Thursday, December 30th, 2010—Bar 354

Day 354—Wednesday, December 29th, 2010
Jim Brady’s Restaurant
Okay, I’m back in the bar-crawling saddle here in New York. Yesterday I sent in some shots of LaGuardia airport to the fine blog, EV Grieve and he published them here. That led to a bit of an email exchange which resulted in EV Grieve requesting that I check out Jim Brady’s bar and restaurant in the Financial District. I checked out the bar’s website and it looks perfect. And so now, it’s out to the snow we go. Ho, ho, ho.

Okay, once again through the magic of the internet you're spared a subway ride that included me hopping on an uptown 4 train by mistake which sent me to Grand Central Station, so I had to double back and get on a downtown train which took me to the financial district, which I don't know too well. After a half an hour of wandering around, asking directions, I finally found it. Jim Brady's! Let's go inside, I need a drink or four after that journey.

Okay, this looks well-worth the effort to get here, let's snag a seat at the bar.

Joe the friendly bartender serves up a beer. This guy is a quintessential bartender. He knows everyone's names, brings you a beer just as you need one and keeps the bar jumping. There's a lot of regulars here and they all said the same thing, "We come here because of Joe." Cheers to you, Joe!

A view from my perch at the bar.

Adam was seated next to me. He's a firefighter from Washington, DC and this is his first time in New York City. He was waiting for his friend Casie to show up at the bar. Welcome to New York Adam!

Ornate brass light fixtures hover over and illuminate the bar.

A painting of W.C. Fields and Mae West hang behind the bar.

Joe gave me this pamphlet of the St. Baldrick's cancer fundraiser that was founded at Jim Brady's. It's the largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. Check it out further here: St. Baldrick's.

You gotta love the vintage cash register behind the bar.

These guys are all regulars at Jim Brady's. From the left: Ivan, Marc, J.K. and Nash. Cheers, guys!

A shot of the drinks at the bar all lined up like pretty maids all in a row.

In June, 2009 Elvis Costello played a surprise gig here and Joe showed me a picture from it. You can read more about the night here: Elvis Costello at Jim Brady's.

The front of the restaurant features this cozy, square dining nook with red leather banquettes and tables.

One of the walls is a tribute to some of the regulars here who were killed in the World Trade Center on September 11th. Sadly a lot of the bars in this area lost regulars on that day. R.I.P.

Here's the main dining room which sits just opposite the bar.

This painting was done exclusively for the bar over 30 years ago and depicts not only "Diamond Jim" Brady, but all of the people in the painting are people who worked there at the time.

Here's "Diamond Jim" in the painting, getting his drink refilled.

And here's the two owners of Jim Brady's in the painting.

Meanwhile, back at the bar, Joe is in mid-conversation with some patrons. Let's go see who they are.

It's Lacey, Ivan (this guy works both ends of the bar!) and Savage. They informed me it was Lacey night, all night long. I wasn't about to argue.

Frank was enjoying some chicken fingers at the bar. He works upstairs, so you know he's a regular.

And look who showed up at the other end of the bar, Adam's friend Casie. The night has now come full circle.

And so it's time for parting shots. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
The bar/restaurant is named after James Buchanan Brady, a.k.a. “Diamond Jim” Brady. “Diamond JIm” was a wealthy man purported to have a voracious appetite for food and pleasure and was a real man about town in New York at the turn of the century. Jim Brady’s restaurant mirrors the man’s philosophy and has been in operation since 1976. The actual bar itself has plenty of history behind it, since it was imported from the 1960’s hotspot, The Stork Club. The patrons and bartenders are friendly and while this line is over used in bar reviews, it’s a genuine “Cheers” atmosphere in here. Everybody may not know your name when you come in, but they will before you leave. Some may not remember it the next day, but hey, what are you going to do?

There’s a full bar here with a good selection of bottled and draft beers and since “Diamond Jim” was known for his unending appetite, there’s plenty to choose from on the menu. The specialties of the kitchen are: Old Fashioned Shepherd’s Pie, Home Style Chicken Pot Pie and Sausages and Mash with onions and gravy. In addition there’s also burgers, steak sandwiches, seafood and four styles of pasta available.

If Diamond Jim were alive, you know he’d be a regular at this joint. Cheers and thanks to EV Grieve for a great suggestion!

Jim Brady’s Restaurant
75 Maiden Ln.
212-425-1300

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Bonus Photos from Tim Carey!
Last week when I was in town I met with Tim and Colleen Carey who joined me on the bar crawl way back in May of this year. We were joined by our friend Bob Hurst. The three of us used to goof off and avoid doing anything constructive work at Fleming Potter together in Peoria. It was a nice reunion and here’s a couple pictures that Tim sent me from the evening. (And remember, get a Butch’s pizza or ten for your New Year’s Eve party.)

Proof that you just can't take me anywhere. From left: Colleen, Yours Fooly and Bob.

Take two with Tim in Colleen's place and me continuing to be jackass. Great seeing you guys and thanks for sending the pictures, Tim!

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010—Bar 353

Day 353—Tuesday, December 28th, 2010
Figs
Okay, so I was worried about my flight getting into New York after the huge blizzard that had just hit the city. I had watched reports from my parents house in Peoria that LaGuardia airport was a mess and not many flights were leaving or arriving, but I decided to gamble and try to make it. The flight from Peoria to Chicago was on time and went off without a hitch. When I got to the O’Hare airport my stomach started churning as I saw a bunch of flights to New York were cancelled. I about jumped for joy when I saw that my flight, was running on time! I went and had a couple celebratory drinks and by the time I made it back to the gate the flight was boarding. Hallelujah!

The flight went smoothly and they even granted me a request of three cans of Budweiser at once. They had wifi on board so I was able to work on that day’s bar crawl post and all was well. Till we landed. The wifi cut out, so I put my laptop away and got ready to get out and get a taxi back home. Then we waited on the runway. And we waited some more. Then the pilot announced there was a slight delay in finding a place to taxi to and there would be a short delay. So we waited. And waited some more. Finally after about 45 minutes we taxied into LaGuardia airport and...well, that’s where this bar crawl begins. Let’s get ready to deplane and see what awaits us.

Wow, I had heard people have been stuck here since Sunday night and it sure looks like it. There's people camped out everywhere.

Wow, what a mess.

I have to admit, while feeling sorry for these people, I was thinking, "It sucks for you, but I'm going home, bitches!"

And then karma paid me back via this huge, snaking line to the cabstand. I have never seen one so long. Usually it's a five minute wait, tops.

I heard someone saying it was over a two hour wait to get a cab. I thought about that, then realized I would still have to do my bar crawl after that. And then it hit me: Airport Bar Crawl!

There's a whole food court below, might as well find a bar, wait out the line and just like the sign says: "Relax." Hey, is that woman brushing her teeth on the escalator? Things are bad in here.

The first bar I see is Figs, looks like a perfect stop, especially since I'm feeling beat and I'm dying for a drink.

While the upstairs is packed with people, this looks like a nice little oasis with plenty of seats.

Okay, all is well. I've got a beer and prepare to finish yesterday's post and start work on this one.

Obligatory airport laptop shot!

A long shot of the wooden bar from my seat.

And here's a photo of the other side of the bar.

Some of the beers on draft at Figs.

There's large windows lining the walls showing snowy LaGuardia runways.

"Chargers coach says, 'Neither One."' I'm so proud of him! Maybe next week he'll master complete sentences.

Jessie and Stevie were my two cute and pretty neighbors at the bar. They were waiting for a flight to Cancun and we had a nice conversation about the bar crawl and New York. And guess where they're from? Australia! They live in the city of Geelong, is that anywhere near any of my Australian mates out there? Clacky, Fitzy, Brooksy...anybody? Have a fun trip ladies and send photos from Cancun if you get a chance.

Okay, time to close up shop and see how the cab line is. I ordered a diet Coke to get a hit of caffeine and get me ready to face the line.

Motherfucker! I thought once rush hour was over it would have shrunk. No such luck.

After about a 40 minute wait, there's good news and bad news. The good news is I'm finally outside. The bad news is it's freezing out here.

Okay, I'm in the home stretch!

Finally I'm up to the front of the line and none too soon as I'm losing the feeling in some of my toes.

And finally, I'm on my way home.

Goddamn, time to get inside and cuddle up next to the space heater. Goodnight, everybody!

Review
Okay, I’ve got to unpack and do a bunch of errands and then find tonight’s bar, so I’m going to slack and reprint a review from New York magazine.

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Profile
Until they install one of those restaurants with waiter-masseuses and beds instead of tables, the next best thing in tri-state airport noshing is this 125-seat branch of Todd English's Figs. During flight-delay downtime, curb your air rage with a lively Boston-bibb-and-watercress salad sprinkled with Maytag blue; spaghettini with roasted tomato and toasted breadcrumbs; or a killer to-go flatbread pizza topped with figs, prosciutto, and Gorgonzola in a box designed to fit your seat-back tray. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Extra
Figs is located on the first level of the Central Terminal building of LaGuardia Airport between concourses B and C.

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Figs
LaGuardia Airport—Central Terminal
718-446-7600

Tuesday, December 28th, 2010—Bar 352

Monday, December 27th, 2010—Bar 352

The Red Barn

Okay another day in Peoria, another special guest star. This time it’s my friend Jim “Rooster” Rustman. I met the Rooster the one year I went to college. He was roomates with my brother Jim at Drake University when they were junior’s and I was a freshman. The three of us hung out a lot and boy are there a lot of stories from that year, but that would fill up this entire post. Let’s just say it was a year of madness and leave it at that. After my freshman year I flunked out due to the fact that I spent the entire year doing drugs and drinking and stopped going to classes the last semester decided that I’d try another path in life and got a job as a janitor in a factory in downtown Peoria. My working career has spinned sideways ever since that gig.

Anyway, Rooster lives in Las Vegas now, but he’s visiting Pontiac, Illinois to see his mom. He decided to take a sidetrip to Peoria and we’re headed to The Red Barn, a great Peoria bar that I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t visited in about a decade. It’s lunch time and we all know what that means...Butch’s Pizza and beer!

Okay, here we are at the Red Barn. Yeah, I know it's night time out and this is a day time bar crawl. The fact of the matter is I forgot to take a shot of the front of the bar and my dad had to drive me back to get one. Okay? Sheesh!

Okay, there's plenty of seats at the bar, time to settle in.

Here's Dan, he's not only the bartender, he's the owner of the joint! A friendly guy and a great teller of jokes.

Always the sign of a classic bar, a nut hut! And right next to the Red Stag.

There's booths opposite the bar...

With vintage photos on the walls, including this one of the fab four.

They also allow graffiti on the walls. Hmm...this is Peoria's verson of the Mars Bar!

Some of the drafts available at the bar.

Lunch is served, a delicious deluxe Butch's pizza, just one of the reasons I come back to Peoria.

And poof, that pizza is gone! To the left of me is the elusive "Rooster." I had to blur the shot because he's wanted in about ten states for various crimes ranging from tearing the tops off of parking meters to removing mattress tags in Howard Johnson hotels and everything in between. Yes, he's an evil and bad man!

Up front is a state of the art dart board.

The front window has a lamp straight out of a "Christmas Story."

A shot from the other end of the bar. There's Rooster and Dan, but who's the guy at the end?

It's Michael and he and Dan make quite the comedy duo, you have to see it to see what I mean.

Here's two of Michael's signs he designed especially for the Red Barn. Nice!

The back room has a full stage for bands and performers. There's live music many night's a week here including Tuesday and Friday open mic nights.

There's tables and chairs up front near the stage.

Here's another one of Michael's customized signs: No "Stairway to Heaven!"

So I complied and sang, "D'yer Mak'er." Goodnight, everybody!

Review

The Red  Barn has been a Peoria Institution since 1965. Dan, the current owner has held the reins since 1983. The bar is divided into two rooms, with the bar in the front room off to the left as you enter. There’s large booths off to the side of the bar and graffiti and vintage pictures line the walls that give the place a relaxed and “anything goes” feeling. There’s a stage and tables in the back room and music happens here several nights a week and always on Saturday nights. Tuesday and Friday are open mic nights, so if you’re ready to road test your new band or song, stop on by.

 There’s a full bar available with a nice selection of bottled beers. Some of the draft beers available include: Amber Bock, Blue Moon, Budweiser and Bud Light. If you’re hungry there’s Butch’s pizza available and nuts from the nut hut. I’m not sure if they have sandwiches or anything else, but they’ve got Butch’s pizza and nuts from the nut hut, what more could you want? Don’t make me come over there and slap you upside your head!

 The Red Barn

621 W. Glen Ave.

Peoria, Illinois

309-692-3792

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Bonus Christmas cookies from Gidget!

Yesterday afternoon a package showed up for me at my parents house from La Porte, Indiana. That’s where my friend and the coolest DJ in the world, Gidget lives! Let’s see what she sent me! (And don’t forget to check out her show on Woody Radio.)

Here's the package from Gidget! Let's open it up!

There's a nice card inside...

These two packages!

And they're filled with delicious homemade cookies from Gidget! Thanks Gidget, this is too sweet, no pun intended.

And of course my dad sniffed them out in no time flat. Thanks, Gidget! Happy holidays to you and yours!

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Bonus Photos From Peoria’s Emack and Bolio’s in Peoria Heights!

My good friend and spiritual guru, Tim Hennessey owns and runs an Emack and Bolio's upscale ice cream parlor in Peoria Heights (along with his business partner, Jumping Jim Maxwell.) Rooster and I decided to stop in after lunch and say hi.

And here we are, Emack and Bolio's at 4534 N. Prospect Road.

And here he is, my personal guru, smiling Tim Hennessey!

Even though it's cold winter day, people still line up in here for the quality ice cream.

And so Tim quits posing for pictures for me and gets back to work. Sob!

Classic rock and roll photos line the walls in here.

An original piece of art drawn by my brother Jim of Melanie Griffith hangs on the wall in here. Thanks for that, guys, our whole family appreciates it!

And here's Tim with his beautiful wife, Tina. If you want to see a smile light up on Tina's face, just ask her about the time I helped out with Tim's surprise birthday party. No need for any more thank you's Tina, the pleasure was all mine! As it always is! Ha ha ha!

And there's more here than ice cream, check out the candies and goodies.

And look, it's Charlie Brown's Christmas tree!

Okay, all of a sudden I see one of Tim and Tina's kids, Katie with her husband Larry posing with a bunch of people whom I have no idea who they are. I think the baby is Katie and Larry's, but all I know is that when they were in mid-pose, I ran over with my camera and shouted, "Say, mescaline!" And the only one's who looked were Larry and this kid in the red cap, who kind of looks like me when I was a juvenile delinquent. Now I'm not about to say these two are holding drugs and I'm not judging, I guess what I'm saying is, you two guys ever heard about sharing?

And in the end...well, you all know about that. Turn me on you big ice cream eating dead man!

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And finally...

 

This is either a combination Prozac/Abortion clinic or a dry cleaner with a bar inside, but either way, I’m glad it’s here. Okay, I'm in the La Guardia airport doing this and now I have to do my bar crawl because it's like a two hour taxi wait. I'll write about it tomorrow, stay tuned.