A Silly Night Begins at Arlene’s Grocery

Went there with some friends to Arlene’s Grocery is at 95 Stanton Street this past Friday.   What started out as just seeing a friend of a friend’s band, turned into a oh-s0-ridiculous night.  I wasn’t planning on bar flying, but a few drinks got me talkative and right before the band went on I grabbed someone else in the audience.  Right before the band, Vinyette, came on, Eric and I had a good talk, toasted with our cheep-o beers, and disagreed over if Hoboken sucks (which it does).

Who could argue?

Bar Fly: Have you seen this band before?
Eric: No, just heard the cd.
Bar Fly: From where?
Eric: My friend gave me the cd and they rock.
Bar Fly: What other bands do you like?
Eric: Fall Out Boy to Disturbed to Perfect Circles.  Pretty eclectic.
Bar Fly: What are you drinking?
Eric: Miller Light.  The King of beers.  Triple hops.
Bar Fly: Three dollars I believe.
Eric: Yes, indeed.
Bar Fly: First time here?
Eric: It is actually.
Bar Fly: Where are you from?
Eric: Madison, N.J.
Bar Fly: How long did it take you to get here?
Eric: 50 min, just took the train.
Bar Fly: What’s your favorite bar?
Eric: In life?
Bar Fly: Sure, in life.
Eric: This place in Wilksbury, PA.
Bar Fly: Wilksbury, there’s stuff going on there?

Some girl who seemed annoyed with me talking to this dude Eric and this dude Eric

Eric: Breaking Ben is from there and when they’re not on tour they go to random bars there.  Who doesn’t love good acoustic music.  …my second favorite is William Mc(something’s) in Hoboken. (Anyone who thinks they know the actual name of this, let me know)
Bar Fly: F-ck Hoboken.
Eric: Why?
Bar Fly: Judging by the statistics that I know, people in Hoboken are 80% lame.
Eric: Hoboken is a cool place.  You need to open your mind to that.
Bar Fly: I’ll try.
Eric: You won’t.
Bar Fly: True.

Next post, post show interview with Vinyette lead singer Nathan.

To Bar Fly or Not To Bar Fly…

That is the question.

Bar Fly being interviewed

I’m trying not to completely crack up, hence my coy smile.

Saint Patrick’s Day Post: 2 of 3

Still at Desmond’s Tavern, Saint Patrick’s Day….

Grabbed a friend, of a friend, of a friend Matt, who was still celebrating a long day of drinking and wearing green (in his case a green tie).  We were interupted quite  a few times by a nice girl who was being very, um, Irish.  I only bothered to write down a few of her outburst, btu imagine hearing something random every few lines and you won’t miss out on the experience.

Mr. Matt, pretending to be shy.

Matt: I refuse to answer any incriminating questions.  I also want to look in the mirror the whole time (he looks across to himself and smiles). Do you know short hand?
Bar Fly: My own version. What time did you start drinking?
Matt:: After I completed a full term of work, approximately 6:30. (Suuuure)  Geez.
Bar Fly: What are you drinking?
Matt: The finest barley and hops of all time.  (Coors Light, I think not).  I never lie.
Bar Fly: Like George Washington.  (Matt looks puzzled).  “I chopped down the cherry tree.  I cannot tell a lie.”
Matt: Who hasn’t chopped down a cherry tree?
Bar Fly: Who’d you come with?
Matt: Your friends!
Bar Fly: True.
Matt: Bob, Jim, Sally.
Bar Fly: Liar.   Are you Irish?
Matt: Yes.
Bar Fly: How Irish are you?
Matt: I’m not sure how to answer that.
*Drunk girl says*: I’m Fifty Percent!
Matt: Unknown.
Bar Fly: Are you just Irish today?
Matt:Is my beard this red everyday?
Bar Fly: Is it red?  Anyhow, what’s your drink of choice.
Matt: Everclear.
*Drunk girl says*: Captain and Ginger.  (OK?)
Matt: Can I retract that statement?
Bar Fly: Um, no.  What’s your real drink of choice?
Matt: Water with slice of lemon.
Bar Fly: Are you shy?
Matt: Extremely.

I wouldn’t trust a word this Matt character said, but he was quite funny.  Another good interview on Saint Patty’s… if I do say so myself.

Saint Patrick’s Day: Post 1 of 3

I didn’t have what you would call the ideal Saint Patrick’s Day.  Not at all.  I spent the day working in an organic Manhattan restaurant and trying not to look our the window at the lucky, green-wearing drunks walking by.  It was painful.  Still, when I finally got out I hustled over to Desmond’s Tavern on 30th and Park.  While it wasn’t the bar I would pick to celebrate Saint P’s, it did the job.  By 10:30 pm the crowd was indeed, drunk, tired, and mostly not Irish.  They had the sufficient quota of annoyingly loud girls, absurdly cocky dudes, and, most of all, people who stopped trying to look good long, long ago.

After being handed a very warm, non-Irish beer (gross Coors Light) my friend Katie turned the tables on me, grabbed my notebook and gave me a taste of my own medicine.

Katie: What is your favorite drink.
Bar Fly: Now?  Tullamore Dew.  Whiskey.  I made you drink it once.
Katie: Ideal pickup line?
Bar Fly: As long as he doesn’t mention that I’m tall, it’s fine.  In the clear.
Katie: 3 adjectives you look for in a bar?
Bar Fly: Specials.  Dudes.  Toilet Paper.  (Those are nouns, silly me.)
Katie: How much would someone have to pay you for butt sex?
Bar Fly: I don’t think it would be a monetary amount.
*Katie’s friend Matt: How long would his beard have to be?
Bar Fly: I don’t think facial hair would be a factor either.  I like unstable men thought (I was pointing to a guy who was literally unstable, holding onto the door frame to stand.)
Katie: If you had to sext someone what would you say?
Bar Fly: Wanna cyber in non-virtual reality?
Katie: If you had to do a body shot off the owner what kind would it be?
Bar Fly: Well, it’s Saint Patrick’s Day, so Jameson.
Katie: If you couldn’t walk what would you do?
Bar Fly: Run?
Katie: No, like swim or fly…
Bar Fly: OK, fly?
Katie: If you had to be another nationality what would you be?
Bar Fly: Am I just considered caucasian or Irish now?
Katie: Irish. (Hell yeah I am).
Bar Fly: Well, then I’d be French, so I could smoke cigarettes and eat baguettes and french fries but still be skinny,
Katie: Favorite holiday?
Bar Fly: Other than Saint Patrick’s…. Halloween!  Because I like dressing up! (scandal with and excuse.)

Hope you enjoyed that!  Thanks to Katie!  Pics to come soon (new camera, not sure how to work it).

Love you silly kids, Bar Fly

A Bar Fly’s Favorite Holiday!

This old Irishman has the right idea!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to all my Irish folk out there, and everybody else, who is Irish just for the day.  Bar Fly is indeed Irish, and though I sadly have work today, I will be out Bar Flying post-work.  I can only assume I’ll find some sloppy New Yorker’s, hopefully at least one who can verbalize something.  Very excited for the night to come.

Bar Fly advice:  Stay safe. Have fun. Wear green.

Birthday Shenanigans

Me at Coyote Ugly... gettin ugly.

This past weekend I had my birthday celebration (for actually me, not as Bar Fly) on Friday and Saturday nights.  Who knows if there will be more this coming Friday, the real birthday date.  Needless to say, I was in no shape on either night to interview anyone.

However, I was in perfect drunken shape to dance the night away with any man, woman, being, or wall support pole I could find.  The celebration included drinking amazing berry flavored drinks at Royal Oak in Brooklyn all night Friday (594 Union Avenue), and getting crazy over all you can eat/drink Sushi and Sake at Ashiya in the East Village Friday (167 1st Ave), then dancing on the bar at Coyote Ugly (153 1st Avenue), where I put “Indian Outlaw” on the jukebox and proudly belted all the lyrics, and finally ending the night Saturday at a place whose name did not register in my hazy memory (yo, friends where were we???).

Here’s some shots from my very silly weekend.  Hopefully my new job doesn’t interfere with lots more silliness to come!

Thanks for reading!

Love, Bar Fly/Birthday Girl

Ashiya crowd!

Camp, exactly like you imagine.

CAMP!

When you think of camp, what do you imagine?  Log cabin walls, an open fireplace, kayaks, deer heads, smores?  Then you’re in luck!  Camp, at 179 Smith Street, is all that and more.  You can hang out in the front at the beautiful bar cabin style, do some virtual hunting on Buck Hunter, play board games, and roast smores during happy hour.  The service is very friendly and the atmosphere is perfectly cozy.  If you live in Brooklyn and are craving the good old outdoors, coming indoors to Camp is a perfectly good substitution.

I happened to roll into Camp at the same time as Adam, a guy I had witnessed taking apart the PacMan (I think) next door at Boat.  I got a seat in the back and started watching two guys play an intense round of Buck Hunter and he sat down to wait for them to finish.  I had to know more about someone else whose job also entails going around from bar to bar (except he gets paid and I don’t, slight difference).  Adam gave me the basic run down and let me know apparently his company puts in the machines for free and the bar and the company split the profit 50/50.  Genius.

Adam, doing his thing

Bar Fly: So, what exactly is your job?
Adam: I work for a vending company, Sunstar Vending, based in Sunset Park, but we have locations throughout the tri-state area.
Bar Fly: Do you often encounter this? (I’m referring to two guys who won’t stop playing to let him do his job).
Adam: It’s better when I come when it’s empty.  But it’s my last stop so I’m having a beer.  I go to about 15 or 16 locations daily.  Not always bars, sometimes laundromats, cranes with stuffed animals, whatever people randomly put dollar bills in.
Bar Fly: How often do you come here?
Adam: Every two weeks.  Just to check up, a lot of old games have problems.
Bar Fly: Most popular bar game?
Adam: Most or makes the most money?
Bar Fly: Both.
Adam: Most money in the photo booth.
Bar Fly: Because people don’t like what they look like and keep trying again?

I don't eat dear, but it works at Camp!

Adam: Probably.  And most popular… well we have jukeboxes too.  Those make a lot.  Surprisingly pinball and Buck Hunger make a lot too.
Bar Fly: What are you drinking?
Adam: Bud.  At least I thought it was Bud.
Bar Fly: Looks a little dark. How long have you been doing this?
Adam: Two months.
Bar Fly: Like it?
Adam: A lot of paperwork. Double checking and triple checking.  I come up a quarter short and it comes out of my paycheck.
Bar Fly: Favorite bar?
Adam: I live in Marine Park (soooo far).  My favorite bar is probably 3rd and 7th.
Bar Fly: What’s it like?
Adam: It’s a dive, local crowd.  I see a lot of old places I haven’t seen in a while.

Adam and I chatted for a while, and the great bartender gave us some free drinks.  Camp is great.  Makes you feel warm and cozy all over.  Next time I’m totally wearing a sleeveless zip-up vest there.  It just sounds appropriate.

Boat Bar on Bergen

Renata at Boat Bar

Even though I resisted it (hump-day struggles) I made myself get off at the Bergen Street stop in Carroll Gardens.  Not far from the stop I found Boat Bar, 175 Smith Street.  I walked in the unmarked doors to find a good size crowd for a Wednesday.   Brick and bright yellow walls, candles flickering on an assortment of tables, and booths.  The bar area was decorated randomly with all things oddly nautical, a booey, pirate flag, fake leg for a peg leg (why do pirates always lose their limbs?).  The crowd was cool 30-somethings, plenty of plaid, glasses, and all things that make me a little excited.

During a few lulls I grabbed an interview with the bartender, Renata.  She’s a tough, cool chick who gets right to the point, and serves her customers with an edgy friendliness.  She gave me the low down on the Boat, which is actually the sister bar of Buttermilk in Park Slope, one of my early posts.

Bar Fly: How long have you been working here?
Renata: Eight and a half years.
Bar Fly: Do you love it?
Renata: Yep.
Bar Fly: What’s your favorite thing about it?
Renata: It’s a nice neighborhood bar, a lot of good friends.
Bar Fly: Best night?
Renata: Wednesday, for me it is.
Bar Fly: Favorite drink to make?
Renata: Ummm, I don’t know.  I think I’ve gotten a little lazy in my day, but I like people who can have a good beer.

Free Books! Now that's just awesome.

Bar Fly: Is that what you drink?
Renata: It is. … It’s actually slow tonight.
Bar Fly: (Really?) This is slow?
Renata: Yes, Wednesdays are good.
Bar Fly: Most ridiculous thing that has happened here?
Renata: Most ridiculous… probably a big lawyer fight.  It started with one of them peering in a corner and ended up being a big brawl.
Bar Fly: That certainly is ridiculous.
Renata: **Says hello to a regular, tells his friend who’s playing with a candle, “Don’t be a jackass.  Give me the candle.  Not on my watch,” and the guy storms out.  She’s so kick ass.)***
Bar Fly: What’s up with the free books?
Renata: One of the bar owners is really into sci-fi.  Those are all for the taking.
Bar Fly: The owners own other bars?
Renata: They also own Great Lakes, in Park Slope and Ontario, in Williamsburg. Oh, I love your ring.
Bar Fly:  Thanks. (It is a pretty awesome ring) … Boat Bar is a great place.
Renata: They have a very simple formula that they like to stick to.  Good jukebox.  Good people.
Bar Fly: It works.

Check it out.

Bzzzz… Bar Fly

Down into the Dove Parlor

Strolling the West Village, I noticed a cute building with a not-so-shabby basement bar.  The problem with basement bars is descending those stairs is a commitment.  Once you go down, it looks really silly to come back up.  If you have no clue what you’ll find, as in the instance of The Dove Parlor, (228 Thompson Street) this can be daunting.  But I’m a brave soul and popped into The Dove to be pleasantly surprised.  It is indeed a par-lor, not just a bar.  One syllable can’t do this place justice.  The walls are an elegant red print, with fancy-shmancy couches and lounge chairs everywhere.  It’s really a shame you can’t smoke in bars, because the only thing missing was a gentleman in a top hat with a pipe.  That would have really made my night.

Fun ladies... great wallpaper

But instead of this imaginary gentlemen who would have matched the decor so well, I found Lauren and Molly.  No complaints, I assure you.  These twenty-something ladies were getting a drink after Laurens midterms (she’s in grad school at NYU) and were happy to share some thoughts of drinking, bars, and being single ladies in NYC.

Bar Fly: How’d you find out about this place?
Molly: I came here once for a birthday party.  It was super crowded, but drinks were very good.  We also have a group of friends who organize a bi-weekly happy hour and we call ahead to a bar and a get a drink special or reserve a section, or something and we came here once.
Bar Fly: What a smart idea!
Laura: Yeah, it’s great.  There’s a facebook group for it.  It’s sort of marketed as a singles meet up.  (Sexy)  There always have a great promotion.  Like food or something.
Molly: Yeah, and it’s in the bars best interest because were a happy hour group.  …sometimes we even have a section roped off!  (Behind the velvet rope… heaven.)  It started off as just friends and now some web group exists and random people just come and it’s a great way to meet people.

Swank Bar

Bar Fly: Awesome.
Molly: We haven’t been doing it recently, but it’s coming back.  It’s run by three guys who are just the sweetest, nicest best friends.
Laura: I think it’s definitely coming back.
Bar Fly: Obviously, pretty smart too.  They figured out the secret to get single girls to the bar they’re at… drink specials.  …What are you drinking.
Molly: French lavender, which I had here before.  It’s delish.
Laura: I’m drinking Chardonnay because they didn’t have Pinot Grigio.  I’m a wine drinker.

Wine drinkers are always so proud aren’t they?  It’s cute, I think.  Fun girls, very nice lookin’ place. Come back with friends and a wear something vintage.