New York eGullet bar crawl

[tommy]

being beret-less, i shall be wearing no pants.  if  i come, i may even have "TCD", aka "The Critical Diner" in tow.  TCD, however, will probably be wearing pants, although i doubt he'll have a beret.

to review, i will be easily recognizable as the fellow wearing no pants, with no beret, and with TCD in tow. hope to see you then.

[Liza]

Sounds like Tommy might agree with me on an agreement to not take photographs, and if we are to report on this later, to perhaps encourage disinformation? "Tommy indeed arrived without pants, but with a large entourage of Dungeness crabs who insisted on following him around throughout the West Village."

(I'm guessing I'll win the coveted EGullet "Most Paranoid or Slightly Delusional" poster award?)

[yvonne johnson]

Absolutely, no photos. In total agreement with Liza. No photos plastered on the internet of us crawlers looking refreshed (read: a bitty plastered).

[Wilfrid]

Oh god, no photos.  For goodness sake.  Be warned, I have absolutely no sense of humor in person.  And no conversation.  I shall spend the evening staring mutely into my beer.  I am glad I re-joined this thread though, as there is an otherwise bewildering and disturbing exchange between Liza and Tommy on her bio-thread about whether she will be wearing pants or not.  Now I understand.

I should say that the chances of this crowd of oddballs (and I include myself) fading quietly into the background and not spotting each other in a space as small as the Kettle of Fish, can be safely discounted.

I have deciphered my list of other nearby venues.  Chumley's, which Tommy recommended way back, is nearby, as are the pair of bars facing each other across Hudson - the White Horse, which everyone knows, and the Blind Tiger, which is quite okay.  We could also wander up a few blocks to the Tavern on Jane.  I am concentrating on pub-like options - obviously there are different kinds of bars in the neighborhood too.

I got a critical review of my new beret from the missus last night.  It's hard to reproduce typographically, but if you try saying "Jesus" and retching at the same time, you'll get some idea.

[tommy]

I should say that the chances of this crowd of oddballs (and I include myself) fading quietly into the background and not spotting each other in a space as small as the Kettle of Fish, can be safely discounted.

hehe.

that blind tiger is quite good.  much better than that horse place, assuming the horse place is the one on the left side of the street and the tiger one is on the right.  i always get them confused.

tavern on jane has quite a good burger, no?

isn't there a dive called barrow street pub on hudson at barrow?  quite a nice little dive, with a pool table and dart board.  roomy too.

i suppose the stoned crow is filled with frat boys these days.  so that's completely out.

[Wilfrid]

...that blind tiger is quite good.  much better than that horse place, assuming the horse place is the one on the left side of the street and the tiger one is on the right.  i always get them confused.

I don't know about anyone else, but I find that varies depending which way I'm facing.

Haven't eaten in the Tavern on Jane.  The Barrow Street place sounds great (I have a vague recollection of it).  Frat boys certainly unwelcome, otherwise we could go to the Peculier Pub and contemplate their three million different types of beer.

[tommy]

the horse place is just left of center (in the below picture) on the south side of the cross street.  and tiger place is across the street, to the right.  or maybe the other way around.

Click me to see an example of "left and "right"

[yvonne johnson]

I'd like to avoid Tavern on Jane for eating (I might puke into Wilfrid's beret. I'll keep mine clean, thanks). Me and Lurker went there a few months back and the food wasn't up to much. Drinking there would be fine, though it is quite a small place.

Oh, and by the way, I'm Eskimo and a man.

[Liza]

Just what I suspected, Yvonne. So can we expect a beret AND whale blubber? Makes a nifty hostess gift.

[g.johnson]

Yvonne's blubber is self-propelled and will be following a couple of feet behind her wearing a Barbour jacket.

[Wilfrid]

Tommy, that picture would be very helpful if I could recognise the buildings from their roofs.  But happy to greet a fellow Mapquest user.

I think anyone throwing up in my hat will have the consolation that they are making a young Dominican woman very happy indeed.

[TCD]

being beret-less, i shall be wearing no pants.  if  i come, i may even have "TCD", aka "The Critical Diner" in tow.  TCD, however, will probably be wearing pants, although i doubt he'll have a beret.

to review, i will be easily recognizable as the fellow wearing no pants, with no beret, and with TCD in tow. hope to see you then.

No beret; pants, yes.  However, if tommy is wearing no pants I will likely not be physically in tow or in front of him for that matter.  Standing next to him attempting to avoid being arrested with him will likely be the stance I will take.

[Simon Majumdar]

I am assuming as this is an American attempt at a piss up it will be two bottles of shandy and then home then apart from the Johnson's who, from my own brief ( and entirely pleasurable, I admit ) meeting, will be soused as herrings before anyone else gets there

No if you come to the London pub crawl ( planned for April-ish ) we can show you how it should be done.

The gauntlet is thrown.  Are you board enough to pick it up?  I suspect I already know the answer  

[Liza]

What we need here is a 'I slap your face with my glove' emoticon, Simon.

I, for one, accept your challenge. Shall we say vodka at dawn? Choose your seconds...

[g.johnson]

the Johnson's ... will be soused as herrings before anyone else gets there

Absolutely. I've started drinking already. And I will spend this evening priming the hip flasks to avoid those tedious gaps in alcohol consumption that occur between bars.

[tommy]

No if you come to the London pub crawl ( planned for April-ish ) we can show you how it should be done.

:

england used to boast of having the greatest Navy in the world.  now it seems it's all about being the greatest drinkers in the world.  hey, everyone has to be good at *something*, right?  

[Wilfrid]

Simon, the Johnsons are not the only ones involved in this  who honed their damage-riddled livers in the bars and dives of London's Soho.  The significant thing about this plan was that, at one stage, it was almost all ex-pats from the British isles who had signed up.  I see the party is now more balanced and international in composition.

[g.johnson]

hey, everyone has to be good at *something*, right?  

I fear that the Finns and Russians have us beaten at drinking. Football hooliganism, on the other hand...

[Liza]

...we have more guns than everyone ...(Sigh)

[Wilfrid]

No photos.  No guns.  I have a faint thumping in my head from last night's rehearsal, which involved the time-honoured combination of Sam Adams, champagne and burgundy, and an all-too-brief meeting with Tommy in a midtown dive, but I am ready to do my duty.

By the way, here's a fascinating web-site which features a number of bars we should perhaps have considered:

http://nycbp.com/

[tommy]

what is this fear of photos?!?!?!!

so what's the final tally?  and who's showing up when?  i will most likely be in the early crew (if there is one), arriving early and departing early.  i'll leave the serious drinking to you brits.  

[Rail Paul]

Tommy -

Given how wretched some of us looked in the photos taken at the eGullet dinner in Newark, a fear of photos isn't unreasonable. I'm sure several hours of drinking won't improve the appearance of otherwise attractive people.

The weather forecast is mild, so your absence of trousers shouldn't pose a frostbite risk tonight...

Paul

[tommy]

jeez, only a few hours away and everyone's enthusiasm seems to have petered away.

[Wilfrid]

Maybe it's because I tried whipping it up to a frenzy last week, having muddled the dates.  I'll be there.  My current understanding is The Kettle of Fish on Christopher Street, around 7pm.

[TCD]

what is this fear of photos?!?!?!!

Mr. W