July 20, 2011
Okay, it’s Tuesday night and that means it’s my night to go to a bar and see what kind of a swizzle stick they stick in a double gin and tonic in a tall glass. A few weeks ago, Biff suggested going to the King Cole Bar in the St. Regis Hotel. I’ve been in there with Biff and I went there on the bar crawl. I do remember getting their signature drink, The Red Snapper and then being somewhat shocked that after I gave the bartender a twenty dollar bill, only two dollars came back to me! I could cheat and go look at a picture of the drink from 365 bars, but I’m not going to. And tonight we’ll see not only if I get a swizzle stick, but what a double gin and tonic costs in this fancy schmancy joint.
I decided to walk to the place rather than go down into the steambath of the subway. It's just 24 blocks away from here on Fifth Avenue.
Creat your own pasta? If I wanted to do that, I just stay at home and crack open a can of Beefaroni. Assholes!
Honey, I shrunk the Statue of Liberty.
Okay, we're almost there and I've worked up a powerful thirst on this walk.
Wow, that's an impressive food cart, I'll have to sample some of the foods here one of these nights.
And here we are, The St. Regis Hotel. For those of you not in the know, St. Regis is the patron saint of all talk show hosts and sidekicks. He invented the word, "Hiyo!"
Here's the front desk. Crazy to think that in this day and age people actually have enough money to stay here.
Down the marble hallway...
And here we are. Wow, it's crowded for a Tuesday night.
All the seats are taken at the bar...
But I managed to squeeze in to a standing area at the end of the bar.
And here's Mike the bartender who happily takes my order for a double gin and tonic.
And yes, we have a swizzle stick! It's not glass, but it is durable plastic and adorned with an "R" for Regis.
Here's Andrew and Kevin who were helping me hold down the eastern end of the bar. Nice guys.
The drinks aren't cheap here, but they do have the best bar snacks in the world.
Wow, those sliders and French onion soup look really good. Maybe I'll splurge some week and come here for Cheeseburger Saturday Night.
A waiter offered to take a photo of Mike and I, so why not. Even Gumby got in on the action!
Okay, the coctail napkin is empty and this isn't a place to hang out at all night unless you just won the lottery. Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark.
Price of a double gin and tonic in a tall glass: $35.00
Swizzle stick? Yes! Pictured below.
The Collection is pictured below, including the latest offerings from Goggla (the disco-lit ones), a San Francisco Trolley Car from Paul Scanlon and several from Kate including one that has a whistle on it!
King Cole Bar Lounge
St. Regis Hotel
2 E. 55th St. (@Fifth Ave.)
212-753-4500
Further reading: Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, Manhattan Style, Slosh Spot and Village Voice.
You also might like: Noodles, Strudels and Padoodles.
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King Kong
King of the Hill
Kingsize Taylor
King of the Road
Fu King Chinese Restaurant
31 Comments
Reader Comments (31)
$35 ? ... UFB !!!! .......... that'll get you 14 PBR's at Walters Bar !
I agree with GENE, expensive drink, but at least you got a swizzle out of it! Your collection is becoming impressive! And I love that King Curtis tune! And one of your best surprise links ever! LOL!
Marty does not like "Make/Create your own pasta"
Wow, GENE has a good memory -- that prior pasta rant was over a year ago !
For 35 bucks you could buy yourself a gallon of gin, a few liters of tonic, a coupla limes, and a box of plastic swizzle sticks, and drink yourself silly for multiple nights.
actually .... I had just recently read that post --- as I go through all of 365 to pick bars I would go to :)
it's a hoot to go through 365 again .... a lot of good nights !
@GENE: True, but I will say that Mike filled that glass up with almost pure gin, so it was equal to about three drinks.
@Barfly: Glad you liked the surprise link, I thought it was funny too.
@GENE: Ha ha ha! I'm repeating myself, I didn't remember that, good find!
@Bruce Davis: Drink myself silly? That sounds like a spectacular idea!
"King of the Road" link was superb,,,,Dean Martin and Roger Miller with trailers on the set,,,,funny stuff. A double anywhere should never cost that much,,,I know they want to keep the average "Joe" out but hey Peter Boyle is dead.
What are those green and white doohickeys in the snack bowl?
@Al: I love that "King of the Road" clip too. What I'd have given to have a few drinks with those two in a bar! And your Peter Boyle reference? Ha ha ha! Genius!
@Jaws: Those are wasabi peas. I've never eaten one, because quite frankly, they frighten me.
Way to be above a straw Regis! Except at that price it should have been glass. Wonder what you'll do with your collection, its growing quite large!
HIYO!!!! Thirty-five bucks ain't cheap, but at least your bartender had a heavy hand. Do you like spicy stuff? Can't remember. But if you do, you should try those peas sometime. They're actually pretty tasty. And you know how I feel about peas! Anyhoo, hooray to the King Cole Bar for having fancy swizzle sticks! And to the patrons and waitrons for being good sports!
$35?! WTF?! I wonder what a room there goes for on Priceline...maybe we could all chip in and have the next Chillmster party there.
looks like the best aspect of the St Regis is the walk there....naa...& bartenders in bow ties/patrons in business ties insight nightmares & flashbacks....Nope, not for this littl' black duck....i would have been quiet happy to pay $35 bucks for a cab back to the Mars Bar after that bebarkle......"NEXT"....
woops????...hope i did'nt say that last time you were there????????????????
@kari: I'm going to have to get a case for them so I can display them.
@Goggla: Ha ha ha! I don't think this place would put up with us and the Chillmaster very long!
@Biff: For some reason I just can't bring myself to try one. I think it is the pea connection. I despise peas as much as you do!
@fitzy: Sadly there won't be any cab rides to the Mars Bar anymore. And I don't know if you said that last time, I can't remember back that far. Shit, I can hardly remember last night!
expensive stop that i could only dream about visiting...."cept most of my dreamin' time is wasted on nightmares of to do lists...
GENE nice recall...i do go back to 365 once in awhile actually spend more time w/ 99...
I would rather sleep in a bathroom than in another hotel.
~Billy Wilder
rr
oh yeah...just recalled that earlier i learned this st regis is nothing more than an over priced TGIF mcdonald's subway daune reades etc...a fuckin' chain...
rr
yeah i know should've said hotel 6 best western howard johnson holiday inn etc...
rr
Gene, you're on freakin' fire today!
$35 bucks for one drink....wow. Great sliders!!
@rr: I didn't know St. Regis was a chain! I thought it was local, thanks for the information! And a perfect quote by a great writer and director.
@Clacky: Those sliders were impressive, but they're probably like fifty bucks apiece!
What a dick !
MAD...check out this one (not even open yet): http://tinyurl.com/4xygtat...
sliders go for $28 accordin' to bar menu...
rr
@GENE: That's too weird, I just read that. Yeah, what a fucking dick, I was going to leave a comment, but then thought that's probably what he wants. I'll never link or read Eater again.
@rr: I never knew and I'll never go back! It's funny I'm writing about chains tonight!
sunny after dark?...WTF is that?...
rr
margaritaville?...
rr
@rr: That was a typo, it should've read, "funny." I just fixed it.
Holy Schniekeys! That is some expensive stuff - I hope it was good gin too. I'm surprised they didn't make you suit-up in there, it looked super fancy.
Hey Marty, what were you wearing?
I don't think I have a piece of clothing that would be deemed acceptable at the St. Regis.
That's why I never attend weddings or funerals and generally stay below 14th Street.
While I have never spent 35 bucks on a cocktail, I did splurge tonight. Finally got a long awaited check for some work I did 6 months ago and decided to buy me two six packs of Kronenbourg 1664. If I were upwardly mobile, that would be the only beer I'd drink. Alas....Back to $ 2.00 Miller High Lifes at Ibar tomorrow. Oops, that was the magic word...wink wink - hint hint.
@Britta: I don't know what kind of gin it was, but I hope it was good too. I don't know enough about gin to know if it was good or not!
@Uncle Waltie: I was wearing my usual stuff, there's no dress code there. Speaking of dress codes, I have a shirt for you, I'll take heed with the magic word and see you at I-Bar tonight!
Sorry Marty, saw this too late. By then I had already consumed more liquids than I should have and spent a few blissful hours on the couch in front of the AC. I just don't have the staying power I used to have. Now it's 2:20AM and my refrigerator is depressingly empty. I'll have to take a walk through the sauna and get me some refreshments. I'll have one or more in your honor. Next time we run into each other your drinks are on me.
Sip Ahoy!
@Uncle Waltie: What's your email? We need to meet at the International soon, I have a present for you. How about Monday? Sip Ahoy!