June 22, 2011
Okay if it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium swizzle stick night. The night where I go out in search of the ever elusive swizzle stick from a bar. Well, tonight I’m searching for more than a swizzle stick, I’m searching for Uncle Waltie. Uncle Waltie comments here and at two of my favorite blogs, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York and EV Grieve. I think I met Uncle Waltie last year on my bar crawl. It was at the International Bar in the East Village and a fellow who’s picture I took said he was known as “Unkle Waltie.” And told me to spell the “Uncle” with a “K.” After that I started noticing comments from an Uncle Waltie at EV Grieve and Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York. And lately Uncle Waltie has been leaving comments here. Could this be the same Uncle Waltie I met almost a year ago? The only way to find out is to go the International bar and find out!
It's a nice night out and I've got the night off from work, so we'll walk there.
It's not really that different, it's just backwards, like so much stuff lately.
Records behind bars!
I've always wondered if EV Cheese is any relation to EV Grieve? Maybe Uncle Waltie knows.
And here we are (and yeah, I know this is the same photo from 365 bars, like an idiot I forgot to take a photo of the front of the bar, oh well, it still looks the same anyway.)
It's nice and dark in here, just the way I remember it from last year.
I take a seat in the back of the bar, so far no signs of Uncle Waltie.
But Molly's here and while they don't have swizzle sticks here, she dressed my drink up really nice!
See?
And she even topped it off with this knife. She wisely removed it as I started drinking.
Deja view, here's Elaina and Roger who I met here last year.
Jason was behind the bar in a classic Coke t-shirt.
Molly poses with a friend at the bar.
Nadir and Fozzie at the bar, they both work at Hi-Fi, which I keep meaning to stop at, maybe I'll go there next week.
Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!
Joseph and Kate were seated next to me and we swapped tales about living in New York City.
I love the vintage cash register in here.
Even the beers are dressed up in here tonight, I think I started a trend.
Here's Liz posing with Molly.
And here's Molly with Sonia, this is the friendliest place in town!
You gotta love a jukebox that has vintage Rolling Stones next to Tom T. Hall.
Tyler has no idea where Uncle Waltie is. Oh well, maybe next time.
Before I leave I pose for a shot with Molly.
Empty drinks and umbrellas means it's time to head home.
Aaaaahhhh!
International Bar
The International Bar is a dark and friendly New York bar with inexpensive drinks and a great jukebox. It’s the type of place that you can walk into alone and immediately feel like a regular in here, even if it’s your first time at the bar. There’s a lot of shitty things happening in the East Village and in New York City, happily, this is not one of those things. The International Bar is open early and stays open late, so stop by and have a drink and say hi. You’ll be happy if you do.
International Bar
120 1/2 First Avenue (Near 7th St.)
212-777-1643
Further reading: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, EV Grieve, NY Magazine and Grub Street.
You also might like: Sticky Rice, Sticky Wickets and Sticky Fingers.
Four Famous Uncles
Uncle Miltie
Uncle Ernie
Uncle Charlie
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
32 Comments
Reader Comments (32)
International is one of my all time favorite NY bars. Now Molly is my kind of owner,, she is fun. Is this the darkest bar in the city? Jukebox has Beatles 65 and "Mr Moonlight", haven't heard that song in years. Great post Marty.
Awesome ! .... I need Genesee beer soon ! .......... Molly is having toooooo much fun ! ............ UFB to Uncle Waltie !!!
PS ....... don't these folks also own the Coal Yard ? ....... I really like that place ..... dark and nothing but drinking on the agenda !
@Al: Molly and Shawn are the two best bar-owners in NYC. Fun people and they know how to run a bar and stock a jukebox.
@GENE: Molly and Shawn do indeed own the Coal Yard, another fine place I need to stop by soon! TO UNCLE WALTIE! Sip ahoy!
I love Swizzle Stick Tuesday Night!
Will Marty get a glass Swizzle Stick?
What will he get instead?
A straw?
An umbrella?
The Herp?
The suspense of it all; fucking kills me!
The International is cool, you may run into my son Jack in there (he just turned 21)
That Molly has some very cool dimples…not to mention: one hell of a tongue..
Cellar Door Man is très creepy. It’s like he’s just waiting for you to walk across him….and Aaaaahhhh!....he swallows you, and fall in to the basement….never to be seen or heard from again.
“You gotta love a jukebox that has vintage Rolling Stones next to Tom T. Hall.” – Marty
AND one of my all time favorites: Television’s Marquee Moon.
"I'm tryin' to think, but nothin' happens!" - Curly
"Gimme some of that nasty cheese" - from the movie 'Colors'...is east village cheese like American cheese, or is it more like Brie or something? Ah yes...I remember the Man from U.N.C.L.E.....and the unbeleivably hokey karate fights and the high body counts associated with that T.V. franchise. Anybody remember the Girl from Uncle? One season...Stephanie Powers as the Girl from Uncle? She was number two on my adolecent stiff sheets fantasy list back then, second only to Dianna Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel in her tight tights with the racing stripe up the side of her leg. It's no mystery to me that the sponsors of some of those spy shows back then were sellers of laundry soap....a lot of the viewers were raging 14 year old hormonal cases like myself and those sexy spy chics in their tight little outfits were resposible for a lot of stiff sheets and socks that could stand up all by themselves....
That damn Cardboard Box man and all of his relatives definately have you high on their shit list Marty, and they're comming to get you...AAAAHHHH!!
Aw, I was holding my breath with suspense...but no Unkle Waltie!
I'm going to demand an umbrella in my beer everywhere I go now.
I f*cking should have known better...and should not have gone there yesterday at 10:30AM. You can guess what happened by late afternoon. The unknown AM bartender (also known as Kevin, but that should remain a secret) apparently had nothing better to do than to help me get obliterated by 3pm. I just don't have the staying power I used to. So I issue a heartfelt mea culpa to you, Marty and anyone else whom I certainly would have loved to meet. Whatever my penance...accompanying you to Papaya King or the Hollywood DIner or whatever, I'm Uncle enough to accept. (Can't be above 34th Street though, which is already 24 blocks outside my comfort zone, so have mercy) To clarify the "Unkle" and "Uncle" confusion: Facebook does not allow terms like Uncle etc., so they forced me to spell it with a 'k'.
Sip Ahoy!
@Harry: Does your son live in the neighborhood? And I agree with you on Marquee Moon, great album! Great Curly quote!
@Jaws: I don't remember the Girl From UNCLE. Is she a relative of the Girl From Ipanema?
@Goggla: Maybe Uncle Waltie will show up in the comments here. I'll try and bring umbrellas to the Chillmaster Dance Party!
Oh, forgot to add: This won't happen again. (But I say that about once a week)
Excellent bar! (although that mask behind Tyler is freaking me out just a little). Glad you had a nice night off work. And thank goodness you didn't walk over Cardboard Metal Man - that fucker might have eaten you alive! AAAHHHHH!
@Jaws the Cabbie: Who could forget Stephanie Powers, as April Dancer?
@Marty: Jack lives with me (when I’m there) on Bedford St. He’s studying painting at Cooper Union: a hop, skip and jump away
@Uncle Waltie: Maybe we can meet there next Tuesday, I'll do a repeat appearance in your honor, if work allows it. Sip Ahoy!
@Biff: I stood over the Cardboard Metal Man and thought about walking over him, but couldn't do it. Maybe next week.
@Harry: Tell him to stop by next Tuesday and he can hang out with me and Uncle Waltie!
That cheese shop looks promising...I do love my cheese. Also - that Tyler has some sweet tattoos - I think that t-shirt qualifies as vintage now and that means I'm getting old.
Classic NYC bar! Every review I've ever read about this place says it's one of the best in the East Village.
@Britta: I saw that Jurassic Park decal on a Jeep the other day. I kind of liked it and that means I'm getting old too.
I hate when the paper straw wrapper end gets in the drink, and that's a lot of stuff in there. Molly likes the camera! Nice to see small bars that you visited still going strong, hope they stay around for a long time. I think Mavis and I have a lot in common, we should meet up.
@Britta: Please don't say you're old, that means I'm ancient!
@Barfly: It is one of the best in the East Village for sure!
@kari: I was glad to see a crowd in there on a Tuesday night, it's one bar I hope that never closes. Where would Uncle Waltie go?
Hey I remember Molly from Coal yard. And i also remember Shannon got a bit messy on many Martinis there.
Living the dream, Marty.
I knew [: l ] would evolve into something stronger and more sinister....I'm thinking he'll eventually become something similar to the T-1000 from the Terminator movies.
@ GENE: and after many GENESEE, GENEdon'tSEE!
@Clacky ... that used to happen to me, back in the day :)
@Clacky: It's only a matter of time until [: | ] takes over New York and then it's onto world domination. Enjoy yourself while you can! I'll tell Molly you said hi next time I'm there!
damn...late to post again...can't seem to fire up the evil computer before until a"couple" "rutgut 45's" have been drained...nice to revisit the international sans a sizzle stick and Unkle Waltie...maybe in the near future...seems like "old" is a theme tonight...will leave all w/ this: a lady down the way celebrated 82 today...w/o giving up much...she asked my age...a "boomer"said i...she responded "i wish i was a "boomer"...
It was my Uncle George who discovered that alcohol was a food well in advance of modern medical thought.
~P. G. Wodehouse
rr
@rr: Boom boom, out go the lights! Another great quote!
@Biff & @Marty - I don't generally feel old until I see something from the 80's on eBay/etsy listed as "vintage" - or if I'm talking to my best friend's 16 year old son, and he says something like - "Jurassic Park? I've never heard of that movie..." Seriously - her kids hadn't ever seen Back To The Future! Ack!
P.S. Biff - I now think of you whenever I hear anyone say Ta Da! That means Marty is promoting you very well.
I live above Hifi so let me know when you go. I'll try to make sure owner Mike is there...
@Britta: Your Ta-da! comment cracked me up!
@Shawn Chittle: Will do, I think I'm going back to the International next week to continue my search for the elusive Uncle Waltie, I hope you can join me!
@Britta: TA-DA!
@Marty: Thanks for being so promotional. I owe you a beer. I also owe you a visit...or I owe myself a visit...or maybe I just owe myself a beer? Either which way, this one-sided conversation is making me parched. Is it noon somewhere? I thought so.
@Biff: It's almost noon here...TA_DA!
Wow that looks like a very cool bar and the eclectic musical variety on the jukebox adds a wonderful appeal to the place. Very cool place Marty!!
Gotta love the friendly folks,
Darn...I just woke up. Did I miss anything? The pictures look familiar. Marty, what time next Tuesday? I'll have to alert all my bartenders to not serve me until maybe 8pm. Can I steal some of your pictures for the I-Bar Blog? I can't offer you much. Would a couple of rounds suffice? Molly's got a long tongue. It's also very sharp. You bring out the best in people. I was gonna sign off with Sip Ahoy, then I realized I'm not a sipper, I'm a GULPER. But Gulp Ahoy just doesn't quite have the same je ne sais quoi. Now I'm speaking in tongues.
I was all backed up, in a good way.
http://120point5.wordpress.com/gallery-2/all-backed-up/
@Uncle Waltie: I'll be working, so it'll be after 11pm, sleep in that day and stay out late! I tried leaving a comment at the International blog and it didn't show up, check the spam folder. And yes, take all the pictures you want from here! I'd be honored to have them featured at the International Bar Blog. Sip Ahoy!