Wednesday, January 5th, 2010—Bar 360

Day 360—Tuesday, January 4th, 2010
The Abbey Pub
More cash donations alert! Two men who have had the luckless task of being my manager at my night job are Frank Scott and Decker Decker. They’ve both been very supportive of this bar crawl and I appreciate it. And what I appreciate even more is that both of them generously threw twenty bucks apiece into the bar crawl till yesterday, check it out below (that’s Frank on the left and Decker on the right):
Thanks, guys! Sheldon Levine would be proud of both of you.

One of the things that was difficult on this bar crawl was to find different types of bars every night that would be entertaining not only to go to, but for people reading the blog to look at. I always tell people that doing this was kind of like doing an improv play, because you never know what’s going to happen. If nothing interesting happens with people, you need the bar to fall back on to get some good pictures of and tell about the history of the place. Sure, there’s thousands of bars in New York, but so many of them are what I like to call “cookie cutter bars” that have no personality whatsoever. So I always appreciated people suggesting bars and no one has suggested better bars than the man I refer to as my co-pilot, Al Rizo all the way down in Miami. Since the remaining nights are now in single digits, I emailed Al and asked if he had a last minute request and he asked if I would go to The Abbey Pub on the Upper West Side. You asked for it and you’re going to get it Al! Next stop, Abbey Pub. Well, actually the next stop is Penn Station, this place is way uptown, so we’re subway bound. All aboard!

Attention Penn Station: The holidays are officially over, time to take that fucking shit off the walls. Thank you.

Here's the train and once again to quote Fat Al, lean back, motherfuckers!

Look at everybody hypnotized by their texting devices. Hi, assholes!

It's freezing out and the streets are empty up here.

Here we are, the Abbey Pub, let's go in and have a drink or three.

There's lots of people in here for a Tuesday night, but I see a spot at the end of the bar, let's grab it.

And no sooner do I sit down, than the lovely and friendly Francis serves up an ice-cold Corona.

Bottles behind the bar surround the vintage cash register.

Natalie and Dan were seated next to me and wished me well on the last stretch of the 365 journey.

A quick glance above reveals what all classic bars have, a tin ceiling.

Francis and I toast to the 360th night in a row. Cheers!

Free popcorn!

A line of stools are lined up to sit at when the bar is full.

There's seating rooms to the side and back of the bar.

The wooden booths look a little like church pews. "Our Father who art in Pabst..."

There's also tables and chairs to relax at and hoist a hearty brew.

Which is exactly what Kayla and Kevin were doing back here.

Here's someone working the room, let's go say hi.

It's Heather who's a pretty waitress at the bar. This Sunday Heather's taking part in the No Pants Subway Ride of 2011. Check out the details here: NPSR of 2011.

Meanwhile life goes on back at the bar.

I was going to take an obligatory bathroom mirror shot here, but there's no obligatory mirror in the bathroom. Uhh...well...umm...goodnight, everybody!

Review
The Abbey Pub has stood tall on the block for over 50 years. It’s a low-lit bar with brick walls, a long wooden bar and tables and large wooden booths off to the side. The bartenders are friendly and the crowd is a mix of neighborhood locals and Columbia students. The regulars tend to hang at the bar leaving the booths and tables to the rowdier Columbia kids.

There’s a full bar with a nice selection of inexpensive beers and drinks available. The food is your basic bar choices including burgers, chili and fish and chips. The kitchen is open till 11:30pm during the week and till 1:30am on the weekends. Happy Hour runs Monday through Saturday from 4pm to 7pm and on Sundays from noon to 7pm with one dollar off beer, wine and well drinks. There’s also nightly drink specials available at the bar.

The Abbey Pub
237 W. 105th St. (Near Broadway)
212-222-8713

Cheers to Al Rizo for picking another winner! (Al co-pilot artwork by “Boris.”)

--------------------------------

Bonus Photos From Clacky’s Bunt Custer’s Bar: Part II—The Search For More Booze And Bird Flippage!
Yesterday we featured photos from the opening night of our Aussie friend and 365 commentator, Tim “Clacky” Clack’s Bunt Custer’s bar. And now here’s part II, with captions provided by Clacky. Oh, Clacky...

Umm...this raunchy removal of clothing was stubbornly denied in the following days.

Who's the stud? Why it's Bunt Custer himself!

Here's Chris and Mick Hogarth. Chris is a great chef and Mick is Chris' dad. He and wife Julie we're visiting from Tasmania.

As you can see Bunt's is friendly to Dogs and feet.

Some fine fare cooking up behind the bar.

And the wonderful aromas attract some unwanted attention. This is my dog. her name is Baps and that's Chris's dog Dio named after the late great Black Sabbath singer.

For those about to drink....We Salute You!

Closing time at Old Bunt's.