Thursday, June 10th, 2010—Bar 151
Day 151—Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Old Town Bar (Originally headed for Sophie's)
I got an email suggestion for a bar from Ian Roure. He suggested Sophie’s in the East Village and it’s a spot I’ve been meaning to go to, so that’s tonight’s destination.
And now a plug-ola for Ian since he suggested this joint. Ian fronts a great band called The Larch . It’s post-punk power pop with a touch of psychedlia thrown in. They have new album and you can check it out right here: Larix Americana by The Larch. And of course I never would have met Ian, had I not met his lovely wife (she sold me an ad years ago!) Liza Garelik who not only plays keyboards and sings with The Larch, she’s got her own musical group, Liza and the Wonderwheels. Check this amazing band right here: Liza and The Wonderwheels.
Alright, time to get crawling, Ian asked for Sophie’s, so he’s gonna get Sophies. Away we go!
It's a chilly and rainy night tonight and it's going to be rough to catch a cab.
Motherfucker, I've been out here for ten minutes and nothing! I'm not walking all the way to the East Village from here, I'm already tired from my shift at work.
Looks like I have to start the old familiar lonely walk down Fifth Avenue in search of a bar. Cue up the song, boys.
What a shitty night!
And still not a cab in sight. I'll go to Sophie's next week, Ian.
Memories, doo doo doo doo da doo...
Then at 23rd and Fifth it hit me...
Old Town Bar! I've been meaning to stop here on the crawl and tonight's the night!
Esquire magazine named Old Town one of the best bars in America. Not just New York, America!
And here we are, the legendary Old Town Bar. (We celebrated commentator Biff's birthday here last year!)
Bartender Patrick serves up not one...
But two bottles of Bud. I need to shake off the rainy chill from the walk here. Cheers!
There's a full bar here at Old Town.
And it's a cellular free zone! You gotta love it!
The walls are lined with large and comfortable wooden booths.
Old Town photos can be had at their website: Old Town Photos.
There's tables in the back for larger groups to convene and drink at.
Memorabilia and photos hang on the walls.
Patrick buys a round for a group at the bar and gets the party into full gear.
Here's Patrick with his girlfriend Colleen. America's cutest couple!
Denise was seated nearby and we happen to work in the same industry as I do and I had a nice conversation with her.
And since this is bar 151, Patrick and I have two shots of Bacardi 151. Salud and goodnight everybody!
Review
If the Old Town Bar gives you a sense of Deja Vu, you’re probably old enough to remember the original opening sequence of the David Letterman Show when he was on NBC. They picked this iconic NYC bar to film the opening credits footage. From the tin ceilings to the tiled floor to the long and sprawling dark wooden bar, Old Town is a true and blue old school Noo Yawk joint. The large wooden booths and the memorabilia on the walls complete the picture of a perfect NYC tavern. Esquire magazine named it one of the best bars in America, check it out: Esquire’s Best Bars in America (scroll to number 16).
This historic tavern has a full bar with a decent bottled and draft beer selection. They are also a restaurant (a full dining room is available upstairs) and some of the selections include: Steak Salad, Clam Roll, A Liverwurst Sandwich on Rye, Sliced Steak Sandwich and five varieties of burgers, which are their specialty. There’s a working dumbwaiter that delivers the meals to the bar, one of the few in town.
Old Town Bar is a must stop for any bar crawler living or visiting in New York City and it’s a cellular phone free place as well. God bless the Old Town Bar!
Old Town Bar
45 E. 18th St. (Near Park Ave. South)
212-529-6732
16 Comments
Reader Comments (16)
Can we agree that the Old Town is probably the most famous bar in the city based on the NBC publicity ( SNL) and that great neon sign. Also its a classic NY bar,,,like the wooden booths and the huge mirrors behind the bar. Ever notice that great bars have big mirrors and the bottles are always stacked up on a tier, thats New York classic, definetley a top ten bar on anyones list.
That looks like a really great bar! Very impressive that they were voted one of the best bars in the entire nation.
Good for them and i would love to visit there someday.
Great job Marty!!
Oh I love bars like that- with the big booths and the old pictures. I also love Budweiser, but not rain.
I've always loved places with alot of polished wood, history, and class.
It's a landmark.
Thanks for stopping in!
I especially like the Peter Sylvester Photos.
... and the 151 shots?
I recall doing my fire breathing demonstrations back in the "daze".
Yikes.
Old Town is great - so is Sophie's! Funny, but I used to go to Larch shows all the time...wonder if they've been hanging out in Sophie's lately? Anyway, Sophie's is a great place to watch a game, especially if you can snag a seat at the bar. Took my bf to Old Town for his first meal after a colonoscopy. LOL...he loved it.
I would like to add that they made the best hot dog I've ever eaten in my whole life. Old Town is a classic and the staff is quick with a drink and super friendly. Our waitress even brought me a cupcake from a birthday party upstairs! SCORE! Definitely a must-go for those who've never been and a must-return for those of us who have. TO OLD TOWN!
(I forgot about the cupcake, Biff! Maybe because I was smashed out of my skull!) TO OLD TOWN!
Another bounce-back, another great bar! And I remember that Letterman opening.
For many years I worked just down the block from the Old Town. I'm proud to say that it was the first bar my daughter (now 26) was ever in.
In the late 80's my company had one of the first "Take Your Daugher to Work" days. Several of us did just that, and after work, to give our daughters the complete picture of Dad's Day at Work, we closed the day at the Old Town. So we declared that we had invented "Take Your Daughter to the Bar After Work" Day.
What a beautiful bar. Love the booths! I remember that opening to Letterman, maybe I'm not as young as I thought :) And two cute waiters in a row with some nice facial hair, score.
I had got a dream to begin my firm, however I didn't earn enough amount of money to do that. Thank goodness my close fellow said to use the home loans. Therefore I received the auto loan and realized my desire.
@WHEELERSheree: "firm, close fellow, desire?" Is this some cleverly coded comment about jerking off?
P.S. I wouldn't click on that link anyone, it'll probably go straight to a Captain Kangaroo kiddie porn site.
I don't know about you, but I will NEVER trust a firm run out of a sedan. Not even if Jewel's the CEO.
Cannot believe you didn't comment on the classic urinals!
@Nica: Bad judgement call on my part! I'll have to go back when it's all over.