Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010—Bar 164
Day 164—Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
Subway Inn
Ding, ding, ding, the wonderful PayPal donation bell is ringing again! Katy Borden sent in a generous donation of 25 dollars with the stated purpose on the PayPal receipt saying, “ In support of “A Guy Walks Into 365 Bars.” She also left the following message: “Please buy James Mollo a drink when he gets back to NYC and tell him California misses him.” James is my friend who moved to California and is moving back to New York shortly. He’ll be bar-hopping with me on the bar crawl when he gets back and his first beer will be on you Katy! Thanks so much!
Tonight’s bar is a place I’ve been meaning to go to for awhile. 365 Bars reader and commentator Al Rizo recently suggested it in an email, so tonight we go to the Subway Inn. Al lives in Miami, but he’s a seasoned NYC bar crawler and this is a good recommendation as I haven’t been to a decent dive bar in a little bit. The Subway Inn is a legendary watering hole and I thank Al for suggesting it. Let’s dive in to the Subway Inn, the water’s fine and 100 proof!
Great old-school neon signage!
Aaaahh, it feels like home in here!
Cesar's a veteran bartender here, he's been serving up suds here for over seven years.
Here's Jose and a fellow who chose to go the name of, "Anonymous."
Anon is a fellow photographer who wanted to donate to the 365 Bar Crawl by buying shots. Cesar mixes up two shots of liquid cocaine, which is one part Bailey's Irish Cream, one part Jagermeister and one part Bacardi's 151 Rum. Yikes!
Cheers...
And bomb's away! It was surprisngly smooth. Thanks Anon!
Cesar and some of the regulars at the end of the bar.
Pay telephones! An image which harkens back to pre-cellular phone days.
The draft beer available at Subway Inn.
Here's the two prettiest women in the bar: Stephanie and Aramis.
Aramis has a blog which she said she hasn't updated for awhile. I told her I'd put up a link and she said that there would be a new post today. The pressure is on Aramis! Here's the link to see if she made her deadline: Miss Lovely.
It's mainly beer and shots at this joint.
See what I mean?
Love the retro TV in the Subway Inn!
Christian was the other bartender on duty.
If only this bar could talk! Scuffs and scratches from years of boozing and bruising.
There's lots of shots of Marilyn Monroe in here.
Here's an Andy Warholish one.
I love this one with the green light on the red walls. Okay the beers and liquid cocaine are kicking in, so it's time to say, "Goodnight everybody!"
Review
I found this reader review over at New York Magazine’s website archives and I can’t top it. The reviewer’s posted name is: loveofcarnage and here’s his review of Subway Inn:
“Me and my girlfriend walked through the doors and wished we'd bought those night-vision specs at the army surplus! WHAT A BAR! it was like being in a David Lynch film! i wanted Frank Booth to come over, rip my face off and piss into my occular cavities! i really miss it! i will return (without girlfriend) in 2006 - get ready Frank!”
That says it all! The only thing I can add is: “Suave! Goddamn you're one suave fucker!” The Subway Inn is one of the last slices of old-school Noo Yawk. Throw down a beer and shot before it becomes a T.G.I.F.
Subway Inn
143 E. 60th St. (Near Lexington Ave.)
212-223-8929
19 References
Reader Comments (25)
liqued cocaine= yuck..
i prefer my jager alone.. ewwww. its nasty enough already..
actually i take that back.. at work we'd put it in the jolt bottles so we could drink behind the bar.. this was forever ago.. back when there was jolt LOL...
Glad you stopped at the Subway Inn before it turns into a Trader Joe's.
It should be deemed landmark status based on the weathered bar and pay phones alone!
(soon kids won't even know what a pay phone is)
Another diminishing piece of our lives.
"Liquid Cocaine"... in my "former life" it would have blended in well with the real thing.
I love the contrasts from night to night.
Sometimes drastic, sometimes subtle, but each night a new chapter.
A great stop on the crawl/crash.
That liquid cocaine looks like the kind of drink that could get you all walleyed and out of control in a big hurry. I can just visualize the little pink oompa loompas waiting around the corner with evil grins on their nasty little kissers while I took my first sip,holding their candy cane bludgeons at the ready...
No Frank Booth quotes? Come on everybody!
Now that's the real deal! "Baby wants to fuck! Baby wants to fuck Blue Velvet!"--Frank Booth. P.S. Miss Lovely hasn't updated her blog yet! Although it's aptly named!
Probably the greatest neon bar sign not only in NYC but in the entire country. That is a real bar,, like you would find in another era. They just dont spend the money these days to make it last. Great pictures Marty. Raymond: Do you want to pour it, Frank? Frank: No, I want you to fuck it,,,Shit yes, pour the fuckin Beer....Subway Inn fits the beer and chaser type bar you find up north and I hope it lasts but anytime theres new owners you never know,,,,please no more of that Trader Joe,,,he's a trader. Thanks Marty
Hey Marty! Have you ever had a Monkey's Brain Shot?? If I remember well it's Bailey's + Vodka + grenadine !! photo
That's a funny drink but I admit : the texture is very degusting inside the mouth but the tast soooo good !!! :D
@Zioum Zioum: My brain sometimes functions like a monkey's, but I've never had the shot, I'll try it out soon!
"Here's to your fuck, Frank." ~ the Dean Stockwell character
Cool looking bar. I love places that have the scratches on the bar! I like places with history and character.
Jesus, Zioum Zioum, are those real BRAINS?!
frank booth: "Don't toast to my health, toast to my fuck!" LOL! i love blue velvet, rip dennis hopper. great bar and cool marilyn photos!! the last shot is my favorite!
Hey Zioum, I have to say that picture of the Monkey brain shot looks like sour milk curd,,,,the stuff I used to find in my fridge way in the back, during my younger days,,,,I'll take your word for it. The grenadine makes it look like bleeding monkey brains.
Did you know that pay phones host more germs than a public toilet? And probably more than loveofcarnage's occular cavities post-Frank Booth piss as well! Nevertheless, I would love to visit this bar of bars sometime soon. Any place that requires either a straw or a very steady hand to get shot to mouth is alright by me! GO METS!
I like the bar! Not so much the liquid cocaine... yuck! and is it bad if I don't know who Frank Booth is?
@SuzRocks: Frank Booth is a character from the movie "Blue Velvet." It's Dennis Hopper at his creepiest and craziest! He has some classic lines in the movie. If you Google the name "Frank Booth" you'll find some of the quotes. It's one of my favorite movies!
Marty!
I did it! ... Late, but done nonetheless. You're awesome! It was great meeting you.
P.S. Thanks for the kind words Barfly : )
@Miss Lovely: I'm going to go check it out now! Great meeting you too!
Go Mets! and those weird anonymous people
mama mama come here quick this ol' (liquid) cocaine is about to make me sick
(liquid) cocaine (liquid) cocaine all around my brain
"Heineken? Fuck that shit! Pabst Blue Ribbon! "...KOC
rr
The beer bottle in the Andy Warholish Marilyn picture looks like my Russian beer, which was my last beer, which was 22 days ago :(
@rr: Best Frank Booth quote of all time!
The picture of The Subway Inn is stuck in my head , like I've seen this pic before , giving me a deja vu .
I think I've seen it in a movie , maybe Taxi Driver !! , when Martin Scorsese is in the back seat telling Robert de niro to pull over , what a great seen !!
Did the phone in the phone booths work , most the time I find them they don't work , would like to go over there get drunk & make prank phone calls , calling The Subway Inn , & asking to speak to Al who's in there having a drink , Al who , Al coholic .
HEY....I take offense to the idea of downing monkey brains!!!
signed, Green Monkey