts of most old-time pool sharks have likely stopped beating. Which is what makes the un-saloon-ish Fat Cat the ideal place to hang out, drink beer, and talk plenty of shit over a few rounds of eight ball at a bargain $5.50 per hour. Located underground, it has the ratty psychedelic feel of a saltwater aquarium circa 1976. The 10 pool tables, though, are all kept in top shape.

Live Music
Jazz combos take the stage every night at 7pm. (There is a $3 cover.)
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Fat Cat
75 Christopher St. (Near Seventh Ave.)
212-675-6056

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And now, The Kinks!

Monday, October 18th, 2010—Bar 281

Day 281—Sunday, October 17th, 2010
Lederhosen
Okay, tonight I’ve found an indoor German Beer hall in the West Village called Lederhosen. Since the last two nights planned bars were too packed to do a proper bar crawl, I’m paranoid it’s going to happen again. Will tonight be a trifecta of too-crowded bars? We’ll never know till we go, so awaaay we go!

Okay, here we are at Lederhosen.

The front doors are open, so it's down the hallway...

To the bar, and there's a seat at the end. No improvising tonight!

And the lovely Uli pours me a German beer.

And I happily take the first sip. Cheers!

Alexi was seated next to me. He's a bassist and a musical terrorist. Check him out here: Alexi David.

The bar is colorful and loaded with decorations and German knick-knacks.

Some of the draft beers available at Lederhosen.

The walls are loaded with all things German.

And look who wandered in, Mark, who has been featured twice as a bartender on the bar crawl. Check him out here and here. Mark's the first bartender to be featured three times on the bar crawl. He call's Lederhosen, "The best fucking spot in New York City."

There's a lounge area up in the front.

And here's Kerry and Jean chilling out with a beer on the couch.

Here's the back room complete with a mural of Bavarian mountains where you really feel like you've been transported to a beer hall in Germany.

There's communal wooden benches for large groups on one side...

And smaller tables on the other side of the room.

Okay, back to the bar, because I think dinner is just about ready to be served.

And here's Uli with tonight's Sunday dinner.

I got the Rollade which is rolled beef filled with bacon, pickles, onion and mustard in brown gravy. It comes with homemade German noodles, sauerkraut and red cabbage.

Achtung! It was one of the most delicious meals I've had on the bar crawl.

Here's Dominika, Uli and Henry behind the bar. Henry took the camera and said he'd take a photo.

And the parting shot with shots. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The hills are alive, with the sound of burping. Lederhosen bar is an indoor German beer hall located smack dab amidst some brownstones in the West Village. The front bar is colorfully decorated with Teutonic decorations such as flags, beer mugs, paintings and of course, lederhosen. There’s a lounge area in the front of the bar with couches and a fireplace, but the real attraction is the back room. The large room has wooden communal tables and two tops and the walls are covered with an impressive mural of Bavarian mountains.

They have a full bar here, but come on, you’re in a German beer hall and you’re going to order a Cosmoplitan? Just say nein and check out the varied beer selection of German suds at Lederhosen. The draft selections include: Dinkelacker Pils, Spaten Lager, Radeberger Pilsner and Weihenstephaner Hefeweiss. If you prefer bottled beer, they’ve got you covered as well, some of the choices offered are: Dinkelacker Pils, Weihenstephaner Dunkel, Augustiner Helles and Kulmbacher Moenchshof which is a black lager.

And to soak up all those suds, there’s a menu of authentic German dishes to choose from. In addition to a variety of sausages, brats and sandwiches some of the main courses include: Jagerschnitzel in mushroom gravy; Sauerbraten; Rindergoulasch and Rollade which is rolled beef filled with bacon, pickles, onion and mustard in brown gravy. I had the latter and highly suggest it.

And if you’re in the mood for something sweet after dinner, try the Irischer which is a a shot of Irish whiskey and whipped cream. Irish whiskey in a German beer hall? I guess we can all get along together, after all. Beifall!

Lederhosen
39 Grove St. (Near Bleecker St.)
212-206-7691

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Bonus Jaws Art

Here's the Jaws Time Machine/Zombie art that we've been talking about in the comments section. Nice job, Jaws!

And here's the Zombies!

Friday, September 3rd, 2010—Bar 236

Day 236—Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Arthur's Tavern
The old donation bell hasn’t rang in quite some time and happily tonight it rang twice.

First off, it looks like I’m going to be making some more friends from the land down under. Claire and Mick Campbell generously sent in twenty dollars and told me they were going to be in New York City in a couple of weeks at the end of September. So they’re going to be joining me on the crawl and I’m looking forward to meeting some new Australian mates! Thanks Claire and Mick, we’ll be seeing you two soon!

The second donation was from Nicole Salazar who sent in a generous ten dollar donation. She said it was for the “continuation of the 365 day bar crawl.” Thanks so much, Nicole, due to fine folks like you, I continue to crawl!

Okay, it’s not as late as last night, so we’ll venture a little further away from where I work. I’ve been to all kinds of bars so far, but tonight while looking for a place to go to I realized I hadn’t yet been to a jazz bar. And if you’re going to a jazz bar, why not go to the oldest one in town? Arthur’s Tavern in the West Village has been in the same location since 1937 and people call it, “The Home of the Bird,” because jazz great Charlie Parker used to regularly play gigs at the tavern. If it’s good enough for “The Bird,” it’s good enough for me, let’s fly on over there.

And here we are at the legendary Arthur's.

Wow, it's packed in here. Nice and dark and lit up with Christmas tree lights. A festive mood indeed.

Bartender Kiddra serves up a beer.

Peace, cheers and beers.

An unflashed view from where I sit at the bar.

Some of the bottled beers available and the Wicked Witch. Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

There's tables off to the side, and as you can see, the joint is packed.

Here's an enlarged clipping from the New York Times about Arthur's hanging on the wooden wall opposite the bar.

And another one from New York magazine hangs beside it.

A shot outside the tinsel covered window.

Rich was seated next to me at the bar.

And his friend John joined him later.

And now the band takes the stage, it's just about showtime, ladies and gentlemen!

And here's tonight's featured act, Sweet Georgia Brown. Here she's signing some CD's before the show starts. Georgia has performed on Broadway and has sang with Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Fathead Newman, KoKo Taylor and Stanley Turrentine.

And here we go, it's showtime.

People immediately get up and start dancing.

Georgia is putting on one hell of a show and getting the crowd moving.

A great performer, singer and a wonderful set at Arthur's Tavern.

And as I walked home, I stumbled upon this storefront...FIRE! Goodnight, everybody.

Review
Arthur’s Tavern is a New York landmark and has been on the block since 1937. The space is small and packs them in seven nights a week due to the live music and the fact that there’s never a cover charge for the entertainment. The front area houses a bar and tables off to the side and in the back, the bands play in the piano bar area with people dancing in the limited dance floor.

There’s a full bar here and it’s a two drink minimum during music sets. While it’s billed as a jazz nightclub, there’s all kinds of music featured here. Live jazz runs from 7pm to 10pm Tuesday through Saturday, there’s Dixieland jazz, Siunday and Monday catch the best rhythm and blues from 9pm to 3am and more R&B Tuesday through Saturday, 11pm to 3am.,

When you get lost between the moon and New York City, the best that you can do is to fall into Arthur’s Tavern, enjoy the music and have a drink or six.

Arthur's Tavern
57 Grove St. (Near Seventh Ave. South)
212-675-6879

And Now, For Fat Al...The Byrds!