Friday, December 31st, 2010—Bar 355
Day 355—Thursday, December 30th, 2010
Blarney Stone (on 9th Avenue)
Before I begin, I need to direct all of you to a piece of genius. Karen and Jon at Grade “A” Fancy have outdone themselves with a piece of film that sadly displays some of the sad closures that happened in New York City this year. I’d say more, but it speaks for itself, check it out here: 2010 R.I.P.
Okay, another night, another Blarney bar. I think this is the only Blarney bar I haven’t hit yet...there may be one near Wall Street..aw, at this point who the fuck cares? I’m picking this one, not only because I think it’ll be a good stop, on the bar crawl but because it’s all about location, baby! It’s just a few blocks from where I work and I’m getting out of work early, which is nice because I have to get up early to post this and then do my early New Year’s Eve bar crawl. Wow, that’s a lot of “early’s in one sentence.” Makes me think of Biddy Early’s! Let’s go, I think I’m losing my fucking mind here.
It's 8pm so there's a lot more people out and about than usual. A lot of hustle and bustle and I have to admit to being a fan of neither the hustle or the bustle. But in spite of that, what the hell, let's all do the Hustle! (Do it!)
I told you it was close and here we are.
Okay, it looks like a great spot in here and there's plenty of seats at the bar. Shall we?
Linda's the pretty bartender on duty and she's not only friendly...
She's quick with a beer. Peace, love and suds.
An overhead shot of the bar.
And a longshot from below.
Christmas may be over, but there's still a tree in the window here.
There's a long wooden railing and stools opposite the bar.
Sports pictures hang on the well worn walls of the bar.
At first glance you'd assume this is a Jets bar...
But the Giants sign in the back room by the pool table shows otherwise.
Linda and Gregory pose for the 365 camera in the back room.
A shot of the bar from the other end.
Peanuts!
Here's Luis, a regular at the bar. I had a great conversation with this man with topics ranging from music to books to politics to our current culture and everything in between. One of the best things about this bar crawl is meeting people and having interesting conversations and this was one of the best. Great to meet you, Luis!
Halfway into our conversation, Luis' brother Larry walked into the Blarney Stone. It turns out Larry works security at the Horseshoe Bar, which was the 129th bar on the crawl, along with the BBC. Check it out here.
A parting shot from Luis and I. Cheers and goodnight, everybody!
Review
Okay, as I said in the introduction, I have to get to my bar early today and get it over with before the contingents of meatheads start swarming all over this town. New Year’s Eve is NOT a good night if you’re a seasoned bar crawler. Too many amateurs that don’t know how to drink. The odds of getting vomited on go sky high on this night, so I’m hoping to finish early, come home get a bunch of beer and watch the Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-Fi channel. So I guess what I’m getting around to saying is, I’m going to slack and not write a review. I found this “citizen” review on NY Citysearch and it sums the place up perfectly and it even mentions Linda, check it out.
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(This review is for the Blarney Stone on 9th Ave. and 29th Street. There are several other bars in Manhattan with the same name.) I'm really reluctant to write about this place. If I thought more people would read this, I wouldn't. It's like a fragile glass sculpture. It could so easily be destroyed. As it is, this could be the last place of it's kind south of 125th Street? Wow! A DIVE BAR in the best sense of the word. Nothing faux or pretentious about this place.
Everybody at the bar was our instant friend. The thickly brougued bartendress bought us two pitchers of beer. When we walked in, I said, "this place would be perfect if it weren't for the music being too loud." In ten minutes, Linda, the bartendress came to ask us if there was anything she could get us. "Yeah," I said. "Lower volume." POW! She was at the controls. "Just raise your hand when it's at a good volume," she said. "Excuse me," I didn't, but should have, said. "Are we dead and is this heaven?" The neighborhood is foreboding with NOTHING, but one pizza place and lots of people sleeping on the sidewalk. I hope that's enough to scare off tourists. Once inside, the funkiness, friendliness, and everyone's-a-pal spirit, makes this our best new discovery of the year.—Drink Club NYC is a roving group of NYC drinkers
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Happy New Year, everybody!
Blarney Stone (on 9th Avenue)
340 9th Ave
212-502-4656
3 References
Reader Comments (22)
Hey Marty! I can't believe you only have 10 days left.
I love the word 'Blarney' and anything with the word 'stone' in it. It brings me directly to one of my favorite words, 'Shenanigans'.
What are you going to do after this? Will you need a debriefing? Are you going to go through a grieving period? ;)
By the time you're done, you'll know everyone in New York; well except for those that are sitting in AA meetings as opposed to the bar.
I hope you've had a great time doing this, I know it has been begrudging at times for you, but it's almost over.
Have a great New Year and stay safe.
@Gina: I love the word "Shenanigans" myself and have kind of based my life on that word! I have another blog I'm going to start after this one which I'll debut about the third week of January, 2011. Stay tuned and have a Happy New Year!
I think this is the best Blarney in the city ! Been to all of them, except that one near Wall St. Best thing about the Blarney's ? .... QUICK DRAW !!! Otherwise known as "Keno" in most other places.
http://www.nylottery.org/ny/nyStore/cgi-bin/ProdSubEV_Cat_402_SubCat_337556_NavRoot_300.htm
Luis looks a lot like Donald Sutherland!
Happy New Year , & go back to Peoria , like the Bar Crawl there better , LOL .
Wow almost going to end , fuck , what will I look at then & comment ?
FUCK & we didn't go to that Bar downtown , shit .
This Blarney was not too crowded so thats a good thing. The video of bars and restaurants that closed is very sad,,,plus sad music to go with it. Excellent video though. Hope the dude that bought Fedora's can keep it real when it reopens. I hate when they say,,"we want to keep it the same" then they gut the place. I am also watching sci fi channels Twilight Zone marathon. Just saw the episode about resurrecting the dead,,,,kinda goes with the grade a fancy movie and my comment about Fedoras.
Oh my God ! I just watched that video and I didn't know Carmine's (by the Seaport) was closed ! The BBC loved that place ! - especially the salad dressing ... the best in the city ! VERY SAD !!!! 108 years down the drain :(
Between Carmine's, Hickey's, and Stoned Crow ... some of my favorite places have gone to the big pub crawl in the sky :(
I'm reading this on my horrible phone and can't see any of the pictures, but this bar sounds like it's a great drinking spot. And Linda sounds like an awesome bartender - I hope she's working when I stop in! Hope everyone has a happy new year, and Marty, have fun on your daytime crawl. Hopefully you'll avoid all the bozos. I'm going to a party and will cheers you all the very moment that Dick Clark's ball drops! And, yes, I know that he's no longer on the telecast, but "the very minute Ryan Seacrest's vagina drops" just doesn't have the same ring to it. Happy 2011! Cheers!
Biff out.
Great video Grade A, sad times. Perfect that you went to just a plain ol new york bar after watching the video. Good luck tonight Marty! And happy new years eve to everyone!
I thought the same thing @Jaws
@Everyone: Thanks for the comments and Happy Snappy New Year to you all!
Happy New Years to everyone that I have met here over the last year: Marty, Biff, Gene, Kari, Gidget, Boris, JHwang, Zioum, Raginrr, TimClack, Gina, anyone I forgot,,,Im sorry, All bartenders that commented here, anyone following 365, we are all going to meet one day soon,,,in the big apple and its going to be great, happy 2011, and stay here for Marty's next adventure.
Happy New Year everyone! Cheers to Marty for a wonderful year of barcrawling!
@ Al: I agree 110% ... it's been a good year, and a very adventurous one, for me. Getting married on January 1st ... 365 crawls ... Afghanistan for 4 1/2 months ... more 365 crawls. Got some new buds in Australia now. It'll be hard to top 2010.
Can't wait for Marty's next project ... whatever it is ?
HAPPY 2011 TO EVERYONE !
happy new year to all the 365ers!
fuck happy...a HEALTHY one to one and all the 365 crawlers...those that post and those that just pop in...wish all the best in this "new" year...i can' go on and on..."rutgut 45" kickin' in...y'all be safe an' hope it's a good one for all ('cept not sure any can top GENE's 2010...what is worse than getting behind a "group" of slow walkers "spread" across a new york sidewalk?...a "group" moving along and suddenly stop for whatever and you sorta plw right into them...guess you didn't get the word or signal...KOC
rr
happy trails
@Everyone: Thanks everybody and I love you all, I really do, thanks for making this such a special year for me. TO ALL OF YOU!
Cheers,
Marty
G'day Marty!
Well done for making it through to the end of the year! What a great year it was! We've enjoyed every bar review..
Keep up the great work.. It was one of the highlights of our trip around the world to hang out and share a beer (or 27) with you.
Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the crawl turns out.
Happy new year!
Mick and Claire
(btw Claire is slack for not sending on the photos she promised!)
@Mick and Claire: Great to hear from you! Happy New Year to both of you and I hope you come back to New York soon! Have a great 2011 and please keep in touch. It's never too late to send those photos, you know!
HAPPY 2011 TO EVERYONE !
Just 10!
2010 was a great year for me because I had the great pleasure of meeting a new world. The bars of NYC. And, even from a distance, the development of empathy with people who walked along with Marty on this bar crawl with their great stories and vibe. Great people, amazing places. Thanks Marty, for giving us a great year. Do not stop, please! go ahead! Cheers! and happy new year!
@Luc Ramone: Happy New Year to you! Thanks for the kind words and while the bar crawl is coming to a close, I have a new blog that I'll be debuting before the month is over. Stay tuned! Cheers to you my friend!
HAPPY NEW YEAR ! BONNE ANNEE EVERYBODY !!!!!!!!!!!
Great video Karen and Jon, Thanks. I remember about Fedora, I wanted to go there before to leave New York, but I often got depressed during this 3 months stay in NYC, and stayed shut in jason's appartment... But I made a prayer for this place "Si déu vol fer sentir la seva veu" which means in catalàn "If the Divine can hear my voice" ...
And funny because by reading again my comment on the Fedora post, I realized that I wrote the prayer in catalàn which is weirdo because it's not a language I often use, since my homeland tongue is Occitàn and not Catalàn! well, I sometimes loose myself and even don't know which language I'm speaking! But in Occitàn we say : "Se Dieu vole fa enténder meu votz" !! :)
Blarney Stone looks like a great bar!!
@Zioum Zioum: Happy New Year to you!