We are going to begin a new feature on NYCBP this week: weekly bartender recommendations. I am going to kick things off with Friday nights. So post your picks for best bartenders on Friday nights. Don’t forget:
- Her/His name and where they work
- Why she/he is a great bartender
- Anything special she/he makes

Let’s get this site back up and running in fine fashion. You can post photos too.

Well I have not blogged in a long time, so let’s start off with a long-overdue post. And why not talk about some dive bars we go to a lot: The Patriot and the (new) Cheapshots. I would talk about The Duck too, but since I was on “hiatus” and not blogging, the bar closed. That’s a drag, because I loved the place. Not to death, but I did love going there.

So, where to begin? The Patriot.

First, why are so many of the bartenders so horrible? There are some great ones, and I am going to ask for the regulars to post their names below in the comments section of the blog (a novel concept, I know). Since I only get to The Patriot once a month, I can’t speak to who the great ones are. But when I’ve been there with Bass Ale Man and PaulKatcher.com, there have been a few that are considered starts. The longtime veterans seem to have all been fired. But I am particularly peeved about the newcomers.

Hiring some rookie who just moved to New York is fine with me. But if the bartenders have no experience or pizzazz, what’s the point? Too many bartenders at The Patriot just stare at you, like they have no idea how to interact with a customer. This is definitely not how Tommy used to run his bars, which were 100% about customer interaction. Dare I say it? Most of the bartenders are afraid of the customers.

A few months ago, Tommy took over Cheapshots, which is a stone’s throw from Coyote Ugly. I admit I only went to Cheapshots to see Carmit on Friday afternoons. When Tommy took over he cleaned house and canned everyone. That’s his business. But the staff, from the reports, is that these are the same minor leaguers who come over from The Patriot. Has anyone anything else to add to this?

It’s a sad thing about The Duck closing. However, it seemed to be inevitable. There is only one real factor, and that’s the location. Being in El Barrio, it was just a little too sketch for a lot of Tom’s crowd to venture too. Sure, you had to be a real pussy not to want to walk from Lexington Avenue to Second Avenue, but if you are plastered, that’s not smart in any neighborhood. But I think the location turned a lot of people off. I did like the setup, with the 2 bars. Every time I went there I had a blast; the highlight being the World Series victory last year.

I hope this gets some of you talking about how the bar scene is going in the world of dive bars. Comments are welcome.

I’m a huge Elvis fan. I never saw him perform live. So this is what I feel like knowing that Chaundra is coming out of retirement after three years away from bartending. She is going to be part of Little Michelle’s all-star team at Blue Ruin, which I already told you rocks. The bar on Ninth Avenue and 40th Street will be the place to be on Saturday night.

I can’t emphasize enough how awesome a bartender Chaundra is. She worked at three of the greatest saloons in the city (all shuttered): The Village Idiot, Yogi’s and Who’s on First. The girl INVENTED theme nights with her partner, Jenn. Let me put it to you this way: before Chaundra there was no Nurse Night, Catholic School Girl Night, French Maid Night, etc.

Her bartending skills are incredible. She is so fast and flies around the bar. She is a whirlwind in action. When we had NYCBP awards and voting back in the day, Chaundra cleaned up time and again. She is of course in the NYCBP Hall of Fame, along with so many all-stars. (So is Rachel, formerly of Red Rock West, who works Fridays at Blue Ruin).

Getting Chaundra back behind the bar is like going back to 1999 for me. I can’t wait to drink with this woman, and you should not miss out.

Tommy with Megan at The Patriot.

Could Tommy McNeill have us drinking again at 457 West 17th Street, the former home of Red Rock West? Our “reliable sources” tell us that Tommy, the fleshy proprietor of The Patriot and The Duck, is about to take over the old Red Rock, which closed amid lawsuits, acrimony and much bad karma in May 2008 after a 13-year run.

This is good news for dive bar fans, as it comes on the heels of word that Tommy is busy with carpenters and electricians to ready his third bar—so far unnamed—on East 92nd and Second Avenue (which coincidently, also held the defunct Red Rock Roadhouse, which shuttered two years ago).

Tommy has been the pied piper of dive bars in Manhattan for 20 years. Without him, there would be none of the early 1990s dives that exist today: Coyote Ugly (he gave founder Liliana Lovell her start in the bar game), Hogs ‘n’ Heifers (he was the brains of the original operation) nor Doc Holliday’s (Tommy was an original investor and co-owner, and came up with the name). When he closed the original Village Idiot on First Avenue and 9th Street in 1994, and moved across town to 14th and Tenth, we rejoiced. That place closed in 2004 and his Upper West Side operation, Yogi’s, closed in October 2008. He has been running The Patriot (Chambers and Church) for five years and The Duck (West 112th and Second Ave) for less than six months. With Tommy, it is cheap beer and Johnny Cash tunes at all times. He has done more for the bottom line of Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jack Daniels in New York than any other person.

Could he pull this off in the shadow of the High Line? Of course. We saw him mobilize the bartenders from The Patriot and Yogi’s and move into The Duck in a matter of hours. He has been hiring new girls like crazy for the past several weeks. As soon as the Upper East Side bar opens—which could be in a matter of weeks—he will have his hands full getting the old Red Rock West in shape to open.

Could we see Dara of The Patriot/The Duck at the old Red Rock? We hope so!

What can we expect? When Red Rock West folded, the staff of about a dozen bartenders scattered to the four corners of the city. A couple found spots at Coyote Ugly (where they had to tone down their antics, sad to say). Others moved to the outer boroughs. In the world of Tommy, he will staff the bar with the same girls that work for him at The Patriot and The Duck. Could it open by Memorial Day for Fleet Week? We hope so.

One big change that separates Tommy’s bars from the now-defunct Red Rock is that he never needs hulking bouncers or doormen, who stood around and intimidated the customers. Tommy hires bartenders that run the bars, do the stocking, and handle all the chores at the bar. So we do not think he will even think about re-hiring any of the bouncers or support staff that worked at Red Rock (and this includes the poor soul who had to guard the motorcycles). I can think of only one male face I want to see Tommy bring back: BOB. That dude was the BBQ master, and his hog roasts were legendary. If Bob is grilling, it will be happy days on West 17th Street again.

Tommy is a smart businessman, and savvy where he picks his bars: his new Second Avenue bar is in a prime spot for the Second Avenue Subway when it opens in six years, and even better, when the High Line park opens, his new bar will be in it’s shadow. It looks like 2009 is going to be a great year for dive bar patrons!

I have always liked the Times blog about drinking. This installment really makes it clear how the “downpour” works and dispels the myth of premium spirits. I bartended a little in a past life, and we never did this, because we never had the time or energy to sit there and pour cheap hootch into the premium bottles. (I do know of one bar that did this; I saw them do it in the basement). I love this part:

The bar staff dubbed the place “The Make-Believe Ballroom.” We obviously downpoured to keep liquor costs down, which helped the house. But it also allowed us to buy back more drinks for customers, which got us better tips. It was a fairly busy place and I worked there for three years. In all of that time only twice was the validity of a cocktail’s ingredients questioned.

Have any of you bartenders and patrons experienced this? Or have a working knowledge of a funnel-and-bottle operation in a back room of your bar or saloon? This is a great blog, and although he is talking about Elaine’s, it could just as well be an NYCBP bar.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-020XyN1bzU]
Pretty funny to see your bartender appearing in a music video. Carmit is the girl in this music video. Looks like it was shot at Soldier Magee too. The band is Jerry Cherry. The video was directed by Josh Franer.

So we finally heard from Jimmy Duff about what he is doing with his bar in Billyburg. It is moving about a mile next week. The scoop:

Some facts for ya:

The last night at DUFF’S present location is Saturday, November 29. “Last Call at North 3rd Street” (This location at North 3rd will remain open afterwards as Rock N’ Roll dive bar THE BUNKER).

DUFF’S will be opening in our new location the following weekend at 168 Marcy Avenue in South Williamsburg, December 5th and 6th, along with all the DUFF’s employees & jukebox. The new location is approximately 1 mile from the current North 3rd Street bar. We hope you’ll join for some of the best parties of the year, and thank you for your continued support!!

Wow. Imagine you are drinking at a bar on Amsterdam Avenue, and the next thing you know, your face is on fire? That is apparently what happened to a woman who was at Brother Jimmy’s on the Upper West Side, according to a lawsuit detailed in the New York Post. “Lauren Sclafani, 31, says she suffered second- and third-degree burns on her face, arms and hands thanks to the Bacardi 151 stunt at Brother Jimmy’s gone terribly wrong.”

As “Great Balls of Fire” came on the jukebox, the bartender poured 151-proof rum across the bar and deliberately lit it on fire, according to a lawsuit she filed against the bar. The flame blew back into the bottle, turning it into a “flamethrower,” said Sclafani’s lawyer, Tom Moore.

“I was just about to leave, and the next thing you know, I’m lit on fire,” Sclafani said. “My face was burning, my hands were burning, my clothes were on fire. I was just praying to make it stop.”

That is damn horrific. How much do you think she will win? A million? More? Any of you guys ever seen this done at the bar? Red Rock West used to light their bar on fire for KISS’ “Heaven’s On Fire“… but the bouncers had the good sense to make customers step back 4 feet before the matches came out.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNc_Ult2tTQ]
I never claimed to be Oliver Stone, but here is another little video clip from Yogi’s. It is the last shift Terri and Bree worked there. You will recognize a lot of the jokers in it. I tried to capture an overall look at the bar. It is dark, I realize, but so was the bar. An no, I did not take any video of the bathrooms…

If you guys like this, i will also add some that I made on the last weekend there.

It has been two week, so why not revisit the Yogi’s end-of-the-world one more time? I never did link to Paul’s great post, or his photo album, from the last week there. I believe he was there 8 straight days or something. He writes:

It was where I drank with a porn star, a dishwasher, and a trust-fund millionaire. And I don’t mean like over the years. I mean at one time. It was where I met tourists from countless countries, got flashed by bartenders as incentive to not leave (it worked), belted out the words to redneck country tunes, and drank way too much on a too-regular basis with suits, skanks, hippies, degenerates, alkies, perverts, Columbia students, mothers, and the occasional dumb shit who’d order wine.

He also has great photos from the end too. Thanks, Paul!

Can you believe it has been two weeks already? Is it time to get over it?