Monday, Sept. 27th, 2010—Bar 260
Day 260—Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Pig 'n' Whistle (Times Square Location)
Okay, more special guest stars are going to arrive on the 365 bar crawl and tonight’s couple are here all the way from Australia. No, Clacky didn’t get here early, this down-under duo’s name’s are Claire and Mick. They don’t comment, but they’ve been following the 365 crawl/lblog for quite a little bit now. I’m meeting them at the Pig and Whistle in Times Square and they've come all the way from Melbourne, Australia. The reason I chose this bar is that it’s not far from the Rum House and sadly, this is the last day that bar is going to be open. I’ll post photos from the last night at The Rum House in the bonus photos below. Now let’s go find Claire and Mick.
And here we are, The Pig 'n' Whistle.
Cahterine the lovely hostess greets you as you enter.
Lots of seats at the bar, maybe Claire and Mick aren't here yet.
Here's Mark the bartender in action at the bar.
There's a painting at the front of the bar. Hey is that a young Jack Nicholson at the right?
There's tables up front with nice view of the street.
I found some fellow mid-westerners at the end of the bar. Anne, Kathy and Randall were visiting from Chicago. Sadly, this was their last day in the Big Apple.
Some of the lit-up booze behind the bar.
A long shot of the dark, wooden bar.
Hey, who's that down at the end of the bar?
It's my new Aussie friends, Claire and Mick! Welcome to the crawl!
Bartender Mark told Sarah about the bar crawl and they posed for a photo.
It was kind of noisy downstairs, so we took our beers and headed upstairs.
Ah, it's much quieter up here.
And, no offense to Mark, but bartender Heli is a lot cuter!
Cheers from the three of us!
Claire and Mick settle in at the bar as I go to take some photos.
There's a nice terrace up here with a great view of 47th Street.
And moments after I took that shot, these four hooligans from England took over one of the tables. From left: Lee, Matt, Dan and Tom. Cheers, guys!
Heli, Claire and Mick are deep in conversation back at the bar.
We each ordered the house specialty, The Pig Sandwich.
Heli recommended it and it was delicious.
Obligatory bar room mirror shot! Goodnight, everybody!
Review
There’s several other Pig ‘n’ Whistle’s in town, but this is the original deal. The first Pig ‘n’ Whistle opened around the block in 1969 and eventually ended up here near Times Square in the Theater District. It’s an old school, Irish pub with a dark wooden bar, wooden booths and tables off to the side and in the back and friendly bartenders and staff. The crowd is a mix of locals and tourists and during the week you’ll find business people bellying up to the bar to forget the day they just had. There’s also an upstairs bar with an outdoor terrace with a great view of 47th Street in all its glory.
They have a decent selection of bottled beers and a dozen beers on tap including: Stella Artois, Sam Adams, Bass Ale and Harp Lager. It’s a full bar as well with a nice wine list, a half a dozen varieties of martinis and frozen drinks featuring: a Margarita, Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada and a Blue Freeze.
The bar serves food and some of the selections include: Irish Gaelic Style Sirloin Steak, Grilled Pork Chops, Fish and Chips and The Pig Sandwich which is a generous pile of pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce on a fresh roll with cole slaw and fries.
Stop in and dig the pig. (A Tim Carey registered closing sentence.)
Pig 'n' Whistle (Times Square Location)
165 W. 47th St. (Near Seventh Ave.)
212-302-0112
-------------------
Bonus Photos
Sadly, last night was the last night for the Rum House. As reported in By Fat Al over at the Half Empty Glass and by Jeremiah Moss at Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, the old school joint is now shuttered and I shudder to think what’s going to go in there to replace it. I bet instead of being dark and brown, it 's going to be bright and shiny. It was a family owned bar to the end and the Edison Hotel wouldn’t renew the lease, basically throwing out this landmark bar. Mick, Claire and I went to go have a few farewell beers at the bar last night and here’s some photos of closing night at the Rum House.
Not anymore.
A shot of the dark bar that lived up to its name. It's the color of dark rum in here.
A regular enjoys a few last drinks at the bar.
A shot of bartenders, Brooks and Fransisco. Both of them said they were going to start looking for another job.
You'd never have known it was Fransisco's last night. He worked like a demon till the end.
A bottle of champagne is taken out.
Fransisco pours glasses for those at the bar.
Glasses are clinked...
And Fransisco takes a well-deserved drink.
To the Rum House, R.I.P. Oh, and fuck you, Edison Hotel!
For master Oz bowler, David Brooks. Dude!
39 Comments
Reader Comments (39)
TO THE RUM HOUSE! And that painting really DOES look like Jack Nicolson!
TO THE RUM HOUSE!
I read in a book about Saturday Night Live that John Belushi used to drink at the Pig 'n' Whistle. How cool that Claire and Mick joined you on the crawl! They look like nice folks. Too bad about the Rum House and yeah, the Edison Hotel can go fuck themselves for throwing them out. Sad.
Very hard to comment about Pig n Whistle when a great bar has its last call. Another great dark bar closing to make way for who knows what. Francisco, a loyal employee, I see was doing his job knowing it would soon be over. This Edison Hotel management should all be sent to hell for destroying a bit of New York history. Thank you Edison Hotel,,,,I will never stay at your hotel and will tell my friends to stay away also,,,,that includes whatever plans you have for Rum Bar,,,which I heard is to "brighten",,,,,take your "brighten" and shove it,,,,we will stay away.
@marty, did you think to check Catherine's pulse on ya way in??? sorry wots wrong with a smile when entering a establishment.... then again she probably thought you were on the FBI sex offenders list, not her fault.i guess....
& claire & mick drank you under the table???? you big skirt!!!!...onya Claire & Mick!!!! OZZZIE OZZZIE OZZIE!!!!!
@Jaws, thanks bloke, funny Vikings mail....i still have to follow the Saints for the time being, had a great time down New Orleans which will never be published excactly wot i got up to.....National Security & all.......
@Fitzy: Ha ha ha! She was smiling, the camera just caught her when the smile went down. And yeah, I had to leave the Rum House early, you Aussies can pound the piss, alright!
@Al, thanks for the heads up mate...no fukin' way i'll stay there.....
nice to see more international visitors! hi clair and mick! the pig sandwich looks delicious and it looks like you had a good time. too bad about the rum house, the edison hotel can suck it!
@marty, no worries you poor littl' bugger, there is no shame in fallin' out of ya own tree...i've already set aside a room in the ICU at the hospital when ya get down here, where we can just IV some electrolytes back into you & get ya back on the job ya big softcock.....(& dont worry, thats heaps away from Barry & the the boys out in supermax)
@Fitzy: Ha ha ha! Thanks for getting my room all set up!
that sucks about the rum house. glad you saw it through to the end.
Great weekend crawling!
I love the International aspect of 365 Bars!
It truly has become it's own entity.
To all our Aussie pals!
Cheers Mates!
To the Rum House, R.I.P.
It was an absolute top night!! So cool to meet you Marty! Those tequila shots went down a treat! Feeling kinda average today although we are already 2 beers in!
Just so all you readers know, Marty is a top bloke, very knowledgeable and fun to have some beers with. If you get the chance, join him on this amazing crawl. Such a fantastic community service :)
Thanks Claire and Mick! fantastic to meet you both and it was a great night. So glad you could make it to the Rum House before the doors shut a final time.
Welcome to the USA, Claire and Mick! The Pig 'n' Whistle looks like a nice place (aside from the Eagles being on the tv). Nice painting up front! I think you're right - that IS a young Jack Nicholson! And there's Kenneth the Page on the left. And President Obama on keys, of course, and flanked by a VERY pale Tilda Swinton (it's part of her charm, folks) and Stockard Channing featuring Joan Cusack/Melanie Griffith hair from "Working Girl." I don't know who that young lady with Ye Olde English Collar is, but it's nice to see that, even in his darkest (and hairiest) days, Ron Burgundy never gave up on life or music. But what's the deal with trading his jazz flute for the fiddle? It's Times Square, not Appalachia, for pete's sake!
Dear Rum House: Thanks for being dark and coppery and cool. For looking like a bar and acting like a bar. For being a loyal employer to loyal employees. Cheers to a good run, and may Francisco and his co-workers find a good home base.
Gentrified bars hurt my eyeballs, so I'll be sure to steer clear of Edison's ironically (un)bright idea. Fuck you, Edison Hotel!
Your pal,
Biff
@Biff: Great job uncovering the cast in the painting! You still gots it, Bifferoonie!
FUCK THE EDISON HOTEL FOR DOING THIS!
@Claire and Mick: We're counting down the weeks until we hit the Crawl.
@Fitzy: Gotta agree....Catherine looks like she could use a drink.
IRISH SAUSAGES
Shamus and Murphy fancied a pint or two but didn't have a lot of money between them, they could only raise the staggering sum of one Euro.
Murphy said 'Hang on, I have an idea.'
He went next door to the butcher's shop and came out with one large sausage.
Shamus said 'Are you crazy? Now we don't have any money at all!'
Murphy replied, 'Don't worry - just follow me.'
He went into the pub where he immediately ordered two pints
of Guinness and two glasses of Jamieson Whisky.
Shamus said 'Now you've lost it. Do you know how much trouble we will be in? We haven't got any money!!'
Murphy replied, with a smile. 'Don't worry, I have a plan , Cheers! '
They downed their Drinks. Murphy said, 'OK, I'll stick the sausage through my zipper and you go on your knees and put it in your mouth.'
The barman noticed them, went berserk, and threw them out.
They continued this, pub after pub, getting more and more drunk, all for free.
At the tenth pub Shamus said 'Murphy - I don't think I can do any more of this. I'm drunk and me knees are killing me!'
Murphy said, 'How do you think I feel? I can't even remember which pub I lost the sausage in.'
@Tim Clack: http://instantrimshot.com/
To Claire and Mick!
Can't believe you were in NY while the AFL Grand Final was on. Not to worry though, as they're playing the game again this weekend. That's right folks - the best and most professional Aussie rules league in Australia had their grand final on the weekend and it was a draw, so rather than playing extra time, they play the entire game again the following Saturday.
It's these little nuances that make Aussie Rules the best football code in the world.
@365: couldn't check that one out because the site contained some kind of harmful content....I think I know where it was headed though. badaboom?