New York City Bartenders & Patrons

Sean Murphy sent me this: Our friends in the band Hell or High Water are performing at this benefit...
Thursday, October 25
Rock Out Benefit
Rock Out in support of Cristo Rey New York High School, the only school in NYC that offers low-income students
a college-prep education and real-life work experience.

3 Hour Open Bar
Hearty hors d'oeuvres
Food sponsored by Mudville 9, Harrison's Tavern and Bayard's
Featuring live music by:
Hell or High Water
The No Request Band
with Ryan Moriarty & Joe Cardillo

Tickets:
$80 per person ($25 tax deductible)
Buy tickets on-line.
6:30-10:30 pm
at:
Canal Room
285 W. Broadway St. (Corner of Canal)
New York, NY

Labels: events, manhattan

Why? They didn't get it right the first time? Whistlin' Dixie's officially opened on July 3. But for those who were
away, they are having a second "Grand Opening" party...

Friday, October 19
Whistlin' Dixie's Texas Tavern Grand Opening Party

Free Bud Light from 6-8pm w/ printout
at:
Whistlin' Dixie's Texas Tavern
714 Eleventh Ave. (W. 51st St.)
(212) 349-4370
New York, NY

Labels: events, west side

Tracey of Double Down Saloon

This was sent out today from the Double Down Saloon, 14 Avenue A:

Breast cancer benefit and burlesque show: sunday sept.16. Come on out for an all-star burlesque extravaganza.

Ken has organized the no-cover entertainment and will be passing the boot to raise money to donate to the Avon Walk to Beat Breast Cancer.

Suggested donation is $10, but any amount helps. Larger donations are encouraged, but all donations are tax deductible, regardless of the amount.

We'll be cooking out from 2pm, at the Sunday Cheap Meat Cookout. Ken will start taking donations around 5pm, and the show kicks off about 7pm, so come on out, grab a bite to eat, get yer drink on and see a great show, and support a worthy cause, all in one afternoon... That's quality time. it'll be a hoot.

Labels: bars, events

Jimmy Duff sent me this press release today, if you want to be famous and are a chick, read on, here it is in all its glory:

Saturday, September 8, 2007: 11:00pm – 12:30am
DUFF'S BROOKLYN
28 North 3rd St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Casting Directors from VH1/51 Minds Entertainment (Christopher Catalano &
Douglas Howington), will be looking for girls 21+, single and who are looking to win the love of the ROCKSTAR of their dreams. Auditions will be held in Manhattan the following week and girls that we approve will be given an individual audition slot and have an on-camera audition.

ALL girls are required to be at least 21 years of age as of November 1, 2007
and MUST be single. Single means they are not engaged, separated from spouse, "getting" divorced or married. Single means, divorced is final, and not in a serious relationship. We of course want ALL ethnicities and ALL types!

So here is the information I have so far for the show: I am casting for VH1/51 Minds Entertainment, the Producers of "The Surreal Life", "Flavor of Love", "I Love New York" and “Rock of Love”. I will be in New York and surrounding areas, (Long Island, New Jersey) from September 4-12, 2007, looking for SINGLE WOMEN, 21+, with big personalities for this VH1 ROCK N' ROLL RELATIONSHIP SHOW, where 20 girls will compete for the chance to date the ROCKSTAR of their dreams. (the rock star has not been announced yet, but I would think someone that makes the girls wild and girls would do anything just to meet this guy, a Tommy Lee type of rocker).

There currently is a show on VH1 called Rock of Love with the lead being ‘80s pop metal band POISON frontman, Bret Michaels. Bret sets off on a determined search for a mate. Michaels needs a woman who can handle his rockstar lifestyle: someone who won't get jealous of his main mistress: music. Bret will design challenges to test each girls' ability to handle every aspect of his life. The women that rock his world will be given VIP passes and will be allowed to stay in his house. The others will be sent home until in the end when one lucky lady will be a true Rock Star Girlfriend.

So we’re looking for girls of ALL types. In my opinion ideally they would be 24 years old and older. I want hardcore rocker chicks, tattooed, big hair, drinks beer, rockin body and looks like a rockstar wouldn’t mind bringing her on his arm to any star studded event. Most of the girls would be Caucasian, but that is not all I want. At the end of the day I want girls that are HOT and have a ton of personality.

Labels: Brooklyn, events

I agree the weather this week has been pretty crappy in New York. It has been the same weather as when the World Series is in town, absolutely October in the air. However, this is not turning me off to the Murphguide Booze Cruise tomorrow night, Aug. 23. In the past, some of the best ones have been when the weather has been dicey. And the forecast calls for clear skies tomorrow, I don't think the weather will matter much, because Murph has put together a killer time:

Annual MurphGuide Summer Cruise
Thursday, August 23, 2007
boarding: 6:30 pm
departs: 7 pm
return: 10 pm
aboard:
The Temptress
World Yacht Marina
Pier 81 (12th Ave. & W. 41st St.)
Rain or shine
$55 in advance, $60 at the dock. Buy advance tix here.
Price includes open bar, hot & cold buffet, DJ & cruise in NY Harbor

And you know you love girls, so Murph hired the girls from Whistlin' Dixie's Texas Tavern to be the guest bartenders. Cowgirls and an open bar? And a three-hour cruise in New York Harbor? What are you waiting for! Get your whole office to go!

I also love the boat we are going out on. It is owned by Marco, the greatest captain in the city. Marco was the guy who ran all the NYCBP booze cruises in the past. This cruise will be on his biggest boat, The Temptress. It has 2 decks, and an outdoor deck that is amazing. There is no better way to see New York, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty, and the sights than from the water.

Murph sent me photos of the girls who worked on his booze cruise last year. He tells me the ones who are bartending tomorrow are hot too.

The post party is at Dixie's.

Hope to see you there, and buy tickets in advance.

Labels: events

The second Village Idiot Reunion last Friday night was a blast. It was so much fun to see old friends and bartenders, some I have not seen in a week. There were about 50 old regulars who went to Yogi's to see Jenn and Patience bartend. It was a wild night out!

The thing about the Idiot was that there were cheap drinks and nutty customers.... and this continued all the way up on Broadway and 76th Street. Some of us were talking about Eddie's story about the dire threat Duane Reade poses to the bar's future. Others were resigned to face the facts: in this real estate market, a dive bar is about as low as a doggie beauty parlor in the broker's eyes.

I can't say again how awesome the team of Jenn and Patience are. You can totally tell that they have worked together for hundreds of hours, if not a couple thousand. These two, who many of us drank with at the Idiot, have been such terrific party hosts over the year. I encourage you all to drink with them; they have a weird alternating Friday night schedule.

I think we will do another Idiot reunion next year. Here are some pix for you.

Labels: bartenders, events, upper west side

Tonight (Friday, Aug. 17) is the long overdue reunion of Village Idiot bartenders and regulars. It will be at Yogi's, or course. The bartenders are Jenn and Patience, two stars behind the bar who got their starts at the Idiot.

It is hard to believe it was three years ago that the dump shut its doors. Now it is some posh place that we hate.

It is always a good time when this place is rocking.

The party starts when you get there!

This is Jenn, about 5 years ago. Photo by Erik Madden.

Labels: events, upper west side

Summer means one thing to me: A booze cruise. And we can thank our pal Murph for organizing it. The details:
Annual MurphGuide Summer Cruise
Thursday, August 23, 2007
boarding: 6:30 pm
departs: 7 pm
return: 10 pm
aboard:
The Temptress
World Yacht Marina
Pier 81 (12th Ave. & W. 41st St.)
Rain or shine
$55 in advance, $60 at the dock. Buy advance tix here.
Price includes open bar, hot & cold buffet, DJ & cruise in NY Harbor

And being the genius that he is, Murph has hired the girls from Whistlin' Dixie's Texas Tavern to be the guest bartenders. Cowgirls and an open bar? And a three-hour cruise in New York Harbor? What are you waiting for! Get your whole office to go!

I also love the boat we are going out on. It is owned by Marco, the greatest captain in the city. Marco was the guy who ran all the NYCBP booze cruises in the past. This cruise will be on his biggest boat, The Temptress. It has 3 decks, and an outdoor deck that is amazing. There is no better way to see New York, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty, and the sights than from the water.

Hope to see you there, and buy tickets in advance.

Labels: events

Jenn and Patience will bartend at the reunion.

It is hard to believe that three years ago tonight, The Village Idiot locked its doors. It was a sad night for all, but the saddest have been the Regulars who were scattered to the four corners of the city. Some take solace at Tom's other two saloons, The Patriot and Yogi's. But now it is time for a reunion for old customers and bartenders, organized by the old Regulars. This will be Friday, Aug. 17, 2007, at Yogi's. Jenn and Patience will be the bartenders; both were veterans at the old Idiot.

We had an NYCBP reunion in April. It was lightly attended, but old customers from as far away as Long Island and Connecticut came in for it. It was also held at Yogi's.

If you missed going to the Idiot, you really missed out on the city's greatest dive bars. It went so far beyond what a dive bar stood for. At one time, before the city put a stop to it, the bartenders would sell you goldfish to feed to the snapping turtles that were kept in a big tank at the end of the bar. One night, during a Maxim party, a blonde got on the bar and flashed the crowd. No big deal, happened all the time. But then she squeezed her tits and squirted milk on the crowd.

So the Idiot was more than a bar. It was a circus, a freak show, and a glorious watering hole. They had 2 kinds of bartenders: the ones that had a deer-in-headlights look, that didn't really get the mayhem going on around them, and were just there for the money. They didn't last long. But the very best bartenders were the ones that got it, that were in on the joke, that you were not just slumming, you were a witness to a train wreck and a car wreck, so get another whiskey! The best bartenders just kept the drinks flowing, even if there were people passed out all over the place.

I can't say that any other bar in New York will ever live up to that debauchery, but at the reunion on August 17, we can all compare notes. See you there.

Labels: events

I just love Murphguide. Whenever you want to know what is happening around the bars, he is the man. Like today, I woke up and said, "I want to see some bartenders in bikinis, where can I see that tonight?" And of course, Sean knows. So look at this from Murphguide:

Bikini Beach Party "Bartenders in Bathing Suits" at Tequila Jack's 1668 Third Ave (between 93rd & 94th St.) Hot bartenders pouring drinks in their bathing suits. $2 Domestic Drafts if you wear beach attire. Girls wearing bikini tops get a FREE shot. $3 Coronas all night. Arrive by 10pm to see the bartenders reveal their beach attire! $2 cover. RSVP: tequilajacks@yahoo.com

Labels: bartenders, events

I guess Murph is too refined to keep calling these booze cruises... but his summer cruise is Thursday, August 23. These are always fun, and the best way to see the city. It is on Marco's biggest boat, the Temptress. It is classy and a good time. It draws an older crowd, if you fit that demographic.

Murph says: If you are one of those in your group that likes to help bring people together, please call me on 212 717-9955 and we can discuss group rates.

Summer Cruise in NY Harbor
Open Bar, buffet, DJ & dancing
More details coming soon

Sailing rain or shine
aboard:
The Temptress
World Yacht Marina
Pier 81 (12th Ave. & W. 41st St.)
New York, NY
Buy advance tickets here.

Labels: events