Thursday, January 6th, 2011—Bar 361

Day 361—Wednesday, January 5th, 2010
Slate

First off, another last minute donation, from friend, commentator, blogger and DJ extraordinaire, Gidget! Gidget sent in a generous donation with this message: “ok 20 bucks for you back home in peoria. and an extra five for good measure.” Thanks Gidget, that’s very generous. For those of you that don’t know Gidget started the 365 Facecrack fan page and maintains it with our resident artist, “Boris.” And she has a great radio show on Woody Radio, check it out here: Woody Radio.

I got a nice write up today on a friend of mine's blog. Check it out here: Groovyrick's Blog. Thanks, Rick, I'll see you soon on the bar crawl!

Okay, I’m not working tonight because tomorrow I’m traveling. Yes, that’s right, I’m traveling, as in flying out of New York City. What’s going on here? Well that’s for me to know and you to find out. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah! Anyway, I need to find a place nearby because I still need to pack and get to bed early because my car service to the airport is coming at the ungodly hour of 7am. Yikes! Luckily I remembered a place I’ve been meaning to go to for a while, Slate on 21st Street which is just five short blocks away. We’ll be there before you know it. Watch.

See, here we are, let's go check it out.

Wow, a long and winding bar. And since it's four in the afternoon, there's tons of seats. You should see this place on the weekends, it's three deep at the bar then.

Here's Jamie, the friendly and pretty bartender serving up the first beer.

I'm keeping it down to my minimum of three beers tonight, because I still have to go home and pack. I need to keep my wits about me, my last trip I forgot my cell phone and camera charger. But I guess that's better than the time I left my suitcase at the Hilton Bar across from the O'Hare Airport and showed up at my parents house empty-handed at Christmas. Whoops! I think I'm the only person in the world who's mom says to him before he travels, "Now don't leave your suitcase at a bar on the way home again."

Peace, love, beers and cheers!

As you can see, it's a full bar in here, I don't think they're going to run out of booze anytime soon.

The bar from my point of view.

Louie was seated next to me at the bar. He's the manager/operator of Slate. He was very supportive of the 365 idea and was happy I chose Slate as my last New York bar. Last New York bar? Did I say that, well, never mind.

Here's a shot of the bar from the other end.

I found this lively crew up front by the door. From left: Abby, Carla, Nerissa and Colin. Nerissa is part of a blog called, Magenta Speakers that's part fashion, part music, part fun and part sex. Well I gotta check that out and so should you, here's a link to the blog: Magenta Speakers.

Here's the lit-up stairwell that leads to the pool tables and games on the second floor. "And she's buying a stairway to...billiards?"

There's lots of tournament style pool tables down here.

Foosball!

Ping pong!

And if you don't feel like playing games, you can always play the piano! I'm having a Bill's flashback.

Meanwhile back at the bar, Jamie's taking care of business.

Okay, my third beer is done, I have to go home and pack. God I hope I don't leave my luggage in a bar tomorrow. Goodnight, everybody!

Review

Alright, as I said up in the introduction I’m traveling today. And no I’m not saying where, but I don’t have time to write a review because the car service will be here any minute. Here’s a review from New York magazine (it's a critics pick).

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Like playing games with your date? Well, whether you're looking to work through dominance issues or you just want to meet up with friends to shoot some pool, this is the best billiard joint in Chelsea. Though it's not the cheapest place to rack 'em up, this well-lit bi-level pool hall maintains its tables beautifully. And unlike with many of its competitors, there's more than enough room between the tables: You'll actually spend more time between shots conversing with your own group than enduring the inevitable drama at nearby tables. There's also food available in the attractive upstairs dining room. — Charles Runnette

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Okay, I’m off! Stay tuned to see where my travels are taking me. Cheers!

Slate
54 W. 21st St. (Near Sixth Ave.)
212-989-0096

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Bonus art from The Chief!
The Chief who runs the fine Peoria Bar Review, sent in a piece of art he created at our Christmas stop, The Last Chance. The drawing is of someone I took a photo of. See if you can match it up! Thanks for the artwork, Chief!

Friday, February 12, 2010—Bar 33

Day 33—Thursday, February 11th

Deweys Flatiron

Okay, it finally stopped snowing here and today is another request day. A fellow by the name of Spiro wrote me and told me I should try Dewey’s Flatiron Bar, which is handy because like last night’s tavern, it’s on my way home. Like I said, it stopped snowing, but it’s still a mess out there and I don’t feel like straying far. Oh, and Spiro said he might be at the bar and we’ll have a beer to together. So tonight I’ll be Richard Nixon to his Spiro, but don’t worry, I’ll pay my tab. I am NOT a crook!

Here we are, Dewey's Flatiron, let's see what this joint is all about.

Luis is the doorman/bouncer and a very nice guy. A good sign of the hospitality to come.

It's a nice looking bar. And looking even nicer is...

Eva, the lovely and very friendly bartender for the evening.

I drink my beer in full spastic mode. Gaaaaahhh!

The bar is very spacious with lots of tables and booths in the back. It was a little quiet tonight, I think people are still spooked about yesterday's blizzard.

Here's Jamal, who's not only a regular at Dewey's, he told me he's a regualar at several more. For that, I decided to make him the Master Boozer for the evening. Welcome to the elite club, Jamal!

Admiral George Dewey, the man the bar is named after.

Adam and Lauren were just getting ready to leave as I snapped their photo.

Some of the wide array of draft beers available at the bar.

Some of the specials and a trivia question I have no fucking idea as to the answer. Maybe you do.

These people were having fun and drinks at the end of the bar. From left: Maria, Chris, Jenna and Jack. Cheers!

Let's check out the upstairs bar.

It's a little smaller and cozier up here.

And yet another beautiful bartender upstairs, the lovely and friendly Gina.

Back downstairs I ask Eva for one more for the road.

She serves it up along with a little tongue. Holy Guacamole! Thanks Eva!

And of course in the end it all boils down to...obligatory bathroom mirror shot! Goodnight Everybody!

Review

Dewey's Flatiron was established in 1996 just blocks away from my favorite building in New York, the Flatiron Building. The bar itself is named after Admiral George Dewey and there’s a lot of history behind the name, but I go to bars to drink, not to learn about history and luckily there’s just as much booze in this joint as history. There’s also a lot of space, the front bar is big, the ceilings are high and there’s lots of tables and booths in the back. Plus there’s a second floor with a smaller bar upstairs. The bartenders and clientle are a friendly bunch and fun to hang out with.

The bar is a big after-work place and sports rules the days and nights on weekends. On Sundays, game-ready fans can fork over thirty bucks and then consume all the beer and chicken wings for an eight hour stretch. They have 17 plasma TV’s to watch games on and happy hour is 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Monday through Wednesday and Saturday happy hour specials include four buck beers and five dollar well drinks. Margaritas and Coronas are four bucks on Thursday and on Friday you can indulge in five dollar Cosmos and flavored martinis.

Dewey’s Flatiron features a full menu with burgers, pizza, rib eye steak sandwich, cajun shrimp quesadilla and linguine carbonara. They have a few healthy choices, but fuck that, you’re in a bar, you want to eat healthy? Go home and eat a fucking Lean Cuisine! Hey...where was Spiro?

Deweys Flatiron
210 Fifth Ave. (between 25th and 26th St.)
212-696-BEER (I love that phone number!)