May 4, 2011
Okay, it’s Tuesday and that means time to play, “Where’s My Swizzle Stick!” If you’re new to the blog or have serious memory problems, every Tuesday I go to a bar, order a double gin and tonic in a tall glass (which, if properly made should have a swizzle stick included) and then rate the swizzle stick. I’ll also note the price and quality of the bar and drink (thanks to Gene Rubbico for that idea!)
Tonight I’m going back to a place that holds a special place in my heart, Otto’s Shrunken Head in the East Village. It was the very first bar that I went to on my 365 Bar Crawl last year. Let’s go see if Lani’s working!
It's nice, so I thought I'd just walk there. It's a bit of a hike, but what the hell. Eastward, ho! Sorry for calling you a ho.
It looks like the Cardboard Box Man's family reunion down here.
Irony = Filene's Basement on the top floor of this building.
Fancy psychic window!
Okay, we're about a block away, almost there.
And we're here, Otto's Shrunken Head!
It's Dark Water Tuesday tonight and Father Vincent is your host. Stupidly I forgot to get a picture of him. You'll just have to go for yourself to see him.
Wow, it's crowded in here and people are sparkly. Acid flashback alert!
I found a seat in the middle of the bar. Oh, bartender!
The lovely and beautiful Nell served up the drink...but oh no, it's a plastic straw instead of a swizzle stick!
Nell quickly resolved this problem by inserting a sparkly black swizzle stick (okay, it was a straw, but what the hell, she gets points for trying) plus a little drink umbrella and an orange plastic monkey. Almost the equivalent of a Michael Nesmith swizzle stick! Very nice!
Some of the lit up bottles behind the bar and if you look closely an obligatory bar room mirror shot.
DJ Kage 23 was spinning the tunes and some of them included, Paint It Black, Rock the Casbah and Now I Wanna Be Your Dog.
Some of the beers on tap at Otto's.
A tiki woman on the wall.
Gumby!
Photo booth!
Goodnight everybody and see you tomorrow after dark!
Swizzle Stick Rating
Okay, it was really a black collapsible straw, but the fact that mini umbrellas and a plastic monkey added made this an acceptable swizzle stick night. The double gin and tonic was twelve bucks, but I got a buy back after two drinks, so this was a very good swizzle stick night on the town. To Otto's!
The collection so far.
Otto's Shrunken Head
538 E. 14th St. (Near Ave. B)
212-228-2240
Further reading: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, New York magazine, Village Voice and Photobooth.
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The Incredible Shrinking Man
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Shrinkage
Sigmund Freud
Karen Carpenter
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