June 8, 2011
Okay, the other day a challenge was proposed here at MAD, actually it was a dare! MAD reader and once in a while commenter, Brooksy dared me to go to an Australian bar called, Eight Mile Creek. Due to massive alcohol consumption, I guess Brooksy doesn’t remember that I went to that bar when I was doing my bar crawl blog last year. I went back and looked at the post. I went there on Thursday, August 5th, 2010. Close to a year ago, but it seems like a decade ago! That whole year just kind of seems like a blur and not just because I was drinking every night! It’s funny looking back at the posts and the people I met, it would be funny if some of them were there tonight...because I accept your dare Brooksy! And since it’s Tuesday, it’s swizzle stick night, so I’ll not only have a Cooper’s Green for Brooksy, I’ll have a double gin and tonic and see what kind of swizzles are offered there. Let’s go to the bar down under...under the Eight Mile Creek restaurant, that is!
Here we are at the 28th and Broadway station waiting for the R train to take us to Prince Street.
And here it is...all aboard!
Okay, we're are on Mulberry Street. Through the magic of the internet you missed a subway ride where a gorgeous Asian woman told me she loved my Gumby bag and I kidded around and flirted with her the whole ride and her boyfriend looked liked he wanted to strangle me. You gotta love Gumby!
And here we are, Eight Mile Creek.
Of course, we're going to the bar down under. Where beer does flow and men chunder...whatever that means.
Down the stairs...
And here we are in Manhattan's own little slice of Oz. There's a decent crowd here for a Tuesday night.
I ordered up the double gin and tonic from Trevor the bartender who's a really nice guy and a great bartender.
But unfortunately there are no swizzle sticks to be had at this bar down under. Where women glow and men plunder. Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? Me either, it's a perfectly clear night out.
To make up for the lack of swizzle sticks, there is live music tonight!
This is Tracy who hosts a friendly, open mic jam session here every Tuesday. He also bartends at the Spring Lounge down the street.
He's joined onstage by his friend Nate.
Some of the fans of the duo listen on.
And here's Nate offstage with his friend, Abbey.
And I had to get a shot of Abbey's lovely feet and her cool foot tattoo! Nice!
And the show goes on, great playing and singing Tracy!
And a Cooper's Green is drunk is Brooksy's honor! And I had one after that to cheer Clacky! Cheers and beers to my Australian mates!
Okay, up the stairs and its out we go into the night.
Ha, a Van Wagner shot for Kari! Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
Further reading: Jeremaih’s Vanishing New York, New York Magazine, New York Citysearch and NY Times.
You Might Also Like: Huey, Lewis and The News.
Four Songs About Australia
Living in Oz—Rick Springfield
Australia—The Kinks
Land Down Under—Men At Work
Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil
Dirty deeds and they’re done dirt cheap,
We will, we will...rock you!
30 Comments
Reader Comments (30)
I like this place .... I've been meaning to go back to it ....... I will in 2 weeks !
PS .... is David Brooks and Brooksy in Oz the same person ???
Chunder = blow chunks
I liked that picture of "up the stairs", something about the grime and caked on dirt from years of usage that is so New York, in a good, real way,, here's to keeping it real.
Jesus may be your co-pilot, but Gumby is your wing-man.
@GENE: You're coming back in two weeks? And yes, Brooksy and David Brooks are the same man down under.
@Spike: Thanks for the translation!
@Al: To keeping it real!
@csp: Gumby is the best wing man in the world! P.S. Forgot to put your art up, it'll be in tomorrow's post.
Wow, fun to look at the 365 post and this one. Love the foot tattoo on Abbeys foot! And the AC/DC Queen mashup is unfuckingbelievable! Nice post today!
Hey Mate--did you point Percy at the procelain???If you want to know what I mean--you have to buy me a Tiki drink, Marty!!!
@MAD .... I'll be back in NYC on Friday 24 June for two nights.
and ... you may be right about Brooksy and "Due to massive alcohol consumption" ..... because he commented 3 times when you went to 8 Mile last year ! ..... these Aussie's make me look like a rank amature :(
@Barfly: Abbey's feet are unbelievable! Nate is one lucky man!
@Melanie: Ha ha ha! I sure did! Stop by Painkiller this Sunday and I'll buy you a Tiki drink!
@GENE: We'll have to hang out on Saturday night for sure, send me an email. How funny that Brooksy made three comments there! I'm waiting for him to chime in!
What? No Vegemite sandwich while you were quaffing that double gin and tonic and enjoying all that down under thunder? Lot's of vitamin B-12 and as either Clacky or Fitzy once pointed out, you can't beat the stuff when it comes to putting a hangover back in it's place!
There's got to be a real swizzle stick SOMEWHERE in Manhattan! Til you find it, though, I hope you keep hitting happy and friendly places like Eight Mile Creek. Looks as great this time as it did last summer. Love that tiled floor. And two thumbs up for having the world's largest (and coppery-est) stripper pole!
@Biff: I believe the pole honors go to the Hustler Club in NYC; don't ask.
@Jaws: I need to check their menu to see if they even serve vegemite.
@Biff and csp: I'm confused by the stripper pole comments? What am I not getting? Okay, that's a loaded question, but fire away.
@Marty: I was mentioning the big copper pole behind Tracy. And csp was also mentioning a pole and maybe even a Tracy, but since they're both at the Hustler Club in NYC, I'm assuming it's a different preposition.
Those Van Wagners are taking over NY! I really like the rock wall and would like to play with Trevor's hair.
@Biff: Thanks, I totally missed that! It was bugging the shit out of me!
@kari: I'm going to start looking out for the Van Wagner signs around town!
swizzle stick tuesday sans swizzle sticks...ahh bummer...maybe next week...
was not sure what biff was referrin' to...till i went back and checked each pic closely...and there ut was...
MAD...not sure about "chunder" either...then i watched "land down under"...@1:26 it's definition...video had all kinds of trivia...@1:17 vegemite and early on zombie...
“Our religion keeps reminding us that we aren't just will and thoughts. We're also sand and wind and thunder. Rain. The seasons. All those things. You learn to respect everything because you are everything. If you respect yourself, you respect all things.”
~ William Least Heat Moon
rr
Here I am!
Good to see you are up for a dare. Perhaps that can be a new theme day for you - "Dare Marty Tuesday". Who can be the most creative with their dares????
"Where beer does flow and men chunder". Somebody already said it, but chunder means to throw up.
A great song. Such an anthem for Australia. Made all the more famous as it was the unofficial theme song for the 1983 America's Cup, where Australia II made history and beat an American yaght to win the title - something that hadn't been done in the 100-odd year history of the race.
Not sure if Clacky would have had a Coopers before. Being a New South Welshman, he's probably more into the Tooheys. Clacky - do yourself a favour son!
I completely forgot that you went to 8 Mile Creek before. I knew that you went to "The Australian" (at my suggestion), back in Feb/March, but thought that was the only one for the crawl. Must have been the three breakfast beers affecting my memory when I made the suggestion.
@rr: I need to watch that video again! Great quote as always, sir!
@Brooksy in Oz: Did you click on the surprise link? That's a good idea about the dare, let's see what happens. Oh and any man who has three beers for breakfast is my idol! Cheers, mate!
All together now!
Tie me kangaroo down, sport
Tie me kangaroo down
Tie me kangaroo down, sport
Tie me kangaroo down
@Spike:
A man walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a case of beer, any kind except Schlitz. The bartender says, "Whats wrong with Schlitz, dont you like it? The man says, "I hate that shit". Last night I drank a whole case of Schlitz and blew chunks. The bartender says, "You drink a case of any beer youre going to blow chunks". You dont understand said the man, Chunks is my dog.
harry...gives a new meanin'
rr
@Marty - I usually don't click on the surprise link because they're normally YouTube links (and my work doesn't allow me to visit YouTube).
But I just clicked on it then! I got such a surprise when you posted that entry on your 365 blog last year, and actually had a look at it again yesterday.
Love the video on there as well. Amazing how somebody I have never met calls me Brooksy. Well not really THAT amazing, as anybody who has met me for more than 10 minutes calls me Brooksy.
@Harry: Ha ha ha! I've never heard that one! And now I've got "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" stuck in my head! Aaaahhh!
@Brooksy in Oz: Glad you saw it! One of the highlights of doing last years blogs was making new friends from halfway around the world!
Trevor's shirt is opened enough I was expecting a gold chain. He is pretty adorable though. I have been to Australia and trust me, you do NOT want to eat Vegemite. It is nasty s@#$. You do however want to pet a koala if you ever get a chance. They are super soft and crazy adorable.
@Britta: My goal is to get to Australia within the next two years and I will indeed pet a koala!
@Britta - vegemite is fantastic! Most kids here grow up on the stuff - my two have eaten it since they were able to eat toast, and they love it!
It's probably an acquired taste though :)
@ Brooksy in Oz; I get my Vegemite from a site on the web, the taste DOES take some getting used to, but it's great if you smear it on beef before you broil it...it really compliments the taste of beef.
You tell everybody. Listen to me, Hatcher. You've gotta tell them! Vegemite is Australian people! We've gotta stop them somehow!
@Brooksy Apologies but that stuff is killer! I would guess like anything you would get used to it. However, I loved everything else about Australia - if I hadn't left our little one at home, we might have just stayed there.
@Marty - do it! You will love it.
Why do Trevors tend to look alike? Baby face, unbuttoned flannel and just enough hair to look like a man and not a gorilla? Don't get me wrong, this coog ain't complainin'..........
Abbey's foot tat is the best I've seen so far. Who says flops can't be stylin'? But that pic of her with Nate where she's got that slight yaeba thing going..... grr...... hawt...... :ˆp........